Maryland Defense Force Awarded Superior Unit Citation

By Capt. Ben Hughes

BALTIMORE – The Maryland Defense Force was awarded Superior Unit Citation by the State Guard Association of the United States for their support to the Maryland National Guard during Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The soldiers of the MDDF on state active duty supported Operation Steadfast Guardian, which allowed MDNG members to set up Covid-19 testing sites, provide the transportation of critical medical supplies across the state, distribution more than one million meals, and skilled nursing facility assessments at 252 locations.  During the activation, MDDF provided medical, Joint Staff, and cyber support to the State of Maryland during this crisis.

MDDF helped with the in-processing approximately 1,500 MDNG Soldiers and Airmen. As a part of Joint Task Force Cyber, MDDF personnel worked with their counterparts in the MDNG and the Maryland Department of Information Technology to assess hundreds of state IP addresses and websites for vulnerabilities.

The 10th Medical Regiment personnel supported MDNG logistics operations and manned the MDDF operations center.  In addition, 10th Medical Regiment personnel served as planning and liaison officers with the Maryland Department of Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Medical Reserve Corps.  In total they provided more than 1,500 volunteer man hours to the State of Maryland, which saved the state nearly $120,000.

As the State’s uniformed volunteer militia, the MDDF is approximately 200 personnel who specialize in legal, engineering, finance, medical, chaplain, field support, and ceremonial services as needed.