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NEW YORK – When COVID-19 first emerged in the United States, the Navy turned to the community most poised to serve America’s citizens: Navy Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers.
Standing on New York City’s Pier 90 alongside city government officials, Navy Reserve Vice Admiral John Mustin welcomed Military Sealift Command’s USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) as it arrived. NEPLO officers were instrumental in coordinating the use of Navy medical assets during the pandemic, including the Comfort, a Mercy-class hospital ship.
“While our lives may look drastically different than they did even a month ago, the circumstances for these men and women are no exception,” said Mustin, speaking on March 30, 2020, referring to the ship’s newly arrived crewmembers.
“They left their families during this uncertain time in our nation’s history knowing that they can make a difference. That is what the US Navy does, and this is an example of Americans helping their fellow men.”
The Navy’s role as an emergency responder was certainly not a new one. Even so, most disaster response missions are overseas. This was the Navy’s chance to help its American citizens.
The NEPLO Program has around 130 officers trained in Defense Support of Civil Authorities. There is not an active-duty equivalent, and NEPLOs only exist in the Navy Reserve.
“When a community is in a state of emergency and the Navy is called upon to help, it is a NEPLO that the Navy sends forward,” said Navy Reserve Capt. John Saccomando, the commanding officer of the NEPLO program. “Our NEPLOs are trained to go into emergency scenarios and help the civil authorities appropriately leverage the military resources available to them.”
Service as a NEPLO Means Serving Your Own Community
The drumbeat for NEPLOs has always differed from traditional Reservists. NEPLOs don’t plan their drills or annual training like most of the Navy Reserve. Instead, they are on standby — waiting to respond to emergencies.
When the pandemic struck, most Reservists found their Navy Reserve battle rhythm disrupted.
NEPLOs found their skill set in high demand.
During the first year of COVID-19 shutdowns, more than 80 NEPLOs went on orders to support everything from Federal Emergency Management Agency regional headquarters, to working with emergency officials at the state level. NEPLOs also served as the major Department of Defense command and control nodes at U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Army North Command, U.S. Navy North Command and the U.S. Navy Installations Command.
Their success relies on a timely response during an emergency, so many NEPLOs are assigned to a nearby FEMA region. Proximity allows NEPLOs to quickly respond, but it also means they often serve the same communities in which they live.
NEPLOs Responded to the Pandemic Immediately
Among the NEPLOs who mobilized in 2020 was Navy Reserve Capt. Michael Flatley, a NEPLO since 2017. Just 10 days after a presidential declaration of a state of emergency due to the pandemic, Flatley supported Defense Support of Civil Authorities across five FEMA regions while interfacing daily with the Vermont Emergency Management Services.
“Like everybody there, I was trying to better understand what the threat was, how to mitigate it and how to get on top of the national security risk we were facing,” said Flatley.
A benefit of NEPLO duty is that most NEPLOs serve the people in their own geographic area, and this was not far from true considering Flatley lives in East Hampton, Connecticut.
Like other NEPLOs serving that early COVID mission, Flatley mobilized for about 90 days, a three-month mission says he couldn’t accomplish alone.
“Two things a Navy reservist needs to be successful on a mobilization are a supportive employer and a supportive family,” said Flatley. “Thankfully, I’m fortunate enough to have been blessed with both.”
New England and the New York tri-state area seemed to be hardest hit with COVID-19 in spring 2020. NEPLO support mirrored that need.
More than a third of COVID mission orders supported communities and commands in Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. Those 31 NEPLOs averaged a month on orders.
There were 14 NEPLOs on orders in Navy Region Southeast, averaging around 40 days each.
Back to the Big Apple
A New York City nurse was the first in the U.S. to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.
Earlier comments from Mustin’s pierside press conference seemed to telegraph the support NEPLOs would provide in the winter and spring of 2021.
Giving a message for New Yorkers, Mustin previously said, “Now your Navy has returned and we are with you, committed in this fight. Every Sailor, every Marine and every civilian on this mission stands proudly. Stands ready to serve the people of New York City. We have not yet begun to fight, and we will not yet give up this ship.”
Since the COVID-19 winter mission began, 42 NEPLOs have logged more a month on orders. Many NEPLOs are at federal vaccination sites, working under the U.S. Northern Command through the U.S. Army North.
Flatley returned for another mobilization in February, this time to support the federally-run Community Vaccination Center Site at York College in Queens, New York through May.
“My second mobilization was more like going on the offensive against the enemy,” said Flatley. “It was wonderful to be able to do something proactive instead of reactive — namely, taking the fight to the enemy in the form of the vaccine.”
Flatley said being in such familiar surroundings was both a comforting and slightly funny feeling.
“I actually grew up on Long Island, near the vaccination site, about five miles away,” said Flatley. “I never thought one day I’d be deploying to Jamaica, Queens. Honestly, it feels very gratifying. We had about 3,000 opportunities a day to make a good impression about the military to the people in this community.” Throughout the total mission, the York Site CVC administered vaccinations to over 223,000 people within the community — numbers Flatley put into immediate and sobering perspective.
“Statistically speaking, some of those people would have likely died without the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Flatley. “We’ll never know exactly who we saved, but our efforts meant children wouldn’t have to bury their parents, people reaching their adult years would get the chance to marry and have kids of their own, and grandparents would have more time to spend with their families. That’s extraordinarily gratifying.”
Flatley said the opportunity to turn the tide against the COVID-19 pandemic as a NEPLO officer is a mission he'll remember for years to come.
“In life, we don’t choose our callings, we choose how to answer them,” said Flatley. “I think that’s one of the beautiful things about the Navy Reserve. It’s an adventure of a different sort.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.22.2021 06:42 |
| Story ID: | 399064 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Taking the Fight to COVID: NEPLO Sailors Lead the Way, by CPO Scott Wichmann, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
