On a hot summer day in the Middle Eastern desert, Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers sanitize vehicles entering Kuwait from Iraq to help control the spread of COVID-19.
Soldiers under Task Force Spartan’s 135th Chemical Company have been tasked with cleaning vehicles and equipment owned or operated by United States government personnel and contractors coming into Kuwait from their Northern neighbor.
Using power spray equipment attached to Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, also known as HEMTTs, 135th Soldiers spray down vehicles to ensure they are free of COVID-19 which has menaced the Middle East, and the world, for the past several months.
“Task Force Spartan is here to assist and to open good lines of communication with our shared partner, the government of Kuwait,” said Capt. James Jean-Baptiste, a logistics officer with Task Force Spartan. “The task force will help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate any risks.”
2nd Lt. Tess Slattery, platoon leader for the 135th Chemical Companies 1st Platoon, said her unit was the first to do the mission and her Soldiers have really taken ownership of it.
“Our job is to sanitize vehicles coming out of Iraq,” said Slattery. “We’ve been out here for two months and had to deal with a couple of sandstorms, but my guys are doing great!”
This mission is a joint mission that takes close cooperation between U.S. and Kuwaiti personnel. The Soldiers of the 135th work closely with the Kuwaiti partners from Kuwaiti customs to sanitize the vehicles each day.
“We work six days a week and our workload is pretty full,” said Slattery. “If I wasn’t here or my platoon sergeant wasn’t here, I would be confident they [1st Platoon] would run the show.”
Task Force Spartan Shield Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Steven Ferrari, recently visited the team and awarded coins of excellence to Soldiers of the 135th for a job well done.
United States Army National Guard Soldiers serve their community both at home and abroad, preventing the spread of COVID-19 to partners and allies.
Date Taken: | 06.04.2020 |
Date Posted: | 06.04.2020 08:59 |
Story ID: | 371423 |
Location: | KW |
Web Views: | 84 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, CBRN Soldiers Sanitize Vehicles Against COVID-19, by SSG Trevor Cullen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.