Photo By Capt. Catherine Lewis | Florida Air National Guard Lt. Col. Deborah Garrett, the 125th Air Expeditionary...... read more read more
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ORLANDO, Fla – Florida Army National Guard Task Force 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade successfully completed their Relief in Place and Transfer of Authority to the Florida Air National Guard 125th Air Expeditionary Squadron at the Orange County Convention Center Community Based Testing Site and Orlando International Airport on April 24, 2020.
Since March 25, 2020, when the OCCC CBTS first became operational, Task Force 164th ADA Brigade has rotated multiple units through the site in order to keep it fully operational. Task Force 164th ADA BDE Commander, Lt. Col. Tina Madovoy, said she felt extremely rewarded to have the opportunity to serve the citizens of the State of Florida and give back.
“I feel the soldiers have been incredible, very professional, safe and deliberate. I think they have done a fantastic job representing the Florida Guard.”
Task Force 125th AES Commander Lt. Col. Deborah Garrett, who when not activated serves as the 125th Fighter Wing Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Commander, said she is proud to do her part by bringing the Air National Guard task force forward to support the State of Florida.
“As a resident of Florida, it’s exciting to help our community and be able to reassure them during this unusual time.”
The 125th AES is comprised of just under 200 Airmen from 125th Fighter Wing, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Multiple Air Guard units located throughout the State of Florida have come together to support the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think what they’re doing is very important for the community. It’s very important to reassure the residents here that we can return to how we lived a few months ago, back to that normal,” said Garrett.
During the RIP/TOA, the outgoing task force has been instrumental in ensuring the Air National Guard has what they need to be successful.
“I think it’s been a very smooth transition, the staff here has been absolutely wonderful. They want us to succeed so they’ve passed on every lesson learned and I think it will go very smoothly,” said Garrett.
Lt. Col. Madovoy said that in the more than five weeks her task force has been on ground, their contribution to the local community emphasizes why the FLNG is here. She is looking forward to the great things the 125th AES will do, and feels like her troops have set the Air Guard up for success.
“We are very confident that the incoming Airmen will do a fantastic job…and carry the bar even farther than we have,” said Madovoy.
Though this is an unprecedented mission response, Lt. Col. Garrett emphasized that the safety of her Airmen is a key priority. In addition to bringing 25 medical personnel to support the mission, the task force also trained Airmen with other occupational specialties on the proper use of personal protective equipment and how to safely conduct test collections.
“It’s important for our Airmen to remain flexible and to watch out for one another. If we do those two things, we can do any mission that’s put before us. Whether it be a DSCA [Defense Support to Civil Authorities] mission or flying mission,” said Garrett.
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2020 07:21 |
| Story ID: | 368453 |
| Location: | ORLANDO, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 325 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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