Maryland National Guard Supports Maryland Department of Health

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4669″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1597410675891{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”]By Maj. Andrew Wrenn, Task Force 291 Public Affairs [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1597411924056{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”]

Soldiers from Task Force 291, the command and control element of the 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, reported for duty at the Maryland Department of Health in Baltimore in the early morning hours, continuing an ongoing partnership. The 15 Soldiers from the Maryland Army National Guard are working to help nursing homes and assisted living facilities understand and process a myriad of executive orders, memorandums, and guidance from the state government concerning COVID‑19 testing in their facilities.

Available via phone and email daily, this group is dedicated to answering queries from assistant living facilities. As guidance evolves, the team keeps abreast of changes, maintains the latest information, and responds to questions from facility managers and administrators.

“We are a bridge between nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the Maryland Department of Health,” said Spc. Jean-Paul Konkon, a tactical power generation specialist in the 629th Military Intelligence Battalion. “We help them with questions about testing, test kits, and what to do in case of an outbreak in their facilities.”

Staff Sgt. Joshua Drahos, a signals system support specialist in C Co. (Signal), 29th Infantry Division, prepares for the workday during his assignment supporting the Maryland Department of Health, in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 22, 2020.

Each Soldier is given a physically distanced workspace to maintain safety guidelines. Troops are seen wearing face masks and maintaining a 6-foot boundary, while hand sanitizer containers at varying sizes can be seen everywhere.

“The mission is not quite what they [the Soldiers] expected but morale remains strong and the troops are proud to help any way they can,” said Capt. Brian Matteson, a network officer for C Co. (Signal), 29th Infantry Division, and currently the officer in charge of this mission. “We are dealing with the most vulnerable population. This is by far the most important group for us to serve.”

Although none of the Soldiers are specifically trained to do the mission, their resolve is apparent. The workspace was filled with conversations of the team communicating the latest changes coming from interagency partners at the Maryland Department of Health.

Individuals on the team come from a diverse background and exemplify the ideals of citizen-soldier. Matteson recalls an event when a Soldier noticed a Marylander in need and provided assistance.

“As Spc. Jordi Amaya was coming into work, he saw a trailer on the street outside the team’s office space with a flat tire. The owner of the trailer was attempting to change the tire, and Spc. Amaya stopped to help him,” said Matteson. “In the course of doing so, Spc. Amaya injured his hand.”

Matteson mentioned that despite his injury, Amaya had no regrets about stopping to help and that every Soldier on the team would have done the same thing.

Soldiers from Task Force 291 have been on mission, responding to the COVID-19 crisis in Maryland since March helping with testing, food distribution, interagency coordination and more. They were deployed to armories across the state and supported missions at the capitol and Maryland Department of Health. Although the mission these Soldiers performed ended on July 31, 2020, collaboration between the Maryland National Guard and the state and local government is ongoing.

Task Force 291 was established in October 2019 as one of four Maryland Army National Guard’s Major Subordinate Commands dual-hatted with the 291st DLD. In addition to providing command and control for federal missions, TF291 also provides support to state and local authorities during governor-declared state emergencies. For the COVID-19 response, TF291 units performed liaison roles with Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and the Annapolis State House; adaptive battle staff for the Army and Joint Staffs in Maryland; as well as Defensive Cyber Operations as part of Joint Task Force Cyber. TF 291 maintains a worldwide footprint. The 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade and 629th  Military Intelligence Battalion have deployed to the middle east to support a U.S. Central Command mission; the 110th Information Operations Battalion supports ongoing missions with U.S. Africa Command; Maryland’s detachments of the 29th Infantry Division are scheduled to  deploy to Kuwait to support Operation Spartan Shield; and Special Operations Detachment – OTAN will deploy to NATO’s Special Operations Forces Headquarters in Belgium.

[/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”View photo gallery from Pandemic Response” css=”.vc_custom_1597410569322{margin-top: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;border-top-width: 5px !important;border-bottom-width: 5px !important;padding-top: 5px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;}”][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1597410551408{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]