New York National Guard Operational Update June 18, 2020

LATHAM, NY (06/18/2020) (readMedia)-- On Thursday, June 18, the New York National Guard has 2,959 personnel on the COVID-19 response mission across New York.

This includes 2,459 New York Army National Guard Soldiers and 353 New York Air National Guard Airmen. 147 members of the New York Guard (the State Defense Force) and New York Naval Militia are also mobilized for the mission in State Active Duty status.

Command and control of COVID-19 operations are conducted by two task forces.

Joint Task Force North is based at the Thompson Road Armory in Syracuse and oversees missions in upstate New York. Joint Task Force South is headquartered at the Lexington Avenue Armory in Manhattan and oversees missions on Long island, in New York City and the lower Hudson Valley.

The New York National Guard continues to coordinate with city and state officials for the readiness of the Javits Convention Center and conducts warehousing operations there.

Guard troops also continue to support access control at three potential alternate care sites on Long Island or Westchester that remain in a cold status.

The New York National Guard is assisting at five antibody testing sites. The sites are on hiatus until June 20. 13,649 antibody tests have been administered at the state run locations located at:

• Orange County Community College, Newburgh;

• Erie Community College - North Campus, Williamsville;

• Onondaga Community College, Syracuse;

• SEFCU Arena on the SUNY Albany Campus, Albany;

and Nassau County Community College in East Garden City.

The National Guard continues to support 15 drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites with administrative and logistical support, medical support at some sites and mask fit testing services. 2,595 tests were conducted at these sites on June 16.

Sites are located at:

• SUNY Stony Brook;

• Jones Beach State Park;

• Staten Island adjacent the Staten Island University Hospital;

• Glen Island State Park in Westchester County;

• The Anthony Wayne Service area in Rockland County;

• Lehman College and the Bay Plaza Mall in the Bronx;

• Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens;

• Linden Blvd., Brooklyn;

• SUNY Albany;

• Niagara County Community College in Sandborn, N.Y.;

• The Buffalo Sabres KeyBank Center parking lot in Buffalo;

• SUNY Binghamton;

• Griffiss International Airport, Rome;

and Monroe County Community College in Rochester.

Soldiers and Airmen are collecting samples and providing general-purpose support at the testing locations. 336,799 tests have been conducted at these locations.

The New York National Guard's 24th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team is currently conducting COVID-19 testing at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Brooklyn for staff and patients. This mission will conclude at the end of the month.

New York National Guard personnel continue food packaging and distribution in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan in New York City. Soldiers and Airmen have distributed 30,154,426 meals since beginning the mission. More than half a million meals, on average, are provided each day.

Similar food distribution missions continue in Westchester County with 168,001 meals distributed at five locations since the start of the mission.

One-time food distribution events have provided 3,000 meals in the Mohawk Valley. An event is set for June 19 in Fonda, N.Y.

In Chenango County, Soldiers have distributed 14,473 meals to senior citizens around the county.

New York Soldiers and Airmen continue conducting logistics missions, including warehousing and commodity distribution of medical supplies at five sites in the Hudson Valley, the Albany area, the Mohawk Valley, and New York City.

Hand sanitizer delivery to local governments is ongoing. A total of 87,596 gallons of sanitizer have been distributed in the lower Hudson Valley since the start of the mission.

Soldiers are operating phones for the New York City Division of Veterans Services. They are assisting in Operation Vet Check, in which veterans are contacted to see how they are doing or if they require assistance.11,599 calls have been made.

Soldiers are also assisting in staffing phones for a New York City initiative to provide air conditioners to seniors this summer and Soldiers are providing logistical support to the initiative.

New York National Guard Soldiers continue to provide administrative support at two New York City 911 call centers.

Soldiers and Airmen continue packaging COVID-19 test kits for the New York State Department of Health at the Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany. A total of 2,038,426 test kits have been assembled.

New York National Guard images continue to go up on DVIDS: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NYNG, and our NY National Guard Flickr site, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nyng.