Photo By Staff Sgt. George Solis | U.S. Army 1st Lt. Nicole Matthews, a future operations project officer with the...... read more read more
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BENICIA, Calif. - The Soldier enters an office affectionately called “The Dungeon”, carrying a collection of items that at first glance, seem to have no connection to one another.
In her possession are cardboard pieces of various shapes and sizes, a pair of black tactical boots, a bag of small green plastic Army women that come in an assortment of classic military poses, one extra small sized 9205+ N95 mask, an assortment of coins and patches, a used quick response COVID-19 test, and one Kevlar helmet adorned with a cover that would match perfectly with an old Army Combat Uniform.
For U.S. Army 1st Lt. Nicole Matthews, a future operations project officer with the California National Guard’s Joint Task Force 749, these items represent an unforgettable and challenging year.
Matthews has been providing operational and administrative support to the various medical teams assisting with the state’s COVID-19 response.
Her love of collecting memories began when she was a young girl and would keep treasured mementos of her classes, trips, and special moments
As she places these items onto an empty wooden desk, she proceeds to recount the memories each item represents.
“These are pieces of cardboard from when California Emergency Medical Services Authority shipped out ventilators to New York, Illinois, and New Jersey with messages of support,” said Matthews, “And when the ventilators were returned to California, they sometimes had return messages on them.”
Messages included, “Thanks from the bottom of our hearts. NJ”, “Sent back with much appreciation from NY”, and “California Rocks. Love Illinois.” These pieces of cardboard serve as a reminder for Matthews’ first COVID-19 mission where she was assigned to Cal EMSA as a logistics officer. Their mission was to send medical supplies to facilities across the state and across the country when Cal EMSA had materials to spare.
Matthews has fond memories of working at Cal EMSA’s Sacramento warehouse where she learned a great deal about leadership from Markell Pierce, Cal EMSA’s emergency services coordinator.
“He would have a meeting at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day. It helped a lot of us to process what was happening in the news,” Matthews said. “Sometimes the meetings would be lighthearted, other times it would be serious, and it helped us to connect as a group.”
According to Matthews, the black tactical boots' significance is that they remind her of the interesting civilians she got to work with at Cal EMSA, such as the emergency medical technicians who were there to assist with the medical supply distribution.
“There’s always something interesting to learn from people outside from my own organization. I would have lunch with them and talk about their careers,” she said. “I got really interested in their [career] field. One day I started to ask what the pros and cons of their job were, and how long did it take to become an EMT.”
Through this interaction with her civilian counterparts, she decided to become an EMT herself. While at Cal EMSA, Matthews completed the necessary online schooling to become a certified EMT. Hence the need for the boots.
Matthews points to what she describes as a “rare item.” The extra small sized 9205+ N95 mask. This mask brings back memories of the winter months of 2020. She was the logistics officer and her main responsibility was to maintain the supply inventory for 20 regional medical strike teams that were stationed across the state assisting with the treatment of COVID-19 patients at civilian hospitals.
The demand for medical supplies was high, and supplies were low; at the time the country was facing a surge in COVID-19 cases. Matthews had to use all of her connections she had developed from previous missions to make sure her Regional Medical Strike Team was properly stocked with personal protective equipment.
“Without that connection we wouldn’t have been able to conduct our mission. Cal EMSA provided us the scrubs we needed. They provided the masks, the gloves, all of the face shields, everything came from Cal EMSA.”
Matthews’ time was challenging during those winter months, dealing not only with the medical supply demands, but having to cope with the stressors that also come with the holidays.
“I really appreciated being there with all of those people. People I’ve never met before and some I’ve known for a couple of months. Being able to see us all come together and be there for each other, that was a big takeaway for me,” Matthews said.
Over the past year Matthews has been assigned to several missions across the state in support of the California National Guard’s COVID-19 response, from Long Beach to Sacramento.
Along those missions she has been able to collect an assortment of items that help her remember the people and moments from those missions, the highs and the lows.
“I want to be here until the end of the mission. I want to stay through all of our COVID response and be there until when we have saluted, signed off, and COVID-19 is no longer a problem.” More than likely, Matthews will be sure to add a memento to commemorate that event.
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.31.2021 17:42 |
| Story ID: | 392631 |
| Location: | BENICIA, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 169 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Cal Guard Soldier reflects on a year’s worth of COVID-19 missions through her collection of mementos, by SSgt George Solis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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