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Behind the Uniform: Spc. Paul Seegren

By Spc. Christina Chang, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

When the Six Flags America amusement park in Bowie, Maryland, was converted to a drive-through mass vaccination site in February in 2021, it’s visitors were attended by blue-gowned nurses and camouflage-uniformed Soldiers instead of the park’s usual staff. Since vaccination operations began at the center, Service members from the Maryland Army National Guard worked around the clock to improve operations to support vaccination efforts.

Spc. Paul Seegren, civil affairs specialist, 58th Expeditionary Military Police Brigade, works in support operations in support of the state’s COVID-19 operations at the Six Flags America mass vaccination site on April 7, 2021.

Spc. Paul Seegren, a civil affairs specialist with the 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, has worked at the site since the beginning of March. He said that when the site first opened, the traffic congestion limited their vaccination capacity to only being able to provide 250 to 500 vaccines a day, despite the large number of personnel and available supplies. 

“The leadership here, they’ve done a good job,” Seegren said. “They’ve had to change traffic patterns multiple times. It’s been nice to see [Soldiers] out here, you know, collaborating, and coming up with ways to make things more efficient.”

Spc. Paul Seegren, civil affairs specialist, 58th Expeditionary Military Police Brigade, works in support operations in support of the state’s COVID-19 operations at the Six Flags America mass vaccination site on April 7, 2021.

While he joined the MDARNG back in November, 2015, being stationed  at the Six Flags site is his first time working as a full-time Guards member  and his first state activation.  He initially joined the MDARNG for education benefits, and has been working as a systems administrator in information technologies before being called to support the site. 

“I think customer service is a big part of what I do, on the day-to-day in the civilian job [I have].” Seegren said. “I think [helping] here, it’s just an added importance because we’re in uniform,” he said on how he was representing the MDARNG. 

Seegren lives in Carroll County, Maryland, and is able to return home to his family of three every day.