Religious Affairs Teams Support Soldiers During COVID-19 Response

June 29, 2020 | BY AIR FORCE MASTER SGT. JOHN HUGHEL

The diverse and ever-changing backdrop of high plains, river basins, vineyards and vibrant groves in the Yakima Valley of central Washington rivals the setting to John Steinbeck’s novel, ''East of Eden.'' Its  beautiful and expansive — yet toilsome — landscapes shape the hopes and burdens of those who live there.

Upon arriving in Pasco, just east of the Yakima Valley region, Army Chaplain (Maj.) Jeffrey Forshee, with the Army National Guard, and Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Robert Boleak of the Air National Guard arrived at one of the 50-plus state food banks supported by Washington National Guardsmen to aid Washingtonians in overcoming food constraints due to the economic fallout triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a place of such abundance, the need for essential sustenance seems to be the greatest.

''We've been visiting a lot of these food banks as we connect to our service members and the civilian staff supporting these important missions,'' Forshee said. ''This is an unexpected need during these unprecedented times.''

Forshee and Boleak are part of Joint Task Force Steelhead's staff, leading the religious affairs team, operating both as spiritual leads and the eyes and ears to the members in the field.

''I found that being able to communicate back to the staff at JTF when we've spent time at one of these spots is incredibly valuable,'' Boleak said. ''Oftentimes, information is not being passed down to our soldiers and airmen at some of our sites, which only adds to some of the distress with our [service] members.''

In many ways, the religious affairs team attempts to encounter this new level of anxiety in which basic and previously held assumptions are challenged due to the sudden shift in conditions. The new normal shows that resilience and perseverance have become sacrosanct.

''There are a variety of concerns that our members have that are directly related to the COVID-19 response,'' Forshee said, detailing some of the underlying concerns and questions by service members. ''If leaders are tracking their questions and concerns, if there are too many or too few soldiers on a site, and what are the current guidelines or updates for a safe workplace.''

You see it instantly on some of the faces when we load a box of food and offer encouragement.''

Army 2nd Lt. Will Stryker

When the religious affairs team arrives at the locations where guardsmen are working, Boleak quickly jumps in to lend a hand, whether it is unloading a food truck or helping to set up tables at mobile distribution sites. It gives him a chance to make an instant connection and get a sense of the team's morale.

''We get out about three or four times a week,'' he said. ''I see it as a way to build camaraderie and letting them know that we're here to support them and any needs they have, as well as someone who cares about their well-being.''

Forshee perceives the site visits as being more genuine and focused than traditional religious services while meeting the guardsmen's needs in real time.

''Going out to meet soldiers and airmen is much more rewarding because when we arrive we can encounter them in many ways,'' Forshee said. ''It could be a group or just one on one, but often in unscripted moments.''

As soldiers and airmen work the food banks, testing locations and other critical COVID-19 response sites, they are personally interacting with communities experiencing economic distress and escalating fears of the virus. Knowing they are making an immediate impact is not lost on them.

''You see it instantly on some of the faces when we load a box of food and offer encouragement,'' said newly commissioned Army 2nd Lt. Will Stryker, the soon-to-be officer in charge of the Wenatchee mission. ''The first day I worked here in early May, we filled up the parking lot, and then it became twice over that within a few weeks, only to have it continue to grow as more and more people needed assistance.''

While attending Central Washington University, Stryker was activated while still a cadet. Now, since his June 12 commissioning, he's ready to take on the added responsibility for his crew, maintaining the demands and tempo for those in his immediate community.

''We've seen that while COVID is continuing along its course, more and more people who have dipped into their reserves are starting to need additional assistance,'' he said, while watching his teammates use forklifts to unload a truckload of potatoes, canned goods and other nonperishable items into the vacant hockey area. ''When I look at these stands and know that they normally would be full of fans cheering on the 'Wenatchee Wild,' it is oddly surprising to be in the center of the floor, and have it be so quiet other than us moving pallets of food in.''

At the end of the day, I think all of us can feel good about lending a hand while doing the people's work.''

Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Robert Boleak

More than 30 soldiers are responsible for this site. Stryker said that he's lucky to have a solid group of noncommissioned officers and a team that is so dedicated to this work.

''There are [military police], truck drivers, cooks, mechanics and infantrymen; it's an awesome crew,'' Stryker said.

