Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Eduardo T Otero | 210324-N-KH151-0003 NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (Mar. 24, 2021) - Cmdr. Stacy Kwak; U.S....... read more read more
The quaint office had its door wide open. Bilingual voices from the hustle and bustle in the hallway outside came in through the threshold and filled the small space. Atop a desk, along the walls, and above the dual-monitors of a computer, a myriad of photos and mementos covered almost every square inch of the workplace. Some people might describe it as cluttered. Most would say it resembles a cozy family home.
Some of the items adorning this second home were reminders of the past: command patches, little dolls, a medal, a remembrance for a departed friend. But most of them were of a family: a husband and two children. Photo portraits – too many to count at a quick glance – sat on frames, were stuck against the wall and hung from the shelves above the desk. The four people frozen in time within these rectangular keepsakes were her family in a traditional sense, but to Cmdr. Stacy Kwak, director of Public Health Services of U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Rota, Spain, familial bonds extend further – much further.
“I have my home family and my work family surrounding me,” said Kwak.
A year ago, Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota’s host nation went into lockdown as a response to the emerging COVID-19 global pandemic. The lives of everyone in the community – along with the rest of the world – came to a sudden hiatus in the midst of the unprecedented health crisis. However, as the director of Public Health services on base – a directorate which observes the spread of disease or infection throughout the community – Kwak had been in the trenches months before, when news began to come out that a new virus was becoming a serious potential threat and was spreading.
“The rumblings…I remember it was around November when Wuhan started,” said Kwak.
Almost immediately, NAVSTA Rota and USNH Rota leadership went to work. Combining efforts and keeping track of the issue became the priority.
“They started spooling out their teams immediately and Capt. Andrew Archila, commanding officer of USNH Rota, was talking to me and asking me: ‘Brief the board, lets activate our hospital incident command system,’” said Kwak. “And so we started briefing in mid-January, I believe, on a daily basis of just where this was, where it was going, so that everybody was tracking all along how this pandemic was falling out.”
This began what would turn out to be a community effort lasting even to the day of this writing. Needless to say, Kwak had her work cut out for her. But she wasn’t alone.
“Honestly, the thing that stands out and warms my heart more than anything is the team,” said Kwak. “You hear ‘Navy family,’ and I saw it 100 percent here.”
What she describes as a Navy-family effort involved everyone in the NAVSTA Rota community and its more than 40 commands. In addition to base-level leadership, the tenant and operational commands were integral to the combined efforts.
“Tenant and operational command triads and their Ombudsman representatives demonstrated flexibility and put an emphasis on communication to stay abreast during constant change,” said Kwak. “They were able to put their mission first while keeping readiness and the support of family needs at the forefront.”
According to Kwak, Capt. David Baird, commanding officer of NAVSTA Rota, was a vital component of the family, providing communication bridging Department of Defense (DoD) and Spanish guidance for the local population to ensure that the entire base community was informed and involved throughout the process.
“I’ve been involved in other epidemics; they were slower to start: H1N1, West Nile Virus, Ebola and some other smaller epidemics that reached pandemic levels,” said Kwak. “But to see our chain of command…just really…I’ve never worked with such awesome COs before who were so forward-thinking and strategic-minded.”
When it came time to adapt to the community’s needs during the months that followed, the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) team, Navy Exchange (NEX), and the Commissary staff members were vital to the analysis and planning that led to safely reopening essential services aboard the base while protecting staff and patron safety.
“Their timely realignment of sanitation measures allowed for the provision of basic necessities, a sense of normalcy, and boosted morale,” said Kwak.
The galley crew, on their part, implemented increased force health protection measures while maintaining safe food handling, and distribution practices to ensure Sailors were fed.
MWR special events such as the Reverse Trick-or-Treat, Winter Wonderland and Eggsplosion were organized to promote morale across the community. Members of the family in charge of programs like MWR facility maintenance, the installation’s fitness program, the Navy Exchange and Commissary were also responsible for great support along the way, according to Kwak.
Another important contribution came from the Public Works Department, particularly with their work installing plexiglass shields across the installation to provide much needed safety for customers and staff members alike during day-to-day essential interactions.
“Seabees quickly realigned critical manpower, equipment, and supplies to build support structures to help in the fight against COVID-19,” said Kwak.
USO volunteers redesigned programs to prevent potential spread of COVID-19. Successful USO programs included command coffee carts, snacks and beverages stations at key unit events, and reopening the Air Terminal USO room. Often considered to be “the Gateway to the Mediterranean,” NAVSTA Rota plays a critical role when it comes to its air terminal.
