About an hour from my house . . .

Sections of Pennsylvania's Interstate highways are in the news this week. I-78, near Fort Indiantown Gap to I-80 was the scene of a 50 mile gridlock that caused stranded motorists to remain in their vehicles for up to 24 hours. This morning, the blame game began. It amazes me how many self-righteous "experts" seem to crawl out from under their rocks and begin smugly pointing fingers.

It's been nearly 20 years, but I distinctly remember a similiar event on the same stretch of this road, ironically in mid-February. I was pulling a 3 week tour of duty with the National Guard at Indiontown Gap when the State got hammered with a huge snow and ice event, much like this one. Our regular mission scrubbed, we were mission to do search and recovery operations on 1-78 (which runs right past the Gap). We spent days shuttling people to barracks on post, feed them, provided free telephone use, entertained kids, provided medical support, and eventually shuttle them back to their vehicles. Military tank trucks provided mogas, wheeled recovery vehicles helped extract 18 wheel trucks, etc., etc., etc.

From what I understand, PA Emergency Management and the PA National Guard mobilized to assist in this recent event. What pisses me off is the fact that the so-called experts have no fucking clue that: A) the soldiers who respond in these situations return home to find that nobody took it upon themselves to shovel out the soldier's residence or dig out their mailboxes, B) the soldiers, in most instances, have to travel great distances (often on roads as bad or worse than the interstates) to get to duty stations in order to go out and help, and C) some fucking moron news reporter will put a camera in the face of minority person caught in this mess and the case will be made that this is just like Katrina, it's Bush's fault, the military sucks, etc.

To my brothers who answered this call . . . I applaud you! Thank God for citizen soldiers!

To the morons who criticize relief efforts, go fuck yourselves!

Just to set the record straight, I-78 is a major traffic corridor with intense tractor trailer activity on it every hour of the day. Add to this fact that this most of the countryside is wide open and prone to high winds and drifting snow, it's little wonder why Penn DOT snow crews are doomed to fall behind in a snow event like this one. It only takes one or 2 tractor trailers, or cars, to get hung up on a grade to trigger the nightmare traffic jams that almost always follow. Once gridlocked, even Humvees have a hell of time riding to the rescue! The latest word this morning is that most of the highways in the affected area are still ice packed and no word yet on when the roads may be reopened.