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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – U.S. Army Soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade from Fort Carson Colorado, and 502nd Special Troops Battalion from Fort Hood, Texas, continue to work together to rapidly in-process troops arriving here to assist in the nationwide COVID-19 response.
U.S. Northern Command, through U.S. Army North, is providing military support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help communities in need. For the most up to date information on COVID-19 and the military’s response visit https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus/.
There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into a military unit deploying to a new area. That's where someone like U.S. Army Maj. Susan Fuchs, a material management chief with the 4th Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade, and her team come into play. They have been running Joint Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash, and are ready to conduct the same mission at any location.
“As people arrive, either commercial or military air, we set up to make sure that they're properly screened and in-processed,” said Fuchs. “We track their movements and we're accountable for them until their onward movement to their final destination.”
The COVID-19 response has required additions to the standard list of briefings and screenings. When Maj. Fuchs participated in the process for overseas deployments, she said there were briefings about the foreign country, but for this mission they have swapped those out for a focus on health and safety.
“We would have to talk about being culturally aware in the country that you're going to, the do's and don'ts of that country,” said Fuchs. “In the past, we didn't have to explain about social distancing, wearing masks, or washing hands, so that's added.”
The team is mobile, heading to any location where troops are arriving. The can also expand or contract depending on the number of personnel entering the area, having received everything from single augmentees to a unit of 192.
“We've been able to push out to separate locations in order to process individuals, to streamline it,” said Fuchs, “We come to the airport, take over a section of the airport, and then we actually run the through the process here.”
Every Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine needs to be accounted for, screened, and briefed, but at the same time, they came to do a mission, so it needs to happen quickly. One of the systems they use to easily track who is entering the area is the Tactical Personnel System. Rather than having everyone sit down to fill out paperwork, the team can get the vital information they need from a quick scan of a Common Access Card.
“The tactical personnel system is a great way to keep accountability,” said Spc. Ken Truong, a human resources specialist with the 502nd STB. “It's a system that scans through CACs and puts the information in a spreadsheet automatically.”
Truong has only been in the U.S. Army for two years, and this is his first big mission. He was excited to be pushed out, but was surprised at how fast it all happened.
“It was really surprising because it was one day notice, and the next day we're on the plane!” said Truong. “It's an honor to be able to work and help out during this pandemic.”
Another member of the team is Pvt. James Fannin, another human resources specialist with the 502nd STB. Like Truong, he is a new Soldier, but has less than a year in the force. Together the two of them have welcomed and scanned every military member into the Seattle area.
“I feel like we're helping out making things a little bit easier for people,” said Fannin. “We make sure we have the accountability for everyone that's here.”
And while he says that things can get a little stressful, he learned great coping skills in high school and college sports.
“Things on the football field help with the Army,” said Fannin. “I approach it like the state championship. You just got to just keep going, just keep fighting to get to that goal, which is to have COVID-19 gone, and you return home and celebrate.”
Maj. Fuchs and her team do not know what the future of this mission holds. They are ready to move to a new location when there is a need, and have established a process in Washington that can be replicated wherever they go.
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2020 21:15 |
| Story ID: | 367051 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 115 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JRSOI to fight COVID-19, by LTC Brandon Mace, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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