CAMP LEJEUNE, NC -- Three months ago, preparations were made, the destructive weather centers were established, and some Marines and their families evacuated ahead of Hurricane Florence. Those Marines and Sailors who remained rode out the storm, executing their specific job during the category one hurricane that swept through Camp Lejeune, and the surrounding areas, leaving a trail of destruction behind it during, Sept. 13-15, 2018.
Even though Hurricane Florence was only a was only a category one hurricane, Camp Lejeune and the surrounding areas received approximately 30 inches of rain with a total of more than 10 trillion gallons of water falling during the storm that rocked the East coast.
Some Marines and their families left for safety, but others remained behind to provide command and control, support to local authorities, and others were staged to assess and support the recovery effort.
"There were only a few of us who stayed behind in the shop, I was in charge of making sure the Marines who stayed behind were safe," said Cpl. Tayquan Street, a radio operator with 8th Communication Battalion. “I was needed here to issue radios and maintain communications between the headquarters and all the barracks personnel to ensure the Marines who remained were safe as well."
"Water was spilling from the ceilings, some ceiling tiles were dangling or fell completely and the smell of wet debris filled the rooms," Street said. "Gear was damaged and record jackets for serialized equipment were completely destroyed; it was difficult for some to come back to."
Although three months have passed since Hurricane Florence struck Lejeune, the base is still trying to recover.
"Roads have been washed out, living spaces and work spaces have been damaged, forcing some Marines to work at an alternate location" said Col. Brian Wolford, the chief of staff for II Marine Expeditionary Force. “To continue working at the same operational pace, the Marines are using temporary solutions that would normally be found in a field environment. The Marines are overcoming the obstacle of having unusable structures, but because of these conditions, in some instances, what used to take an hour now takes two.”
Temporary solutions are currently in place to make many workspaces habitable, but long term fixes will be necessary ahead of their current timeline to avoid further damage.
"Many of the Camp Lejeune buildings are old and suffered roof damage," said Gen. Robert Neller, the Commandant of the Marine Corps. "With the long rainstorm, water seeped in, causing mold and internal structural problems."
"Buildings could be repaired, but the age of the buildings increases the likelihood that similar damage could occur during another major storm," Neller said.
Adapting to the devastation Hurricane Florence brought was not easy, but the Marines continue to prove themselves as effective now as before the storm, Wolford mentioned.
"II MEF continues to deploy, employ and redeploy forces around the globe, but we're doing it at the expense of people working in unsuitable work spaces," Wolford said. "We're less than optimized, but because of the innovation of the Marines, Sailors and civilians that work on this base, we as a MEF are able to adapt and overcome these challenges in the near term."
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