New York National Guard wraps up federally-funded COVID-19 mission

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Senior airman Alyssa Volkner,prepares to administer a COVID-19 tests at a drive-thru test site located at The State University of New York, Albany, on July 9, 2020.

LATHAM, NEW YORK (07/01/2022) (readMedia)-- Eight hundred and forty-three days after the first Soldiers and Airmen went on duty to stem an outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in the Westchester County city of New Rochelle, the New York National Guard's federally supported COVID -19 mission came to an end on June 30.

A force of 269 personnel will remain on state active to assist with logistics support and resolve outstanding financial accounts. But no Soldiers and Airmen will remain on federal duty.

The mission, which ran for almost two-and-a -half years, is the most extended domestic operations mission ever conducted by the New York National Guard.

The next longest was during World War I. At that time, 2,000 New York State Guard members were on duty from April 5, 1917, until the war's end on November 11, 1918-585 days-- to guard railroads, the Erie Canal, and the New York City water system.

From March 2020 to the end of June 2022, 7,077 uniformed men and women performed 1,717,742 man-days of work.

They did everything from delivering 112,707 gallons of New York State Clean hand sanitizer to assisting the Medical Examiner of New York City in recovering the remains of 5,641 New Yorkers. The latter died in their homes during the pandemic.

"I have been amazed by our service members and their work for New York State and our fellow citizens since March 2020 as we responded to the most significant pandemic in more than 100 years," said Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York.

"As I traveled across the State and spoke with our members, I was always impressed by their professionalism and dedication and equally impressed by the civilian employees they were working with who to a person praised the support from the National Guard and our State Defense Forces," Shields said.

"All I can say to the 7,000 plus service members who served on the COVID mission over 28 months is - thank you," he added.

While performing these missions, New York Army and Air National Guard men and women continued to meet their federal missions.

Over 600 Soldiers from the 42nd Infantry Division went to Kuwait in 2020 to command Task Force Spartan Shield. And throughout 2021 and 2022, New York Army Guard units prepared to deploy 2,800 Soldiers to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.

Meanwhile, the New York Air National Guard supplied research camps in Antarctica and Greenland in 2020, 2021, and 2022, contributed Airmen to Air Expeditionary Wings and deployed rescue assets to the Horn of Africa.

And in 2021, the New York National Guard deployed 1,723 Soldiers and Airmen in Title 32 status to assist in security missions in Washington, D.C., in the wake of January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The initial COVID-19 tasking required New York National Guard troops to provide school lunches to New Rochelle school district students. The school had been closed, and the goal was to ensure kids who relied on school lunches got them.

The mission extended to cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in 22 public buildings to destroy the virus. Then the mission expanded to testing people for COVID-19.

Then the pandemic became a national emergency, and every state stood up with Guard forces with federal funding.

Between March 8, 2020, and July 1, 2022, a total of 5,420 New York Army National Guard Soldiers participated in the COVID-19 mission out of a force of 10,700. Out of the 6,000 New York Air National Guard members, 1,080 participated in the mission.

New York's two- state defense forces, the New York Naval Militia and the New York Guard, contributed 392 and 182 personnel, to the COVID -19 mission.

The task of the troops changed as the pandemic changed.

Guardsmen worked in call centers, distributed over 50 million meals in New York City alone, collected health care forms from travelers at airports, and assembled millions of COVID-19 test sets.

New York National Guard Soldiers put up a field hospital in the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City and helped care for 1,094 COVID-19 patients. Then they turned site into the largest vaccination clinic in the country and administered 647,973 shots.

New York National Guard was asked to provide 485 Army Guard medics and Air Guard medical technicians to work in nursing homes to solve a staffing shortage.

The State-funded training of 400 military personnel as emergency medical technicians or EMTs increases that pool of personnel. Three hundred and thirty-four of those people became EMT certified.

By the end of May 2022, the New York National Guard had provided 747 personnel at 94 nursing homes. They cared for residents 220,629 times and expended 206,944 man-hours on the mission.

The toughest mission was the support of the New York City Medical Examiner. Initially, specially trained personnel from the 107th Attack Wing were assigned to help retrieve the remains of New Yorkers who died at home during the initial pandemic surge.

The need soon outpaced that small group, and Soldiers were trained and assigned to the task.

In the winter of 2022, when the pandemic surged again, New York National Guard members helped the medical examiner. This time it was because many of the office's personnel were out sick.

During the course of the mission, the state of New York spent over $260 million. This included $226 million on supplies, meals, and housing for Soldiers on duty.

Another $34 million was spent on putting personnel on State Active Duty. This included Soldiers and Airmen before the federal government opted to provide federal funding.

Then it was to pay for 574 Naval Militia and New York Guard members who performed the duty.

Pay and allowances for Soldiers and Airmen covered by the federal government during the mission added up to $290 million; $231 for members of the Army National Guard and $58 million for Air Guardsmen.

Here are the statistics from the two-and-a-half-year effort:

• Drive-thru COVID tests collected: 1,675,310

• Mobile Lab COVID-19 tests conducted by the 2nd and 24th Civil Support Team: 14,761

• Antibody tests collected; 14,269

• COVID-19 test kits assembled: 46,914, 665

• Access Control at potential emergency hospitals: 7 sites

• Gallons of hand sanitizer delivered: 112, 707

• Pallets of supplies warehoused: 57,401

• Pallets of supplies distributed: 36,733

• Vaccinations supported by Guard personnel: 4,612,046

• Vaccinations administered by Guard personnel: 141,076

• Vaccination Locations staffed: 11

• Nursing facilities supported: 84

• Patient interactions: 220,629

• Nursing Home manhours: 206,944

• Nursing home COVID-19 tests conducted: 2,179

• Air traveler health forms collected at 12 airports: 3,074,048

• Decedent recover missions: 5,641

• Call Center inquiries fielded: 278,162

• Meals distributed statewide: 54,899,025

• Meals prepared for distribution: 586,303

• Facilities cleaned: 907,000 square feet at 22 locations