Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Kelsey Eades | TAMUNING, Guam (April 20, 2020) Lt. Daniel Brown, assigned to Commander, Submarine...... read more read more
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A white corded phone rings in the command center. Lt. Daniel Brown, the administration officer assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron 15 (CSS-15), from West Frankfort, Illinois, answers it with a greeting, “Command center, this is Lt. Brown.”
The room is quiet as Brown replies on the phone, “Yes, we can do that for you.”
He hangs up the phone while turning to address his shipmates saying, “I need someone to run some creamer and sugar up to one of the rooms.”
Brown, along with multiple other Sailors assigned to CSS-15, is charged with operating one of the command centers responsible for supervising a Government of Guam and military-approved hotel. The hotel is currently accommodating Sailors assigned to aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) who have tested negative for COVID-19 and are asymptomatic.
The CSS-15 Sailor’s mission at the hotel is to support Theodore Roosevelt Sailors during a 14-day quarantine period. Some of their duties include cleaning, delivering meals and overseeing the coordination of supporting forces such as hospital corpsmen and chaplains for health and wellness checks, and Marine and Air Force personnel for security.
“All of these forces, Marine, Air Force, and Navy, have come together to help our shipmates,” said Brown. “When possible, we try to lift the morale and tend to the welfare of our Sailors by coordinating care packages, Navy Exchange orders, and to seeing that their needs are met, no matter how simple, such as delivering coffee and creamer to their rooms.”
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic with a strict stay-at-home and social distancing policy, Brown’s mission to the Navy and the submarines in and around Guam does not stop. On top of his duties at the hotel, he continues to oversee the administration department at CSS-15 where mission readiness for the squadron and subordinate submarine commands is their top priority.
“In-between my days on watch at the hotel, I stop by the squadron or telework from home to continue taking care of our submariners administratively,” said Brown. “We’re continuing our regular duties like checking in and processing Sailors, to difficulties in pay and allowances. Our duties have also expanded during this pandemic to include coordination of quarantining newly arriving Sailors and contractors, to assure they’re healthy to assist in the submarine force mission.”
On the other side of the island, in a small white room with the smell of disinfectant in the air, is Amanda Brown, a medical assistant at U.S. Naval Hospital Guam (NHG), from Cheyenne, Wyoming. “Please take a seat, Sailor,” says Brown as she grabs a clear, glass vial used to collect blood samples.
Brown is one of the essential medical personnel helping to maintain medical readiness in Guam’s military forces at NHG. Though not seen on the front lines fighting COVID-19, Brown is helping to assure the fleet and ground forces are mission ready through conducting blood draws, N95 mask fittings, periodic health assessments, and separation to deployment physicals.
“Our job is not one that is seen in the light of COVID-19 efforts here in Guam,” said Brown. “We’re on the sidelines evaluating the individual medical readiness of the service members, making sure that they can stay in the fight.”
For five days a week, Brown continues to attend her job in supporting the U.S. military forces, deployed or stationed, on Guam. On top of her regular duties as a medical assistant, Brown has taken on the role of caring for those who need to self-isolate due to travel or a sickness due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts. She supports her team by conducting wellness calls for each person.
“Another layer in my duties would be assisting with wellness checks for the preventative medicine department,” said Brown. “After a military member or family member stops by the influenza-like illness clinics outside, they may need to quarantine or self-isolate. I come into the picture when we need to check on their health and symptoms by giving them a wellness call.”
These two people, a submariner and a medical assistant, not only have the similarities of a last name and assist with medical readiness for the island’s military forces, but they are also husband and wife. They are an essential team in combating COVID-19 on Guam.
“There’s been a lot of changes in our life since COVID-19 has come to the island,” said Amanda Brown. “We’ve taken on more roles in our jobs, but we want to make sure to take care of our family at home as well.”
With two kids at home, ages 15 and 10, Daniel and Amanda have made sure that their lives at home are just as fulfilling as their lives at work.
“Like any other family, we make sure that our kids are active in online school and make the most out of their days while we have been assigned these essential duties on top of our everyday jobs,” said Daniel Brown. “We’ve used this as an opportunity to let our kids become more creative with their time and self-sufficient in their life.”
With a new normal set in their work and at home, the Brown family continues to make extreme strides in attending to their duties at work, assisting in the fight against COVID-19 and nourishing a healthy family life.
CSS-15 is located at Polaris Point, Naval Base Guam in Piti, Guam, and consists of four Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines. The squadron staff is responsible for providing training, material and personnel readiness support to these commands. Also based out of Naval Base Guam are submarine tenders USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) and USS Frank Cable (AS 40). The submarines and tenders are maintained as part of the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed submarine force and are readily capable of meeting global operational requirements.
For more news from Commander, Submarine Squadron 15, visit the official CSS-15 website at http://www.csp.navy.mil/css15 and official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SubmarineSquadron15/.
NHG's mission is to provide world class health services in support of our nation's military mission - anytime, anywhere.
For more information on Naval Hospital Guam, visit the official website at https://www.med.navy.mil/sites/usnhguam/Pages/default.aspx and official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USNHGUAM/.
Are you interested in taking orders to Guam? Want to learn more about the duty station and life on our island? For more information, check out the ‘Go Guam!’ website at http://www.csp.navy.mil/go-guam/ and download the ‘1st Fifteen’ checklist.
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2020 17:43 |
| Story ID: | 368025 |
| Location: | TAMUNING, GU |
| Hometown: | CHEYENNE, WY, US |
| Hometown: | WEST FRANKFORT, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 452 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, CSS-15 Family Teams Up To Combat COVID-19, by PO1 Kelsey Eades, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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