Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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  • McDowell County Sheriff’s Deputy James Muncy stands outside the door of a humvee recently acquired by the Sheriff’s Department for use in emergency situations. The Hummer was only a small part of over $7000,000 worth of equipment the department has received through the federal government’s Law Enforcement Support Office. Staff photo by Jon Bolt

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June 28, 2012

McDowell County 911 receives Humvees, other new equipment

By GREG JORDAN Bluefield Daily Telegraph

WELCH — Black paint now covers its former desert tan, but reminders of its past are still visible on its ceiling. Names familiar to veterans of the war in Iraq – Samarra, Fallujah and Mosul – log the places where the armored Humvee once served. Now McDowell County can be added to the list.

A fully-armored military Humvee, a second military Humvee, a mobile command center, and a towed generator arrayed for a media day at Mount View High School represented only part of the new equipment now available. Three more Humvees, three ATVs, a forklift, five stationary generators, 18 Garmin GPS radios and other equipment have been made available through the federal government’s Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) program.

Started in 1997, the LESO or 1033 program was developed to give law enforcement agencies across the nation access to surplus military equipment, said Deputy James Muncy of the McDowell County Sheriff’s Department.

“Back in November 2011, I was given permission by Sheriff Daniel Mitchell to begin acquiring the surplus property through the LESO program,” Muncy said.

Muncy and representatives of McDowell County 911 and the county’s Office of Emergency Service (OES) give visiting reporters tours of the new vehicles. Muncy stood next to the armored Humvee and pointed out the thick steel protecting the passenger compartment and the gas tank. The windows’ armored glass is approximately six inches thick. The entire vehicle weighs more than 120,000 pounds.

Despite its service in Iraq, the armored Humvee is practically new. It had only 11,000 miles on it, Muncy said. The second Humvee standing nearby had only 900 miles on its odometer.

Muncy stood at the armored Humvee’s 700-pound driver’s side door. “If we didn’t want this, it was going to be scrapped,” he said of the vehicle.

Members of the media were invited aboard the armored Humvee for a ride. The thick door closed with all the solidity of a bank vault. He advised passengers to pull  the doors closed by grasping a thick nylon strap. Leaving your fingers on the rim of thick steel doorjamb wasn’t a good idea.

Having the armored vehicle will help the sheriff’s department in hostage situations, aiding injured officers, and other circumstances when getting close to a scene while staying safe is essential, Muncy said.

The Humvees have already proven their value, said Teresa VanDyke, director of McDowell 911 and the Office of Emergency Services. When flooding hit some areas around Squire last April, one of the Humvees made those areas more accessible.

“Deputy Muncy called me,” VanDyke recalled. “He came by and picked me up and we went to the area where the flood damage was. That evening we went into the area, checked on individuals to make sure they were okay, and we would not have been able to get through to some of those areas if we did not have that vehicle.”

The new mobile communications truck offers more capabilities. The sheriff’s department could use it at crime scenes, and it can be useful during other emergencies. Its sides are folded up when on the road, but once they’re rolled out, the truck’s interior is 17-feet wide, said Angela Aliff, deputy OES director.

“It’s fully military capable,” said Nick Keller, McDowell County 911 addressing coordinator. “It has blackout lights so people can’t see into it at night.”

When the driver has night-vision goggles, the truck can be driven without lights, Keller said. The Humvees have the same capability.

The goal is to make the communications truck a place that could be the 911 center’s backup, VanDyke said.

“This vehicle will be set up so we can go to any scene and be able to perform 911 functions,” she said. “If there was a situation at the 911 center where we had to vacate the building for some reason, we would still be able to take calls. We could go plug in where we had generator power and telephone service and still be able to take calls and continue in our function as a 911 center.”

Funds are being sought to pay for the necessary equipment.

“It’s not going to happen overnight. We’re working toward it with grants and other things to obtain the funds needed to get the things that need to be put in it. We have one grant and we’re working on some others to get the equipment needed to put inside the vehicle – radio equipment and telephone equipment, computers and things like that,” VanDyke said.

The LESO equipment had a total value of $792,000.

“The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) 1033 Program permits the secretary of defense to transfer excess DOD supplies and equipment to state and law enforcement agencies,” Muncy said. “This property is procured at no cost to the agency with the exception of any shipping or transportation costs.”

“I would like to thank the following people in helping us ship some of this property to us at very little or no cost to us at all – Eddie Asbury, Elbie Harrison Trucking, David Hicks Trucking, Steve Bartell Trucking and Ervin Horn,” Muncy added.

Later during lunch at the nearby McDowell County Visitor & Veterans Center in Kimball, Muncy said one stipulation is that the sheriff’s department cannot sell any of the equipment or send it to another location.�

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