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Streets Named After Soldiers at Vaccination Site

By Spc. Tom Lamb, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Several Soldiers from the 1st Battalion,175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard, were honored with streets named after them at the Six Flags America vaccination site for their contributions to improve the efficiency of the facility.

“The Six Flags site was opened on February 5th,” said former site director Jon Durrance. “And we were working with about 80 Soldiers.” 

1st Lt. Lucas Switts, member of the 1-175 Inf. Regt., Maryland Army National Guard, poses next to the street sign that bears his name at the Six Flags of America mass vaccination site in Bowie, Maryland, on April 7, 2021.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 vaccination efforts, site workers had to learn on the job and how to manage the flow at the mass vaccination sites.

“When I arrived on February 16th it was a lot colder,” said 1st Lt. Lucas Switts, a Soldier with the 1-175th Inf. Regt. serving at the Six Flags mass vaccination site. “[The site was processing] less than 2,000 appointments a day. So, when we got on site they were trying to push for 4,000.”

It only took a few weeks for the Six Flags site to reach its goal of 4,000 vaccinations per day, and there was a desire to conduct more vaccinations, informally named Project 6,000. Unfortunately, an intersection on the site was holding up the process. 

The way the site was initially set up, an intersection was used near the exit. This caused traffic to back up onto the highway and slowed down the whole vaccination site. It was as much of a safety issue as it was an efficiency issue, said Switts.

“I went on leave for a few days and when I came back Lt. Switts came up to me and said ‘I figured it out, we can get rid of the intersection,’” said Durrance. “I said ‘Show me.’ and he brought me outside and it all clicked.”

Without the intersection, the site should be capable of managing 6,000 vehicles per day, said Staff Sgt. Chad Kuhens, a Soldier attached to the 1-175th Inf. Regt.

Staff Sgt. Chad Kuhens, member of 1-175 Inf. Regt., Maryland Army National Guard, poses next to the street sign that bears his name at the Six Flags of America mass vaccination site in Bowie, Maryland, on April 7, 2021.

For their hard work, Durrance honored several Soldiers by naming vaccine lanes after them as he moved on to open a new site in Annapolis. 

“The Soldiers I honored exemplify the Army Values,” said Durrance. “The [Maryland National Guard] has been a great contribution to Maryland’s vaccination efforts.”

“I’m proud of the work I did here and when other people recognize your efforts it validates it,” said Kuhens. “It makes you want to continue your hard work and efforts.”

Kuhens was excited about his role helping the citizens of Maryland because he felt like it was directly helping his family, many of whom live in Maryland.

“When these orders came down, I jumped on them right away,” said Kuhens. “Just so I could help the state and community that I’ve been a part of for years and to do my part to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic.”