New York National Guard Operational Update for April 22, 2020

LATHAM, NY (04/22/2020) (readMedia)-- On Tuesday, April 21, the New York National Guard has 3,630 personnel on mission across the state.

This includes 3,003 New York Army National Guard Soldiers and 465 Air National Guard Airmen. Members of the New York Guard (State Defense Force), and New York Naval Militia are also mobilized for the mission.

Six Joint Task Forces are operating on Long Island, New York City, the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Syracuse and Buffalo to support state and local governments. A Dual Status Command Task Force under the command of Brig. Gen. Michel Natali, the Assistant Adjutant General, Army, leads efforts to employ active and National Guard military resources in New York City.

The Dual Status Command is supporting 2,700 military and civilian medical staff working at Javits and in New York City hospitals. U.S. Army Soldiers of the 44th Medical Brigade are providing staffing at the Javits New York Medical Station. Additional medical staff from the U.S. Army Reserve, the Navy Reserve, the Air Force and the Civilian Medical Reserve Corps are also working at the alternative care site.

More than 1,044 patients have been treated at the Javits New York Medical Station.

New York National Guard members continue to manage the Javits site as the unified command post for the multi-agency response.

New York Air National Guard Pararescue Airmen, who are trained as emergency medical technicians, from New York's 106th Rescue Wing, are also assisting in city hospitals.

The New York National Guard is supporting the alternate care facility at the South Beach Psychiatric Center on Staten Island. Additional forces are providing support at three other potential alternate care sites on Long Island or Westchester.

The New York National Guard continues to support 10 drive-thru testing sites. A total of 6,388 appointments were conducted on April 20.

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, Brooklyn;

And at SUNY Albany in Albany.

Soldiers and Airmen are collecting samples and providing general-purpose support at the testing locations.

National Guard personnel continue food packaging and distribution today in the Bronx, Yonkers, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan in New York City, providing 139,170 meals on April 20. Soldiers have distributed 1,738,901 meals.

Similar missions resume today in Westchester County, where Guardsmen provided 73,569 meal packages and Albany County where 1,964 meals have been delivered to quarantined residents or picked up as of April 20.

Soldiers helping to process and ship goods at the regional food bank in Schenectady, N.Y., delivered 259 meals April 20. A similar food distribution mission commenced in Chenango County on April 21. An additional food support mission will begin on April 24 in Montgomery County.

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

Members of the 719th Transportation Company also delivered three total pallets of medical supplies and PPE April 20 to the Buffalo, New Rochelle, and Islip healthcare facilities.

Hand sanitizer delivery continues to 16 locations today. On April 20, 179 gallons were distributed to 10 locations in the lower Hudson Valley. A total of 37,159 gallons of sanitizer have been sent to local governments.

The National Guard continues to provide logistics support to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City.

National Guard personnel are working with members of the Medical Examiner's Office to assist in the dignified removal of human remains when required. Soldiers assigned to the active Army's 54th Quartermaster Company are also providing staff assistance to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on New York City. Soldiers from a number of units are conducting this mission under the control of the 369th Sustainment Brigade.

The support mission also includes assistance to the Westchester County Medical Examiner. A similar mission is expected to begin in Orange County.

Soldiers continue to man phones at two New York City call centers, including one for the New York City Division of Veterans Services. New York National Guard Soldiers continue to provide administrative support at two New York City 911 call centers.

Soldiers continue packaging COVID-19 test kits for the New York State Department of Health at the Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany. They assembled more than 38,500 kits April 20 for distribution across the state. The team has built 303,850 testing kits since starting the mission.

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.

The New York National Guard Public Affairs Officer is Col. Richard Goldenberg. He can be reached at Richard.l.goldenberg.mil@mail.mil or (518), 786-4581.