Photo By Staff Sgt. Leia Tascarini | The 50th Regional Support Group, 160th Transportation Company, stand in formation at...... read more read more
Subscribe
Homestead, Fla. - Florida National Guard service members were called to action in mid-March at the request of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the first units mobilized in support of this mission was the 50th Regional Support Group (RSG) in South Florida.
Headquartered in Homestead, the 50th RSG has served as the Florida Guard’s main effort since the beginning of the state’s COVID-19 response, supporting federal, state and local authorities throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
During the past six weeks, the 50th RSG has charted new paths for the Florida Guard, supporting the first community based testing site (CBTS) in the state at C.B. Smith Park in Broward County, performing the first mobile testing team’s (MTT) missions in assisted living communities, and mobilizing to support the Florida Department of Health’s screening missions at the state’s busiest airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
“We had been monitoring the situation, so the order to activate our Soldiers in support of the COVID-19 response didn’t necessarily come as a surprise to us,” said Lt. Col. Nate McMillan, the 50th RSG’s Operations Officer. “We have a lot of experience dealing with emergencies and natural disasters, so that experience came in handy as we started to mobilize and engage in operations across South Florida.”
The 50th RSG’s role during the course of the ongoing operations has continually evolved, adapting to meet the State and Florida Guard’s requirements. The ability of the 50th RSG to keep up with this high operational up-tempo has been a testament to the discipline and dedication of its Soldiers, many of them veterans of several activations in response to natural disasters and state emergencies.
“The 50th success in supporting these missions has been largely due to the high level of professionalism of our Soldiers,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Sweat. “Their motivation has been impressive and it’s our driving force every day.”
Since starting operations, the 50th RSG and its subordinate units have provided direct and indirect support to six CBTS locations, two airports, and staffed over 20 MTTs. Collectively, 50th RSG Soldiers have administered over 30,000 sample collections, screened over 1,000 passengers at Miami International and Fort Lauderdale airports, and directly conducted 18 MTT missions collecting over 2,500 samples. To meet these missions’ rigorous demands, more than 800 Guardsmen have been activated from the six battalions and direct reporting units that make up the 50th RSG’s major subordinate command.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2020 16:53 |
| Story ID: | 369021 |
| Location: | HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 158 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, The First Fifty: Florida National Guard’s 50th Regional Support Group leads the way on COVID-19 response, by SSG Leia Tascarini, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
