Photo By 1st Lt. Ashley Goodwin | Sgt. Chad Fredy, Forward Support Company 107th Engineer Battalion, Michigan Army...... read more read more
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MARQUETTE, Mich. – First responders are on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic and behind them is the National Guard helping in every way they can.
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Soldiers are delivering supplies off to the different county seats so they can be distributed to the county facilities in need.
“We were making trips to Mackinac, Newbury, and multiple trips to Marquette, which is an hour up and back, so with the National Guard dropping the supplies off, it’s huge. It makes it so much easier. We’re so very thankful,” said Sgt. Sheila Peters with the Alger County Sheriff’s Department.
Peters is the deputy emergency manager for Alger County, and said that before the National Guard started helping the counties, someone had to always be on hand in case the supplies came in.
“The National Guard eliminates that, it’s more organized with the shipments being sent out,” said Peters. “We have a little more time to prep for it and be here when they come in. We can stay here and focus more on our stuff and we can distribute the supplies as they come in because there’s no rhyme or reason to how they’re coming,” said Peters.
One of the reasons Peters and others are so thankful, is because they are getting the required personal protective equipment. They were running low and these supply runs just started recently by National Guard Soldiers from the U.P.
“Anywhere that one calls home is near and dear to their heart,” said Capt. Michael Anderson. “To be able to affect our local community, helping our first responders’ means a lot to me, they are on the front lines every day.”
Anderson is the liaison between Task Force North and the first responders. The TF is new and encompasses the whole U.P. He said engaging in this mission is very fulfilling because it was one of the main reasons he joined the National Guard, because he wanted to give back to his home community after he got out of the Marines.
“When you’re able to interact with the civilian populace like this and to realize that they know you’re there for them is a very enlightening feeling for everybody,” said Anderson.
Anderson is in charge of the National Guards’ distribution of supplies and organizes the Soldiers letting them know what they are doing and where they are going on a day-to-day basis. The U.P. is made up of 15 different counties spread out over 16,000 square miles. There are only six Soldiers in teams of two who are assigned the mission of delivering the supplies to the eastern, central and western U.P.
“I think it’s important because we’re always here. We’re always ready to answer the call and assist the first responders and local volunteers,” said Sgt. Adam Szabo. “We’re there to help with these efforts.”
Szabo is one of the six Soldiers who are making the supply runs going from one centralized distribution hub in Greenland, and then taking the supplies to where they are needed. He and another Soldier are in charge of delivering to the five most western counties in Michigan and has seen how supportive everyone has been.
“They’ve been more supportive than I anticipated. They’re really appreciative that we’re there to help them out when they’re too busy with handling other tasks throughout the day,” said Szabo.
A recent graduate of Northern Michigan University, Szabo is an automotive logistics specialist with the 1431st ‘Sappers’ Combat Engineers, a unit in Calumet in the Keweenaw Peninsula.
“I never thought I would go to some of these places, but it makes you realize how the U.P. is really desolate in areas,” said Szabo. “They need the support, too, during these hard times, and once we started dropping off the supplies, you see how thankful they are. Once you get on ground the importance of the mission actually sets in.”
Szabo just wants to keep all his fellow ‘Yoopers’ safe and to let them know that the National Guard is there for them.
“It honestly feels great, because being from the U.P. and being able to help out other ‘Yoopers’ and actually show a presence and let our community members feel that we are supporting them any way we can,” said Szabo. “The people we’ve been working with truly appreciate it and we appreciate helping out because they’ve been supporting us so much in every other aspect before this pandemic.”
Dropping supplies off may not seem like a lot, but when there is a scarcity of masks and hand sanitizers, that simple job means the world to the ones getting those supplies. (Story by Michigan Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Tegan Kucera)
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2020 20:33 |
| Story ID: | 369291 |
| Location: | MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Soldiers helping first responders, by SSG Tegan Kucera, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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