Providing up-to-date information, news and original content on American Military issues.
Arizona National Guardsmen prepare boxes of groceries to be delivered to area residents at a food bank in Snowflake, Ariz., Oct. 14, 2020. Arizona citizen soldiers and airmen are supporting community needs during the state’s COVID-19 emergency response.
Army Staff Sgt. Sandra Tellez donates blood at Morris Air National Guard Base, Tucson, Ariz., Oct. 16, 2020. The blood donation took place as the Arizona National Guard continues to serve the community during the state’s COVID-19 emergency response.
A patrol boat stations alongside the USS Comstock during routine maritime operations in the Philippine Sea, Oct. 9, 2020.
U.S. Air Force and Royal Australian air force F-35A Lightning IIs fly in formation above Bagdad, Ariz., during a commemoration flight celebrating the Air Force partnership between the two nations, Oct. 8, 2020.
Marine Corps Rachel Young-Porter reaches to pet a horse during an animal packing course at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif., Oct. 9, 2020. The course teaches students to use mules to travel through difficult terrain with mission-essential gear.
Seaman Joshua Gutierrez organizes supplies in an office aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the South China Sea, Oct. 17, 2020.
The smell of sweet sauce and spicy aromas permeate from what is known as ''Admin Alley'' every Saturday at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo.
Army Sgt. John Gotia, a financial management specialist with the 374th Finance Battalion, supports the U.S.-led Kosovo Force Regional Command East in it's 27th rotation, and channels his resilience amidst the challenges of being deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic by connecting with his cultural community and cooking.
Gotia procures vegetables from a garden he maintains outside of his office to make Asian cuisine, sharing his culinary spirit with the soldiers in the brigade.
"I enjoy gardening as it reminds me of home and helps the time pass by and be creative with our ingredients," Gotia said. ''Cooking Asian food is my norm and a communal event with family and friends as well as seeing other people enjoy our food.''
Gotia and several other soldiers, who share an Asian cultural background, gather every Saturday to make traditional dishes.
"We gravitate towards this, because it gives us a sense of closeness and being home and being able to share our cultural needs," said Army Cpl. Minh Le, a KFOR Regional Command East soldier with the Oregon National Guard. "It is very communal. When we are cooking, everyone pitches in and is in tune with helping out."
The group formed when the base cafeteria eat-in option and leave were cancelled as part of force protective measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"When the DFAC closed and the vacation plan came to an end, we had to resort to something to do and occupy our minds; and at same time, use what we had to cook,'' Gotia said.
Gotia, who landscapes at home, quickly referred back to his gardening skills and collected tomato seeds, cucumber seeds and popcorn kernels from meals and began nourishing a small garden outside of his office.
He began connecting with other people on post who had an Asian background or knowledge of Asian cooking.
Soon a group formed, and they not only cook but share their meals with soldiers from the installation.
"It is very Asian culture, when you have friends you are close to and care for you share food,'' Le said, who credits Gotia with bringing the Asian community on the installation together.
Food is the universal language of care, Le said, who is of Vietnamese descent, and shared with others in the group about life in Vietnam and her mother's cooking.
Every Saturday, soldiers from many cultural backgrounds stop in to learn how to make the cuisine and share in the cultural experience.
Gotia and his team often make Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipino dishes.
Gotia has a physical therapy and nursing degree and is looking into becoming an officer while securing a full-time job in finance.
The team competed and won a food competition event earlier in the deployment. Gotia said his joy comes from sharing his food and culture with others.
"The competition was an opportunity to cook and have people outside of our group enjoy and taste it," Gotia said. ''It is nice to know a lot of people appreciate when me and Cpl. Le cook — everyone likes it.''
(Army courtesy story from the100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment).
Oct. 19, 2020 | BY Army Col. Meritt Phillips , Army Reserve Medical Command
Army Spc. Duncan Crow joined the Army just over a year ago and had the opportunity to use his Army and civilian medical skills during a recent mobilization that marks a first in Army Reserve history.
A December 2019 graduate of Army Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Crowe completed advanced individual training at Joint Base San Antonio in April, qualifying him as a combat medic. Three months later, he answered the nation's call and mobilized with an Army Reserve urban augmentation medical task force.
Crow is one of more than 1,000 skilled Army Reserve medical soldiers mobilized since March to provide Defense Department support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's whole-of-America response to the pandemic.
Specifically created to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, UAMTFs are 85-person teams consisting of doctors, nurses, combat medics, respiratory therapists and ancillary personnel who expand the capacity of care that medical facilities can offer.
Crow served with UAMTF-7452, assigned to assist DHR Health in Edinburg, Texas.
"The mission of the UAMTF was to assist and serve the people of Texas by augmenting the staff of the intensive care and COVID-19 units. My personal mission was to make everyone's day a little easier," Crow said.
Unlike some of his UAMTF members, Crow had not worked in a COVID-19 environment prior to arriving in Texas, but that didn't limit him.
"I think it is important for everyone to maintain a warrior's attitude in everything we do, and not give up until you are satisfied with what you have accomplished," Crow said. "It was stressful and tiring some days, but there was no better reward than being able to see some of the positive impacts we had on people's lives."
Crow earned his basic emergency medical technician certification from the University of South Alabama in Mobile and joined the Army Reserve to assist with his future education goals that include an interest in psychology and a career as a physician assistant.
"I joined the Army Reserve as a way to continue college and to still serve my country," Crow said.
Originally a member of the 7375th Blood Detachment based in Mobile, Alabama, Crow volunteered for the UAMTF mission.
"I can't say I'm more unique than anyone else on the task force that volunteered to serve the country in this manner. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. My family is extraordinarily proud of me and I could not do anything without their support," Crow continued.
In total, U.S. Northern Command, through U.S. Army North, assigned approximately 590 military medical and support personnel from the Army and Navy in support of FEMA in Texas.
As Crow returned to Alabama, his mission complete, he summed up his experience.
"It was awesome to be surrounded by such a great group of motivated individuals, I've learned more than I ever could have imagined," Crow said. "It feels good to know that at least a few people have been helped or positively impacted by my presence."
Posts
