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JACKSONVILLE, Florida– From across America, U.S. Navy Sailors deployed to Jacksonville, Florida, to support the federal vaccination effort during the nation’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic for a mission that began March 3, 2021.
These 139 Sailors help distribute and provide vaccines to Jacksonville and Florida community members at the state-run, federally-supported Community Vaccination Center.
To bring this many Sailors together in a relatively short time, logistics and supplies are crucial to the success of the mission. U.S. Navy Lt. Trevor Torres, deployment supply officer, and U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Shane Mitchell, chief logistics specialist, are the two key figures that make this process look easy and effortless.
In partnership with Florida Department of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency staff and volunteers, Torres and Mitchell’s team of 48 non-medical Sailors, from many far corners of the country, enables a variety of logistics operations.
Some of those operations involve the daily setup, supplies distribution, and logistical support. Another 91 medical Sailors, stationed locally at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, provide the backbone of this federal vaccination effort. They prepare and administer the vaccines to the community members day in and out.
“As logisticians, the hardest part was the beginning,” said Mitchell. “We had the challenge of bringing everybody from around the country, arranging for their transportation, lodging, and meals so that they were set up for success on this deployment.”
Behind the scenes of the mission, Torres tracks and meets all the necessary requirements to carry out daily tasks, such as transportation to and from the CVC, acquire nutritious meals throughout the day, and all lodging and laundry needs.
“Logistics is crucial to a mission like this,” said Torres. “I was very lucky to have a great team around me to get this mission together, and once everything was set in place, the operation just ran smooth and efficient.”
Mitchell makes sure supplies and personnel are where they are supposed to be. To him, this experience is unlike any other.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of deployment,” said Mitchell. “This is something Sailors will look back one day and say, ‘I had a part in helping to vaccinate America during the COVID-19 pandemic.’”
U.S. Northern Command, through U.S. Army North, remains committed to providing continued, flexible Department of Defense support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of the whole-of-government response to COVID-19.
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2021 11:54 |
| Story ID: | 392464 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Logistics Team Supports Vaccination Center, by PO2 Griffin Kersting, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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