Task Force Strong Supports Operation Lake Effect
For eight days in late November and early December, Task Force Strong, based around the 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry in Cambridge Springs, along with members of the 107th Field Artillery and 128th BSB, supported Erie throughout major winter weather events. Task Force Strong, serving alongside first responders and emergency services of Erie County, provided direct support to the residents and county by transporting stranded motorists, recovering stuck vehicles, transporting first responders and essential personnel to their workplaces, and conducting health and welfare checks.
On the evening of Nov. 29, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency notified the DMVA of a need for support in the City of Erie during heavy snowfall from lake effect storms. Task Force Strong responded within eight hours, providing a liaison to the Erie County Emergency Operations Center and initially, five tactical vehicles to rescue motorists stranded in the storm and to recover heavy vehicles stuck on the Interstates. Over the next 48 hours, Task Force Strong grew to approximately 30 soldiers and 10 vehicles on duty, with additional support arriving from 1-107 Field Artillery and 128th Brigade Support Battalion.
Over the course of the eight-day operation the soldiers of Task Force Strong nested with Erie County Leadership, Emergency Services and numerous state, regional and local agencies involved in the operation. The soldiers not only provided immediate care during missions but, through close and continuous partnership with those agencies, also helped Erie County to ensure follow-on care was provided to our residents in need.
By the end of Operation Lake Effect, Task Force Strong had executed 341 separate missions in direct support of residents including 52 requiring high clearance vehicles, 14 requiring wrecker assets, 51 personnel escort missions, 27 ambulances and 197 Health and Welfare Checks.
It is a privilege to support the communities where we live and serve, proving that the Guard is Always Ready, Always There.
Survivor Outreach Services’ (SOS) Program
The Survivor Outreach Services’ (SOS) mission is to provide dedicated outreach and long-term support to surviving families of fallen soldiers that embraces and reassures survivors that they are continually linked to the military family for as long as they desire.
The SOS program connects survivors with people who can help regardless of a loved one’s military component, duty status, location, or manner of death. Their services include assisting with grief and financial counseling, Survivor and educational benefits, serving as liaisons to DoD agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), coordination with funeral home and burial services, support groups, legal, and VA referrals to name a few.
In addition, SOS coordinators host and partner with other organizations closest to where the families live such as Wreaths Across America, March for the Fallen, and the Gateway Clipper riverboat events.
The SOS coordinators serve all military families at SOS offices across Pennsylvania with locations in Coraopolis, Duncansville, Tobyhanna, Johnstown, Carlisle, Annville, and Philadelphia. There is no greater calling than to serve one’s nation with honor and dignity. For SOS, there is no greater duty than to support the families of those who died in service to our nation.