Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Matthew Hecht | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ashley Santana stands for a portrait in the New Jersey National...... read more read more
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New Jersey Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Ashley Santana, from Trenton, N.J., is one of more than 700 New Jersey Soldiers and Airmen working to support the state’s COVID-19 response.
A 2008 graduate of High Point Regional High School in Wantage, Santana works full time for the Guard as a wheeled vehicle mechanic instructor with the 254th Regiment’s Regional Training Site - Maintenance on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
Her secondary military specialty is 13B - Cannon Crewmember. As combat arms positions have become open to women, Santana was the first female 13B in New Jersey.
“Working with the field artillery was very challenging but was the best experience,” said Santana. “The guys were great and treated me as an equal. I was their vehicle recovery NCO for a few years before I got MOS qualified. I had full support from the battery and I definitely miss those Soldiers.”
For the COVID-19 response, Santana is assigned to the Joint Operations Center inside the Homeland Security Center of Excellence building in Lawrenceville, where she is coordinating missions with New Jersey’s Regional Operations & Intelligence Center.
“It feels great to be helping out, knowing that we’re directly impacting the lives of New Jersey citizens,” said Santana. “It’s been a real eye-opener for sure. This is the first time anyone has done anything like this. Seeing all the missions going on, all the people that are on the front lines putting themselves at risk to help out everyone else.”
“I hope everyone stays safe, stays healthy, maintains that social distancing and keeps washing their hands.”
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2020 10:49 |
| Story ID: | 369220 |
| Location: | LAWRENCEVILLE, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Hometown: | TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Hometown: | WANTAGE, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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