The Guard shows its drive to succeed

Mission accomplished.

That sums up an effort launched in September to overcome a shortage of school- bus drivers across the state by training members of the Massachusetts National Guard to transport school children.

Gov. Charlie Baker activated the Guard to help fill that gap.

The Guard- driven vans covered nearly 330,000 miles along 3,002 routes, picking up and dropping off students 14,626 times from Sept. 14 to Nov. 5, the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said in a statement.

With the 13 school districts served by the program finally able to hire enough civilian drivers to meet student transportation needs, the Guard was able to end its mission Monday.

“The Commonwealth is grateful to the men and women of the Massachusetts National Guard for answering the call and supporting the safe transportation of students in communities across Massachusetts,” Baker said in a statement. “By working collaboratively with local districts who requested assistance, the Guard was able to provide critical school transportation support at a time when schools, students and families needed it most.”

About 200 Guard members were trained to drive the so- called 7D vehicles, vans designed to carry about 10 passengers, while another 40 provided operational support.

At the start of the school year, many school districts were dealing with the same dilemma: a dearth of bus drivers.

The National Guard filled that gap in several communities that had sought the state’s help, including Lowell, Lawrence, Lynn and Chelsea.

At the time, Lowell

School Superintendent Joel Boyd — who expected to receive 15 National Guardsmen to transport students in 7D vehicles — indicated the school bus driver shortage wasn’t unique to Gateway Cities like Lowell.

A recent survey found that 51% of respondents described their driver shortage as “severe” or “desperate.”

Locally, John Descouteaux, Lowell schools transportation director, said previously in his nearly three decades overseeing school transportation, he’d never seen such a crisis.

Over the years, school bus driver slots had been filled by retirees and younger people who had a few hours a day to earn some extra money. That demographic, Descouteaux explained, has disappeared.

He credited the Baker administration, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and NRT, the school department’s transportation company, for working cooperatively to meet the crisis.

Our state owes the National Guard a collective thank- you for all its members do, especially in times of domestic crisis resulting from national disasters, civil unrest or lack of schoolbus drivers.

The Massachusetts Army National Guard also happens to have the four oldest organizations in the Army National Guard serving within its ranks.

The 101st Engineer Battalion, the 101st Field Artillery Regiment, the 181st Infantry Regiment, and the 182nd Infantry Regiment trace their lineage to the North, South and East Regiments, which were formed by legislative act of the Massachusetts Bay General Court on Dec. 13, 1636. This date is recognized as the birthday of the National Guard.

These four organizations have served the commonwealth and the nation for more 385 years and have participated in nearly every American war from 1775 to the present.

Which means at a moment’s notice, they can be called on to intervene militarily in crises around the world, including the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

They’re the epitome of the citizen- soldier.

And for that, we all should be forever grateful for their service.