At the ready: Oregon State Defense Force gives Mathews another way to serve

By Dixon Bledsoe

Sleep well tonight, knowing that a barber is keeping Oregon safe. Barber?

Darrel Mathews, the Silverton barber who with his wife, Marion, owns and operates Bangs and Burns Barber and Salon, is a retired Navy chief petty officer radioman. One day, he might be helping a customer with a new hair cut, and the next he could be serving as the liaison officer between the Marion County Emergency Operations Center and the state Office of Emergency Management in a crisis.

The Oregon State Defense Force is many things. The group is part of the Oregon Military Department and a viable part of the state’s military structure. Its members are commissioned and non-commissioned officers serving the state as a National Guard reserve force. They are state troops, meaning they may be deployed only within the state of Oregon, as opposed to the Air and Army National Guard whose members have a dual federal and state status.

The mission is to help Oregon communities during emergencies, providing management liaison assistance and backup communication to the military. Members can be ordered to active duty by the governor or the adjutant general. Their focus is to make a contribution to their communities and state during times of crisis – man-made or natural.

“I have been career military since graduating from high school in 1960, retiring in 1980 from active duty with the Navy,” Mathews said. “I missed it and it gives me an opportunity to both give back to my community and to socialize with the spit-shined boots crowd I enjoyed so much.”

He has not been called upon yet for an emergency, but has received advanced training with the Incident Command System and was asked to join Silverton’s emergency management committee by Police Chief Rick Lewis. “The ICS has given us a whole new language and hierarchy for a standardized, choreographed response to emergencies regardless of where they take place. This came about as a response to the communication breakdowns during the Hurricane Katrina disaster,” Matready to hews said.

The time commitment is not overwhelming. Members are expected to attend one four to six-hour training session each month, and two training weekends per year. Other requirements are that they have prior service, the ability to work as a team and think and act in a crisis situation, and enjoy the customs, values, and courtesies of the military.

Current needs include individuals with communication and emergency service backgrounds. Former Oregon National Guard personnel are encouraged to apply, even if they have never cut hair and the uniform fits a little more snugly.