VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Plows were ready and salt was down Tuesday at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach as the base prepared for what could potentially be the biggest snowfall in years.
“It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s one that we’re prepared for," Public Works Officer Cmdr. Craig Culbertson said.
While it is a military base, the Public Works Department operates much like a civilian public works department.
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“We’ve got a dedicated team of government civilian employees that take care of all of our plowing and road treatment here in-house," said Culbertson.
Those employees live off base in their own homes, but because of the amount of snow in the forecast, some will be staying on base to ensure they don’t have to worry about not being able to get to work.
A spokesperson for the base said it will be operating with what the Navy calls mission-essential personnel only on Wednesday.
Watch: How Hampton Roads cities prioritize what roads to clear during a snowstorm
A news release Tuesday from Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, stated that multiple Hampton Roads Navy bases would be operating with mission-essential personnel only. It also indicated that some childcare services would be open just for those personnel, but that release was later retracted.
Both Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana, however, posted on Facebook that the bases would operate with mission-essential personnel on Wednesday.
Additionally, Naval Air Station Oceana sent News 3 a statement about how aircraft are protected.
Naval Air Station Oceana takes all necessary precautions to safeguard aircraft against inclement weather, including winter storms. This includes securing aircraft in hangars where space permits, and clearing snow from aircraft where applicable. Typically, snow is not a cause of concern for the aircraft that remain on the flight line. Much like a car left outside rather than in a garage, snow that accumulates on the aircraft will eventually melt. Aircraft are continuously monitored to ensure they remain safe and mission-ready.
"We’ve got outstanding partnerships with both the city of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, and we do a lot of mutual support back and forth with the city. But for an event like this, we have everything we need to address our issues in-house, and we’ll do that," said Culbertson. "If there are opportunities for us to help the surrounding areas with the base, we’ll do that.”
Base personnel have also been busy handing out bags of ice melt to those who needed it.
Base personnel said that during the two previous snowstorms, the base went through seven pallets of ice melt, equal to several thousand pounds.
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“Everybody on our team takes their support of the base and its mission—and the mission of our tenant commands—very seriously. So when we have the opportunity to do what we need to do to make sure that those missions continue, we get excited and motivated about that," Culbertson emphasized.
