California Military Institute Soldiers Support School Lunch Program

June 12, 2020 | BY Air Force Tech Sgt. Julianne Showalter , California National Guard

Faced with school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, California Military Department state active duty soldiers who serve as full-time cadre at California Military Institute found a new way to serve through a school meal program at Pinacate Middle School in Perris, California.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Federici, the California State Guard noncommissioned officer in charge of operations at the California  Military Institute, and Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Kelhi, with the California Army National Guard, volunteer twice a week, packaging and distributing meals to students in need.

"We're just here to help," Kelhi said. "The kids are going through enough, and no one has experienced this before. We’re a little bit of a solid foundation for the kids and family. They know we will be here on Mondays and Wednesdays to give out meals. They rely on us during this time of uncertainty. It's amazing."

The soldiers work with members of the TerraBites Cafe, which provides nutritional services to the Perris Union High School District. When all of the district's schools closed March 16, the TerraBites Cafe continued its meal programs.

Louise Lopez, the nutritional services lead at the middle school, runs the meal distribution efforts that started shortly after the school closures.

"The kids count on these meals," Lopez said. "We have a really high percentage of students that receive free and reduced meals. We want to continue to meet that need, because we want to make sure they're still eating. For a lot of them, breakfast and lunch are their main meals, and it comes from us."

"I couldn't even put a word to it, it tears me up," she continued. "It's just so important. It's everything for a lot of them, and it's everything for a lot of parents, too."

Kelhi and Federici were quick to offer their help to the effort.

"When this started, we talked about it in our office and how these kids were going to be taken care of," Kelhi said. "So many kids rely on these meals. When we had the opportunity to volunteer here, we jumped on it. It's busy, it's hectic but the smiles on the kids' faces is a huge payoff."

The twice-weekly distribution starts at 7 a.m. with staff members cooking and packaging the meals. Each meal includes a hot lunch item and two additional days' worth of breakfast and lunch items. The food covers the five days of meals children would have received if the school was still in session.

"Right now, what we're doing is making sure they get breakfast and lunch five days a week," Lopez said. "We have a system where the parents pull up, roll the window down, put their hand out of their window and show three fingers, four fingers, or whatever it is they need. Then we put the corresponding number of meals on a tray for them to grab."

The kids are going through enough, and no one has experienced this before. We’re a little bit of a solid foundation for the kids and family. They know we will be here on Mondays and Wednesdays to give out meals.''

Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Kelhi, California Army National Guard

Many of the children are not present for the meal pick-up, but some do ride along with parents just to see a familiar face and have a sense of normalcy.

"A lot of students will come through the line with their parents and say, 'That's my lunch lady,' or 'That’s my teacher,'" Lopez said. "They’ll wave, and the parents will wave at the guardsmen. The students get excited because we’re familiar to them."

"I want to go back to school," said Rogelio Lopez, who is 13 and a CMI cadet and member of the California Cadet Corps. "I miss my teachers and my friends, so it's cool to come through to get lunch and see them. This is amazing, because at the beginning, my mom couldn't get some things at the store because they ran out."

Kelhi and Federici help the TerraBites Cafe staff package the food and lead the drive-thru distribution to families.

As cadre members, both Federici and Kelhi interact daily with students in grades 5-12 who attend CMI, which is a military-themed public charter school in Perris. The school uses the California Military Department's youth leadership program, California Cadet Corps, as its military foundation, and members of the California state and national guards augment teachers to help facilitate the school’s cadet program.

"It helps out to have that face-to-face with my students, check on them and crack a dad joke to make them smile and laugh," Federici said. "I try to remind them that this will be over soon. Some of the students were upset that everything that was in the works got cancelled. I tell them this is just a setback."

The meal distribution means much more to Federici and Kelhi. For the pair, it's about more than handing out food.

"I feel a sense of pride that the kids are able to come here and get some nourishment, but also engage with us, too," Federici said. "If I can make that dad or mom or kid or grandparent smile and uplift their spirit, it helps me to go home to my kids and know I'm adding some good to a world that's chaotic right now."

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Julianne Showalter is assigned to the California Air National Guard.)

Air Force Secretary Meets Airmen, Learns Readiness Practices Amid COVID-19

June 12, 2020 | BY Air Force Senior Airman Lane Plummer , 27th Special Operations Wing

Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett visited several units on Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, to see their readiness capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic firsthand.

The secretary's May 20 visit included stops at the 27th Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron and the 20th Special Operations Squadron, among other units.

