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    Airmen Brings Diverse Cultural Experience to COVID Vaccination Mission

    Airmen Brings Diverse Cultural Experience to COVID Vaccination Mission

    Photo By Sgt. Hunter Garcia | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Deshaun Jones, an Airman assigned to the 6th Force Support...... read more read more

    ST. PAUL, MN, UNITED STATES

    04.24.2021

    Story by Capt. Joe Legros 

    Federal Vaccine Response

    ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – “Please pick your daughter up from school immediately. A student in her classroom tested positive for COVID.”

    Normally, this type of notification would pose no issue for U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Deshaun Jones, with the 6th Force Support Squadron based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. He would simply make arrangements with his military leadership and go get his daughter at school. It would be easy.

    “I know I’m not the only one to receive a text message like this,” said Jones. “But it was super ironic because I was a little busy at the time with another COVID item. We were minutes away from opening the doors to our vaccination site in St. Paul, Minnesota.”

    Despite being 1,500 miles away, Jones was able to coordinate his daughter’s pick-up from school. Then, he went to work with approximately 140 other Airmen from 24 bases across the country. Together, they opened the Community Vaccination Center (CVC) at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, and over 1,000 members of the community received vaccinations that day.
    It was day number one of operations. Since then, the St. Paul CVC has averaged 3,000 vaccinations per day.

    Over his 17 years in the Air Force, Jones has been on seven deployments prior to this mission. However, this is his first deployment within the U.S.

    “I knew Minnesota was along the northern U.S. border,” said Jones, “So, the first thing I did was find out what the temperature was going to be. That day it was 90 degrees in Tampa, but only 25 degrees in Minneapolis.”

    “I made sure to pack a lot of sweatpants!” Jones laughed.

    When he graduated high school, Jones worked on an assembly line for a car company for a short period of time. He was basically just waiting for something to pop up, not knowing what he wanted to do with his life. Then his mom gave him an ultimatum: go to college or join the military.

    “I really didn’t want to go to college at the time,” said Jones. “So I joined the Air Force. I had never been away from home before, but a few months later I was stationed in Misawa, Japan.”

    One reason Jones checked the weather prior to deploying to Minnesota was due to this early experience living in Japan.

    “Eight months out of the year, there was snow on the ground,” shared Jones. “I was totally unprepared for that after growing up in Los Angeles.”

    “During my time off, I definitely found time to enjoy snowboarding in Japan,” he added.

    The current vaccination mission is not the first time his military career has afforded Jones the opportunity to interact with the community.

    “One of the major things we did in Japan was something called ‘friendship festivals,’” shared Jones. “U.S. Airmen were encouraged to get involved in the local Japanese community. We would share with locals as we admired the cherry blossoms of northern Japan. Entire city blocks were sectioned off so we could all be together celebrating new seasons and getting to know the culture.”

    After two years in Japan, Jones moved to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. He has been there for last 15 years.

    “Some of the buildings on base are named after people who have served at MacDill,” said Jones. “I’ve been stationed there so many years that I actually know some of those people!”

    Similar to his experience in Japan, MacDill offered Jones the chance for additional community involvement. For several years, he has been involved with the Wounded Warrior project and the Warrior Games together with service members from the Army.

    The Warrior Games has been an annual event since 2010, allowing wounded, sick, or injured service members to compete in various adaptive sports. Hundreds of athletes participate every year, including those from other countries, in events such as wheelchair basketball, rugby and archery.

    “Specifically, I assisted with logistics for the Warrior Games,” said Jones. “I worked with U.S. Southern Command to make sure the athletes were taken care of. I also helped coordinate visits from VIPs like senators or actors who wanted to meet the athletes.”

    His time in Japan and Florida provided valuable experience to Jones in preparation for the current vaccination mission. In particular, the diversity of culture is an ongoing theme in his military career and is something that appeals to him.

    “I’ve lived in California and Florida, both the west coast and east coast of the U.S.,” said Jones. “The mentality in those areas is very different from the Midwest Minnesota mindset. They’re more laid back here; down-to-earth. I really enjoy interacting with the community here.”

    Compared to other deployments where there’s an element of danger being overseas, Jones expressed that he manages to keep things light and fun while on this mission.

    “I’ll ask most people if they’re excited about getting the vaccine,” Jones shared. “Many just look at me with a confused expression. Others will joke with me and say, ‘How can I get excited about a needle going in my arm?’”

    “There’s definitely something special to me about getting involved in a community, having that interaction with people,” said Jones. “It’s very different and refreshing versus my overseas deployments.”
    A major focus of establishing the St. Paul CVC was to make vaccinations available to those segments of the population who were disproportionately impacted by COVID. Not only are translators on-hand to assist, there is also a drive-thru lane available to those with disabilities and mobility issues.

    “It’s interesting to me,” said Jones. “Even muscle-bound guys with full-sleeve arm tattoos and piercings can be scared of needles. But we try our best to make everyone feel comfortable.”,

    As Jones directed community members to the registration table, he expressed gratitude to be part of the vaccination effort. Although the site is relatively new, he took some time to reflect on their accomplishments thus far.

    “We just hit our 25,000th vaccination at the St. Paul CVC,” shared Jones. “And that’s after only one week of being open. I know milestones like this are happening all over the country.”

    He added, “It feels great to know that I’m part of a nationwide effort to help get far away from the days of isolation and quarantine.”

    Jones and his fellow Airmen continue to support the St. Paul community at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of the whole-of-government response to COVID-19. The CVC started full operations on April 14 and is scheduled to offer vaccinations for an eight-week period.

    “I’m happy to help us all get back to normal,” Jones concluded.

    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.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.24.2021
    Date Posted: 04.28.2021 13:44
    Story ID: 394939
    Location: ST. PAUL, MN, US
    Hometown: LOS ANGELES, CA, US
    Hometown: MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, FL, US

    Web Views: 88
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN