Cadets respond in hour of need

With warnings of a tropical storm heading towards Vermont, Norwich's Mountain and Cold Weather Company's rescue team was put on standby.

The vice president for student affairs and two members of the Mountain and Cold Weather Company (MCW) agreed that they would be put on standby because of Irene, according to Mark Siegel, a 21-year-old senior criminal justice major from East Greenbush, N.Y.

"We expressed our interest in being put on standby or assisting in some way for the school," said Siegel, the rescue team's medic. "They were very excited about using us."

Cadets Siegel, Birr, and Lt. Col. Patrick Gardner had an "office call" with Brig. Gen. Kelley, the vice president for student affairs, to discuss MCW Company's level of preparedness and what capabilities it would have, according to Gardner.

"We talked about timing and getting them in the Command and Control Coordination Net," said Lt. Col. Patrick Gardner, director of operations and training in the office of the commandant. "We all mutually agreed to have them in an alert status before the bulk of the rains would hit Vermont."

MCW Company was put on standby to assist in the rescuing of life and limb for the university and the town of Northfield from Sunday, Aug. 28, until Monday, Aug. 29, according to Siegel.

"We set everything up and had rotations going so we were (ready) for when the storm hit," Siegel said. "That's when we got a call from the guard shack (requesting our assistance).

The MCW Company was called to help rescue people from the rising water levels on Water Street. The Rescue Team assisted the town of Johnson's Swift Water Rescue Team in getting families out of homes that were cut off by the flooding, Siegel said.

Another group of cadets were sent to the Mayo center to assist in the evacuation of its elderly residents.

A total of 37 cadets worked through the night, evacuating 25 Northfield residents threatened by the rising waters, according to Spencer Williams, a 20-year-old junior communications major from Hudson, Mass., the MCW first sergeant.

"I was responsible for coordinating rescue efforts and evacuating the elderly home right by the river," Willaims said. "We also helped all around the town (wherever we could)."

Even though MCW Company does not train for swift water rescues, members were still very prepared to deal with the situation.

"They were so prepared because of the mind state the MCW Company keeps while under stress," said Austin Brochetti, MCW's company commander, a 21-year-old senior civil engineering major from Wallkill, N.Y.

MCW's skills and the way it operates created a successful outcome.

"When I heard it was a mission success and that no one got hurt, I had an overwhelming sense of pride," Brochetti said. "And the fact that we aren't just doing training to say we are doing it, but we did what we were supposed to do."

"The MCW Company rescue team is currently taking courses and participating in other national level training to hopefully become on par with other national search and rescue teams," Williams said.

"We have taken FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Association) courses, (and) search and rescue techniques course," Willaims said. "The more legitimate certifications we get, the more of an asset we can be to the university and to Vermont."