As the food bank needs continue, several sites have added and rotated new members into the ranks. By late May, Army Chaplain (Capt.) Michael Johnson swapped places with Forshee, while embracing the same role of intermingling with troops across the state. After the last truck was unloaded at the arena in Wenatchee, the soldiers took part in a barbecue, allowing Johnson an opportunity to address the team while enjoying the camaraderie.

''I definitely got here on the right day,'' Johnson said. ''As a Baptist pastor, potlucks are a really big thing. If there's food, we will be there,'' he said, while jokingly speaking to everyone enjoying a well-deserved break in their hectic schedule.

''Thank you guys for what you are doing. If there's something that we can do for you or your immediate family members, we want to help,'' he said. ''It can be anything, even as a sounding board — we're there for you. Chaplains and assistants, we're here to serve you, and we're so glad to be part of this generous team.''

Johnson said he sees some of the same concerns in his community church in Yakima when he's not in uniform. Yet from a personal perspective, he noted that his path to becoming a chaplain came from financial uncertainty earlier in life.

''I was married [with] three kids and asked myself, 'What’s going on here?''' Johnson said, explaining how he enlisted in the active duty Army when trying to make a living as a musician.

''The part-time jobs, the gigging musician or being a music teacher, it all wasn't adding up, especially at the end of every month,'' he continued. ''That's when I discovered the Army Band, it was the right fit at the right time, and I went for it.''

After 10 years, he made another leap, leaving his successful music career and the full-time Army life to come back to Washington and follow another new path of ultimately becoming a chaplain.

''My experience in the Army during an uncertain period in life helped me on a personal level, and it provided the means for my family,'' Johnson recalls. ''It's made me realize now that being a chaplain is who I really am, it fits my calling to help soldiers on the religious and spiritual needs: it's the 'whole person approach' to soldier care.''

The demand to support Washington communities as large as Seattle and as small as Touchet seems to be unending, especially in the realm of food sustenance and COVID-19 testing sites across every region of the state. Since March, more than 1,000 Washington National Guardsmen have activated to support the global pandemic response. To date, nearly 28 million pounds of food has been processed, packed and distributed by Evergreen Guardsmen.

''I know for many residents, the ongoing need for these food banks is vital,'' said Claudia Limon, a service coordinator with the Blue Mountain Action Council.

The BMAC is a nonprofit, multipurpose agency, serving residents in Southeastern Washington that helps strengthen self-sufficiency, develop strategies to prevent poverty and leverage community support through volunteerism. They have teamed up with the guardsmen to keep up with the increasing nourishment needs.

A group of a dozen guardsmen have arrived in the town of Touchet, setting up tables and an entry control point as they load car after car with pre-assembled boxes of food.

''We couldn't do this without the help from the National Guard,'' Limon said, directing the long line of cars, amassed along the main roadway leading up to the mobile food bank. ''This has been a terrific partnership, especially with the need being so great.''

As Boleak helps stack boxes from one of the many trucks for this weekly distribution mission, he quietly goes about his routine of jumping in and offering a hand.

''At the end of the day, I think all of us can feel good about lending a hand while doing the people's work,'' he said, ''It all comes down to neighbors helping neighbors.''

(Air Force Master Sgt. John Hughel is assigned to the Washington Air National Guard.)

Cadet Cut

An Air Force basic cadet gets a haircut while following social distancing precautions at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 25, 2020, to begin the journey of becoming a commissioned officer.

Air Force Spouse Creates Face Masks for People With Disabilities

June 29, 2020 | BY Nick DeCicco , 60th Air Mobility Wing

A lonely sense of isolation is among the many emotions people feel after months of stay-at-home orders and wearing face masks in public.

Danielle Lee Loera, the spouse of a technical sergeant at Travis Air Force Base, California, opened a window to a more hopeful perspective. She designed and produced masks with a clear covering that allows the wearer's mouth to be visible, helping them to communicate not only with words, but with emotions as well.

After seeing a friend's social media post of just such a mask, Loera, who has fashioned more than 900 masks since the COVID-19 pandemic began, said she was inspired to make some with a transparent cover over the mouth.

"I loved the idea of a window mask," she said recently via email. "I was immediately enamored with the idea of being able to see facial expressions, and I recognized, in my own life, just how important a smile is."

Her initial motivation was to make masks that allowed lip reading. The high school she attended was the only one in its district for those who are deaf or partially deaf, and she studied American Sign Language. Helping the hearing impaired is an issue she takes to heart, she said.

"I know that facial expressions and lip reading are as much a part of the language of sign as the hands," she added.

