By Tim Cherry
Staff writer
Thursday, November 8, 2012

The 249th Engineer Battalion deployed Soldiers and eight large, medium voltage, generators from Fort Belvoir, Saturday, to help states suffering from Superstorm Sandy’s aftermath.

The Soldiers, members of C Company, 249th Engineer Battalion, will assess the electrical power needs of priority facilities in New Jersey, New York and other areas in the Northeast region.

The unit is examining high priority facilities such as hospitals, shelters, command centers and fueling stations to determine the exact use of the generators.

“We’re happy to provide help where we can,” said Maj. Jayson Putnam, 249th Engineer Battalion executive officer. “Hopefully it’ll make things a little bit easier for them as they get through this mess.”

Sandy’s path of destruction has been widespread and devastating. In New York, for example, 461,713 customers remain without power as of Monday, according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s website.

The 249th Engineer Battalion provides commercial-level power to military units and federal relief organizations through services such as transformer inspection, circuit breaker maintenance and electrical power assessments. C Co. Soldiers join fellow battalion servicemembers deployed in the Northeast region to help states suffering from large scale power outages.

The 249th Soldiers deployed from Belvoir and Fort Bragg, N.C., with more coming from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In addition to New York and New Jersey, Soldiers are deployed in Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The battalion deployed some Soldiers prior to the storm to assess the potential power needs of priority facilities before Sandy hit.

Capt. Daniel McLeod, 249th Engineer Battalion adjutant and public affairs officer, said Soldiers will use this data and other information collected during training exercises prior to the storm to determine the power needs of each state’s priority facilities. The battalion will then coordinate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and private contractors to restore power.

“They’re prepositioned in these areas to be subject matter experts in terms of power generation,” McLeod said of the battalion’s Soldiers. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure everything gets powered up in a timely manner.”

Putnam said Soldiers are enjoying the opportunity to serve and protect U.S. citizens.

“It’s a mission that brings the guys a lot of satisfaction,” Putnam said. “They can see where their efforts help people directly.”

McLeod said the battalion will deploy more Soldiers to help states restore power.

“We’ve seen the effects of Sandy become far worse than anybody could have imagined. It’s basically all hands on deck here at the battalion,” McLeod said. “Everybody that can be helpful out there is going.”