"It was reassuring to hear [Barrett's] insight and reflection on the wing and Air Force's response to COVID-19," said Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Hamilton, the commander of the 20th SOS. "We also noted her interest in taking away some of the best practices learned from the pandemic to become a more efficient and lethal vertical-lift squadron."

Hamilton and Barrett discussed the unit's role in the wing's mission, briefly showcasing the history of the unit and its accomplishments and how its airmen have continued staying current in meeting evolving demands with modern solutions.

"We are the sole vertical-lift platform at Cannon, and we strive to execute that professional specialized work for our nation," Hamilton added.

In light of the current times, Barrett not only wanted to see the day-to-day work of some of the base's units, but also wanted to hear about their methods of balancing airman safety with meeting mission requirements.

"We were presented with a unique problem set and rapidly adapted our lives in order to maintain readiness, minimize exposure and ultimately protect our collective family," Hamilton said.

Like many units, the 20th SOS has created a new shift system that essentially "splits" the squadron to minimize possible exposure. "While the workload has not reduced, we have become more effective at leveraging technology to work from home," Hamilton said.

Air Force Lt. Col. Shaun Parker, the 27th SOLRS commander, explained his squadron's side of the mission to the secretary and highlighted some airmen for their individual effort in keeping operations requirements met.

"I very much appreciated how she recognized the hard work of our members that have led the wing's pre-quarantine efforts to ensure we could deploy and relieve our deployed members that have been extended," Parker said. "I took away that she was interested in how we were maintaining readiness in the face of COVID-19."

These two units were examples of how all squadrons at Cannon chose to adapt and press on with executing global operations at a high standard, base officials said.

Service Members at 2 U.S. Embassies Aid in Protective Equipment Transfer

June 12, 2020 | BY Army Lt. Col. Al Phillips , New York National Guard

U.S. Defense Department personnel assigned to the U.S. Embassies in South Africa and Eswatini met at the border between the two nations to hand off 11,250 plastic face shields, 12,400 filtering facepiece masks and 256 infrared thermometers earmarked for the Eswatini Ministry of Health.

"Today, the U.S. government, through the Department of Defense, is delivering vitally important equipment, including [personal protective equipment], to Eswatini to help prevent and combat COVID-19," said Ambassador Lisa J. Peterson. "We will continue to work with [the] government and our implementing partners to respond to this crisis in real and concrete ways."

Eswatini, with a population of 1.2 million, is working hard to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within its borders. The donated equipment was transferred from embassy personnel in South Africa to the embassy personnel in Eswatini to comply with South African COVID-19 quarantine policies and laws.

"Together, we are working to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, to protect people who are most vulnerable to contracting this disease and to preserve the advances Eswatini has made in the fight against HIV and AIDS," the ambassador said.

The donation of medical personal protective equipment from the U.S. to Eswatini is just one example of the ways the United States is supporting efforts to control COVID-19. The U.S. Embassy has already dedicated 22 medical and technical experts from the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DOD and the U.S. Agency for International Development to work directly on Eswatini's COVID-19 response.

These officials support national efforts, share technical expertise, provide training and offer a wealth of knowledge and experience in responding to this unprecedented public health threat, officials said. Through direct funding to partner organizations, the U.S. Embassy is supporting 50 clinics and 1,926 facility and community-based support staff to support the government COVID-19 response.

"This donation of PPE from [U.S. Africa Command] to the Kingdom of Eswatini exemplifies how, despite vast distances between our capitals, governments can still work together to face down common threats on behalf of our citizens," said Army Lt. Col. Darrick Mosley, the U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation chief.

The border transfer demonstrates a continued and enduring commitment to helping build a stronger health system in Eswatini, officials said, protecting people who are most vulnerable from disease and working together to defeat COVID-19.

"We want to say, on behalf of his majesty's government, thank you for this partnership between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the U.S," Dr. Simon Zwane, the principal secretary of Eswatini's Ministry of Health. "We are so grateful to the American government for their generosity and warm heartedness, which they have shown not only in this COVID-19 pandemic but always. This PPE will go a long way in assisting the kingdom to respond more effectively to this pandemic, particularly to our beloved frontline workers."

Air Flair

Airmen assigned to the 347th Rescue Group drop flares during a "fini flight" for Col. Bryan Creel, the group's commander, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., June 5, 2020. The fini flight is an Air Force tradition marking pilots' departure from a unit, or the last time they fly an aircraft. Creel's event marked his slated move to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, to command the 39th Air Base Wing.

Combat Training

Coast Guardsmen conduct close-quarter combat training aboard the Coast Guard cutter Ingham, a museum ship, in Key West, Fla., June 8, 2020.