Sailor overcomes COVID-19 twice, deploys to Boston to battle virus

Photo By Maj. Jennifer Pendleton | U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd class Rafal Kolodziej, a boatswain’s mate 2nd class assigned to Navy Cargo Handling Battalion-ONE, Williamsburg, Virginia, provides logistical support at the Hynes Convention Center COVID-19 Community Vaccine Center, Boston, Mass., April 19, 2021. U.S. service members from across the country are deployed in support of the Department of Defense federal vaccine response operations. U.S. Northern Command, through U.S. Army North, remains committed to providing continued, flexible DoD support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of the whole-of-government response to COVID-19. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jennifer Pendleton / 14th Public Affairs Detachment)  

BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES

04.16.2021

Story by Capt. Jennifer Pendleton 

Federal Vaccine Response

BOSTON – “Once bitten, twice shy” is an expression reserved for those who prefer to avoid reminders of negative experiences. However, one Williamsburg, Virginia-based U.S. Navy Sailor isn’t shy about battling COVID-19 after surviving two rounds with it.

For Petty Officer 2nd Class Rafal Kolodziej of the U.S. Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 1, the fight is personal. He tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in March of 2020 when cases first began to emerge among service members after recovering from fever, pneumonia, and headaches the month prior.

“I felt a little safer knowing I’d already been through COVID,” the boatswain's mate 2nd class said of his experience last year while assigned as an instructor at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois.

Unfortunately, for the Lublin, Poland native, COVID-19 proved to be a formidable adversary. Despite strict mitigation measures implemented by the Department of Defense in 2020, he fell victim to the virus again in November.

His second go-around with the disease was much different; this time, the infection manifested through a loss of sense of smell and taste. The sailor’s suspicions were confirmed following another test.

“It was scary,” Kolodjiez confessed. “So many people have been hospitalized, and so many have died already. I think of my father, who fought off cancer, and of all the vulnerable people out there. Not everyone is as lucky as me to survive.”

Thankfully, the sailor’s family have thus far, been spared from COVID-19, and he said he feels mostly recovered.

Despite these personal health setbacks, Kolodziej’s dedication to selfless service hasn’t faltered. Almost a year to the day since he was first diagnosed, he returned to duty and transferred to Williamsburg’s NCHB-1 in early March 2021. Within days of arriving at his new assignment, he would be deployed as a part of the DoD’s support mission to the Federal Emergency Management Agency-led whole-of-government COVID-19 vaccination effort.

The battalion has been working out of the Hynes Convention Center Community Vaccination Center in Boston for less than a month. In the short time they have been there, more than 100,000 vaccines have been administered to local Bostonians.

With the number of vaccinations hitting six figures, all of NHCB-1 was excited.

Kolodziej said, “We are really excited about this mission. We’re here for a really good purpose and feel like we are doing something positive for society.”

He also said he is grateful they can lend support to this important undertaking in Boston and is hopeful that even more people will sign up to be vaccinated.

• Date Taken: 04.16.2021
• Date Posted: 04.21.2021 11:49
• Story ID: 394293
• Location: BOSTON, MA, US
• Hometown: LUBIN, PL