Pa. National Guard supports federal COVID-19 response teams

Courtesy Photo | Brig. Gen. James McCormack, director of the joint staff, Pennsylvania National Guard, was activated as dual-status commander Dec. 31 to provide command and control of federal COVID-19 response teams who arrived in Pennsylvania recently.  

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, UNITED STATES

01.05.2022

Story by Brad Rhen 

Joint Force Headquarters - Pennsylvania National Guard

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – The Pennsylvania National Guard activated a dual-status commander Dec. 31 to provide command and control of federal COVID-19 response teams who arrived in Pennsylvania recently.

Brig. Gen. James McCormack, director of the joint staff, Pa. National Guard, will oversee an active-duty Air Force medical response team in York, Pa., and a medical assistance team in Scranton, Pa. These teams were sent by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the request of Gov. Tom Wolf.

“Pennsylvania National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have been responding to a wide variety of COVID-19 missions across the commonwealth since March 2020,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general. “These missions demonstrate the responsiveness and flexibility of our service members, who continually step up to serve their communities. I am grateful for the service and sacrifice of all our service members, their families and the employers who support them.”

The dual-status command concept allows a National Guard officer to command both federal and state troops responding to a domestic emergency.

Since the dual-status commander is a National Guard officer, it gives the governor the ability to control both state and federal troops – for example, Active Army and Army National Guard Soldiers – operating in their state.

In addition to this mission, the PNG continues operations in support of long-term care facilities across the commonwealth. Approximately 110 PNG service members were activated as of Jan. 4 to assist with staff shortages.

The staffing support teams are a combination of medical providers, medics and general-purpose personnel. The medical personnel assist with non-acute care of patients, such as checking vitals, while the general-purpose personnel assist with tasks such as delivering meals and cleaning.

Since the long-term care facility mission began in April 2020, the PNG has conducted about 140 staffing support missions and provided some form of assistance to more than 130 long-term care facilities. In all, PNG service members have worked more than 14,500 shifts.

• Date Taken: 01.05.2022
• Date Posted: 01.05.2022 13:03
• Story ID: 412492
• Location: FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US