One recipient of Loera's inclusive masks was Tracy O’Banion, a Fairfield, California, resident, who was eager to share how happy she was to receive the masks. The two connected via social media after Loera posted a photo of herself wearing the window mask. Within days, the two connected, and O’Banion had a fresh supply of masks.

O'Banion said the masks are beneficial in communicating with her husband, who retired as a master chief petty officer after 30 years with the Coast Guard. She said the window mask has also helped at health care appointments and in other situations.

"Hearing people are not as affected by wearing a mask in their daily lives as deaf folks are," she said. "Just imagine people talking behind a mask, and [you] not being aware of anything they are saying. The windowed mask lets me lip read and gauge a person's emotions."

"Also, I like to know if people are smiling or not," O'Banion said via text message, adding a smiley emoji.

O'Banion said her masks help her feel more connected to others.

"I'm so grateful Danielle made these," O'Banion said. "It was so thoughtful, and she really understands the isolation deaf folks feel due to so many people wearing masks these days with the [coronavirus]."

Loera said the masks can also benefit more than just the hearing impaired. Although Loera's initial inspiration was lip reading, she has found that the masks serve a plethora of purposes.

"A very good friend of mine has an autistic son, and, like the hard of hearing, he is learning to read facial expressions," she said. "She has ordered masks, not for her son, but for herself and his teachers to aid him on his learning journey."

Loera said the masks are made with cotton fabric with a heavyweight, vinyl material with anti-fogging technology that is free of bisphenol-A, also known as BPA, an industrial chemical used to make hard, clear plastics. Loera's masks also follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said each mask takes about seven minutes to make.

"My pattern conforms to the face and the nose and has a window," she said. "The vinyl window acts as a filter, and it can go all the way around the ears. The straps are important, not only for comfort, but also because many hard-of-hearing and deaf people have hearing aids and implants already there. I wanted to accommodate hearing aids while also keeping it comfortable for the user."

Loera's husband, John, whom she praised for his support, is a flight engineer with the 9th Air Refueling Squadron at Travis Air Force Base.

"He doesn't know how to sew very well, but he has ironed, cut and pinned more masks than I can count," she said. "He's had my back in this, financially, emotionally and physically — because we both have the same goal: help as many people as we can, because we have the ability and drive to do so."

(Nick DeCicco is assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing.)

Honor Guard

An honor guard participates in a wreath laying ceremony to pay tribute to those who served in the Korean War at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., June 25, 2020.

Even During a Pandemic, Training in Guam Doesn't Stop

June 29, 2020 | BY ARMY CAPT. MARK SCOTT

They emerge from the 6-foot-high sword grass, one by one, carrying carbine paintball guns and wearing vastly different uniforms. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Celso Leonen, the commandant of the Guam National Guard's 203rd Regional Training Institute, must suppress his urge to make uniformity corrections — for now.

This is a joint exercise between the Guam National Guard's Officer Candidate School, and the University of Guam's ROTC programs. As distinct commissioning sources, the two programs traditionally have separate curricula, training events and uniforms.

Due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the normal training events in the mainland United States have been postponed for both OCS and ROTC.

"This doesn't mean we just walk away from our obligations," Leonen said. "The training doesn't just stop. These are our future leaders, and we owe it to them to give them the best training possible."

Under the leadership of Army Lt. Col. Jumar Castro, the commander of the 203rd Regional Training Institute, Leonen and the institute staff worked with the University of Guam ROTC program to combine resources and offer realistic and valuable training. The weeklong training, which took place in the stifling heat of Guam's tropical savanna, included tactical movements, communications and reports, conducting ambushes, reacting to contact, calling for artillery fire, calling for medical evacuation and more.

In the culminating training event, the trainees called for a live medical evacuation and were treated to a cool ride in a Guam National Guard UH-72 Lakota helicopter.

Army Officer Candidate Steven Cruz, the acting squad leader for the trainees, offered his thoughts on the combined training.

"We come out to the field, and we get missions done as a team," Cruz said. "We have OCS here with our ROTC brothers and sisters, and we're in this fight together. We train to fight, we train to win, and we cannot lose."

(Army Capt. Mark Scott is assigned to the Guam National Guard.)

Jersey Training

Army 1st Sgt. Steve B. Kovacs, left, and Staff Sgt. Julian Londono, both New Jersey National Guardsmen, participate in a training exercise at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., June 25, 2020.

Marine Moves

Marines assigned to the Silent Drill Platoon execute precision rifle drill movements during an evening parade at Marine Barracks Washington, June 26, 2020.