“Lt. Cmdr. John Caldecutte, NAVSTA Rota’s air operations officer, Robert Speigner, air terminal manager, and the crew at the base air terminal implemented health screenings to ensure safe travel for passengers and crew,” said Kwak.
The air terminal team remained focused on customer service despite numerous passenger movement challenges during various COVID restrictions. These members of the family ensured customers and travelers had the most up-to-date information even though travel changes seemed to be occurring daily at times. The team stepped up in every way, not only assisting with departure from Spain but also researching and providing known requirements for transit stops and final destinations. The team managed to execute unprecedented screening measures while continuing to meet mission requirements. When exceptional requirements arose, the team worked with command leadership, offering the most viable options.
When it came to the children in our community, Kwak lauded the efforts of the David Glasgow Farragut (DGF) Schools staff.
“The staff at DGF worked nights and weekends to prepare for in-person and virtual education,” said Kwak. “Their dedication and planning successfully assured zero transmission at school.”
A big part of the family aboard NAVSTA Rota’s community is not even human, and our furry members of the family required care too. The veterinary clinic on base, which focuses on a wide aspect of support for the community besides caring for our pets, was able to highlight the importance of the One Health Initiative – a movement to forge co-equal, all-inclusive collaborations between physicians, osteopathic physicians, veterinarians, dentists, nurses, and other scientific-health and environmentally related disciplines through their contribution during the COVID-19 vaccine events.
“Army Capt. Jaime Hanley and Sgt. Angel Orriola-Diaz, Army veterinarians, established protocol to continue providing veterinary care for pets,” said Kwak. “Additionally, they were integral team members for the COVID-19 vaccine events.”
Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit (NEPMU) 7, despite having a small staff, successfully supported multiple rapid outbreaks in our Rota community to investigate and mitigate further spread of the disease. Preventive medicine technicians also worked countless hours assisting the hospital to ensure that lodging, food, childcare, and recreational establishments remained safe.
“NEPMU-7 provided operational unit sanitation support, assistance with contact tracing, and were integral team members for the COVID-19 vaccine events,” said Kwak.
And last but certainly not least is the USNH Rota Staff. According to Kwak, they served as advocates for active duty, government service, beneficiaries, retirees, contractors, and local national employees throughout Spain and the Andalusian Peninsula.
“Through three COVID-19 pandemic waves, they aligned updated scientific knowledge and DoD guidance on laboratory and testing procedures, restriction of movement, outbreak investigations, vaccinations, and treatment techniques to ensure world-class force preservation and community health protection,” said Kwak.
Hospital teams working at the laboratory, the COVID-19 vaccine administration team, contact tracing and outbreak investigations, ventilation, public health emergency office, public affairs and fleet liaisons coordinated their efforts throughout the past year – and still do to this day – in the interests of keeping everyone in the NAVSTA Rota family safe.
Most importantly the community who banded together when it was needed the most and exemplified what a true Navy family can be.
“We can't forget the NAVSTA Rota community,” said Kwak. “The extra efforts made by everyone in the community by increasing hand hygiene, wearing masks, staying home from work or keeping children at home when ill, to screening our families for COVID-19 signs and symptoms were all very important elements in preventing the spread of disease.”
After more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic is still prevalent on a global scale, though some would suggest that progress is being made. Vaccines have started to come out and have been administered, procedures and mitigation measures have solidified as we’ve gone along – and most importantly, at least in some places, people have come together in solidarity doing their part to successfully come out on the other side.
The effects of this global public health event will have ramifications for years to come, but through it all, the community at NAVSTA Rota – or the “Navy family” as Kwak likes to call them – have remained together and backed each other up every step of the way.
“That theme, Navy Family, shined through so much to me,” said Kwak. “Communication and family – it shows you – we did a great job here. I am very proud of how we have handled this as a Navy family.”
After three years of service in the community, on July 2021, Kwak is due to transfer from NAVSTA Rota. Around that time, people might see her on her way out to her next duty station – carrying boxes filled to the brim with her trinkets, photos and memories. All of them representing mainly one thing: the family that has become part of her life along the way.
And there is no reason to doubt that she will continue to gather many more of these keepsakes in the future: items that will, just like they did here, adorn the entirety of her workspace – atop her desk, along the walls, and above the dual-monitors of her computer. Some people would probably describe it as cluttered, but most will likely say it resembles a cozy family home.
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.10.2021 03:02 |
| Story ID: | 395990 |
| Location: | ES |
| Web Views: | 175 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Family You Choose: Rota’s Navy Family, by PO1 Eduardo T Otero, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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