Chief of U.S. Army Reserve Visits Fort Sam Houston

Photo By Staff Sgt. John Onuoha | Lt. Gen. Charles D. Luckey, Chief of Army Reserve (CAR) and Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command, views a Fifth Army display during his tour of the Historic Quadrangle, U.S. Army North Headquarters at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, April 28, 2020. Luckey visited the headquarters to get an operational overview of the support to the Department of Defense COVID-19 response. U.S. Northern Command, through U.S. Army North, is providing military support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help communities in need. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. John Onuoha, 24th Theater Public Affairs Support Element / Released)  

FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES

04.29.2020

Story by Sgt. John Onuoha 

Defense Department Support to FEMA COVID-19       

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas – With a keen focus on the COVID-19 response, Lt. Gen. Charles D. Luckey, Chief of Army Reserve (CAR) and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, visited U.S. Army North and the 228-1 Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force (UAMTF) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, April 28, 2020.

The purpose of CAR’s trip to the installation was to learn about the two organization’s operation in the fight against COVID-19.

“This is the fight that we are in now, and we are going to win it,” Luckey said. “We are going to win it and part of that is going to be making sure that we are agile and fast to be able to respond quickly.”

As U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command (JFLCC) for the Department of Defense COVID-19 response, U.S. Army North supports the Federal Emergency Management Agency by deploying forces to areas of interest where the medical requirements have exceeded the capacity of the local providers. The JFLCC also monitors models to anticipate the next location that would need assistance.

“Like General Luckey was saying, we were tailored for this mission. Our strength is our mobility and the cross-section of talent we bring for this specific mission,” said Lt. Col. Paul Carsen, a physician assistant with the UAMTF. “We all contribute and we train. We teach each other and talk about our experiences.”

The UAMTF team, made up of a wide compliment of the Army Reserve medical specialists, was assembled in early April and is based at Fort Sam Houston. They are currently training and staying ready to deploy if needed.

The UAMTF consists of about 85 personnel, including clinical and administrative staff, operational medicine, infectious disease, preventive medicine, nursing, respiratory therapist, clinical psychologist, occupational therapist, dietician, pharmacist, and other medical subject matter experts.

Maj. Robert Berry, a dental specialist assigned to the UAMTF, used a sports reference to describe their enthusiasm to support the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s a little bit of itchiness in the sense that, you know when you have football camp or basketball camp all summer long, you just want to play that first game,” Berry said. “That’s really what you’re training for. Our entire purpose is for us to go down and perform in the mission that we are tasked to do.”

General Luckey expressed his appreciation for Soldiers’ readiness and sense of pride in serving their country at a time of need.

“You all should be very, very proud, and your family should be very proud of what you have already done,” Luckey said. “You are the absolute manifestation of RFS (rural fire service). If you ever see any pictures of me running around in my little RFS t-shirt, which I love, what it says is ‘RFS, we are all in,’ everybody is in it.”

Carsen said the UAMTF is a different mission from what the Soldiers are used to, but it is what they have trained for, and they are proud to stand ready to help communities in need.

• Date Taken: 04.29.2020
• Date Posted: 04.30.2020 19:38
• Story ID: 368961
• Location: FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, US