Photo By Sgt. Michael Schwenk | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Armando Vasquez, 42nd Regional Support Group, stands for a...... read more read more
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Always ready, always there: following the successful assistance with the 2020 primary and
general elections, the New Jersey National Guard fulfilled a request by the State Board of
Elections for the 2021 New Jersey state primary. On June 8, 2021, more than 600 Citizen-
Soldiers and Citizen-Airmen mobilized again, serving 15 counties by assisting the civilian poll
workers and county staff.
Somerset County alone has 44 Guardsmen from three units providing support to 24 different
polling sites throughout the county.
In Basking Ridge, Capt. Gustavo Limo, commander of the 50th Financial Management Support
Unit, is assisting local authorities at the Hills Recreation Center.
“The unit leaders have put an enormous amount of time into ensuring our Soldiers are trained
and ready to assist in the elections,” said Limo. “We have gone through additional training led
by the Somerset County Board of Elections.”
“Today I was able to observe the voting process from the other side of the voting booth,” said
Staff Sgt. Armando Vasquez, a public affairs specialist with the 42nd Regional Support Group.
“Participating in this mission made me appreciate and understand better one of our most
treasured civic duties: voting for a better government.”
Since returning home from his deployment to Southwest Asia from July 2020 to March 2021,
this is Vasquez’s first mission assisting local authorities. “Working with the volunteers is going
great,” said Vasquez. “Most are younger and are the future voters, and it’s nice to see them
participate in the voting process.”
For more than 15 months, Soldiers and Airmen of the New Jersey National Guard have
supported local and state authorities on missions including statewide COVID-19 field medical
stations, testing sites, and vaccination sites; as well as processing mail-in ballots, responding to
civil disturbance, and providing inauguration support.
“It's been a busy year for the National Guard,” said Limo. “As packed as our involvement has
been, this is why we signed up for the National Guard, to serve our county and our state.”
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2021 18:38 |
| Story ID: | 398442 |
| Location: | BASKING RIDGE, NJ, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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