No Result
View All Results
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Results
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
Reserve & National Guard

National Guard leaders detail COVID-19 response amid omicron surge

Kari Williams
by Kari Williams
January 13, 2022
omicron

Sgt. Ethan Hart, a team leader assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, pushes a resident down the hall at Loretto Health and Rehab in Syracuse, NY, Dec. 20. Photo by Staff Sgt. Alexander Rector

National Guardsmen deployed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 amid the omicron surge who have direct contact with the public are required to be fully vaccinated against the virus, according to leaders on a media roundtable.

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said during the Thursday morning call that more than 15,200 Guard members across 49 states and territories are contributing to efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Ohio currently has the highest number of Guard members supporting the COVID-19 mission across all states and territories, Hokanson said.

Nearly 2,500 Ohio guardsmen are currently activated, with almost 2,300 deployed to hospitals, according to Army Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr., adjutant general of the Ohio National Guard.

“[Our] primary function is to ensure that we help hospitals meet capacity as they’re being overrun by the perfect storm,” Harris said, citing the combination of delta and omicron variants of the novel coronavirus.

The Guard, according to Harris, deployed medical and nonmedical teams to help area hospitals expand their capacity and assist in running testing sites.

RELATED: DOD authorizes awards for COVID-19 related service

“Medical teams are working side by side with clinical staff,” Harris said.

Nonmedical teams are providing environmental services, patient transport and conducting general administrative tasks, according to Harris.

Meanwhile, testing, according to Harris, is “probably one of the greatest ways” the Guard has helped the medical community extend its capacity. Some sites, he said, “are running over 1,000 people a day.”

Master Sgt. Bob Stephens said the testing facility that opened Jan. 3, in cooperation with Ohio State University, started out testing 291 people. As of Wednesday, it had administered 1,018 in eight hours.

“So numbers are going up. People testing is going up. And it’s all by appointment only at this certain facility,” Stephens said. “So that many people with appointments, it’s pretty serious.”

Harris said that his guardsmen who interact with patients and work at testing facilities must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. While some partially vaccinated guardsmen are on COVID-19 missions, they do not have direct contact with the public.

In New York, nearly 1,600 soldiers and airmen are supporting COVID-19 operations, according to Army Brig. Gen. Isabel Rivera Smith, director of joint staff of the New

York National Guard. At its height, the New York National Guard had 3,600 service members on duty.

In December, the Guard was asked to train up to 400 members as emergency-certified  medical technicians. The first class began Jan. 5, and those guardsmen are expected to be certified “as early as February,” Smith said. Their certification will be valid for three years.

Nine more classes are planned statewide starting this month and continuing into February, she said.

Soldiers and airmen who aren’t fully vaccinated are not on the COVID-19 mission, according to Smith. She said about 99% of the state’s Air National Guard is fully vaccinated, compared to roughly 83% of the Army National Guard, which has a June 30 vaccination deadline.

Air Force Col. Michael J. Bruno, chief of the joint staff for Joint Force Headquarters of the Colorado National Guard, said his guardsmen have been involved in operations, planning and logistics support, as well as providing testing.

The Guard has been the lead agency for vaccine distribution in Colorado and has added 200 service members among 33 locations to counter the omicron surge, according to Bruno.

Colorado guardsmen began providing support at long-term care facilities in November 2020, and with the most recent surge in cases, now have 20 Army units and nine Air Force squadrons supporting eight facilities across the state, Bruno said. 

The Guard also has partnered with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, through which nonmedical guardsmen are receiving training to become qualified medication-administration personnel and temporary nurses aides. Each requires 16 hours of training.

DiProfio said only those who are fully vaccinated can join the task force in Colorado.

For more information about the National Guard’s COVID-19 response, visit the Guard’s website

Read comments
Tags: Colorado National GuardCOVID-19National GuardNew York National guardOhio National GuardOmicron
Kari Williams

Kari Williams

Kari Williams was the associate editor for AmeriForce Media from September 2021 to September 2023. She has more than a decade of experience in the journalism industry across print, digital and social media platforms throughout the Midwest. Kari has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mass communications from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Related Posts

Task Force Rattlesnake members pulled from LA mission to battle state’s wildfires

by Maggie BenZvi
2 weeks ago
0
california national guard deployment los angeles

Specialized crew members from the California National Guard were rerouted last week from Los Angeles to assist the state in...

Read more

Marine Reserve plans expansive mobilization exercises to prepare for potential large-scale combat

by Maggie BenZvi
1 month ago
0
marine forces reserve training

This past April, at the Modern Day Marine Expo, Marine Forces Reserve Command announced that 2026 would be the start...

Read more

Indiana National Guard takes pride in decades-long involvement with Indy 500

by Kari Williams
2 months ago
0
indy 500

Before they were playing “Taps” and marching down pit lane, Indiana National Guard members assumed the role of “Yellow Shirts”...

Read more

Project 33, National Memorial Day Concert to honor Staff Sgt. Michael Simpson

by Katie McCarthy
2 months ago
0
staff sgt. michael simpson, memorial day

Army Staff Sgt. Michael "Mike" Simpson defied expectations. While the U.S. Army Green Berets are known as "quiet professionals," Mike...

Read more

Tennessee Guardsmen named 2025 USO National Guard Members of the Year

by Maggie BenZvi
2 months ago
0
2025 USO Nation Guard Members of the Year

On the morning of Sept. 27, 2024, Spc. Brandon Moore of the Tennessee National Guard grabbed the go-bag his father...

Read more

Affordable, light, autonomous: Modern Day Marine 2025 positions the Corps for the next fight

by Jenna Biter
2 months ago
0
modern day marine

WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps’ highest-ranking officer closed Modern Day Marine 2025 by asking industry for technologies that keep Marines...

Read more

Let's get social

The RNG Drill

News delivered directly to your inbox

Let's connect!

ABOUT US

  • OUR STORY
  • OUR TEAM
  • OUR WRITERS

MAGAZINE

  • GET PRINT
  • GET DIGITAL
  • GET THE NEWSLETTER

ADVERTISE

  • GET OUR MEDIA KIT
  • CFC/NONPROFITS

SUBMISSIONS

  • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
  • PITCH US

Never miss out on the latest stories.

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

© 2023 Reserve & National Guard by U.S. Military Publishing. Privacy Policy | Terms | Site by Swiss Commerce

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

No Result
View All Results
  • NEWS
  • YOUR CAREER
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • RECRUITING & RETENTION
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • TRANSITION
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • PARENTING
  • OFF DUTY
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • TRAVEL
  • HEALTH
    • FITNESS
    • MEDICINE
    • MENTAL HEALTH
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
  • HISTORY
  • MONEY
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • BENEFITS
  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
    • GET THE NEWSLETTER
  • ABOUT US
    • MEET OUR TEAM
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • PITCH US
    • CONTACT

© 2025 Reserve & National Guard by U.S. Military Publishing. Site by SCBW

No Result
View All Results
  • NEWS
  • YOUR CAREER
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • RECRUITING & RETENTION
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • TRANSITION
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • PARENTING
  • OFF DUTY
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • TRAVEL
  • HEALTH
    • FITNESS
    • MEDICINE
    • MENTAL HEALTH
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
  • HISTORY
  • MONEY
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • BENEFITS
  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
    • GET THE NEWSLETTER
  • ABOUT US
    • MEET OUR TEAM
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • PITCH US
    • CONTACT

© 2025 Reserve & National Guard by U.S. Military Publishing. Site by SCBW