March 22, 2021
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BY Army Staff Sgt. Erica Jaros
History has seen women stepping up to serve in the military for
centuries, and the COVID-19 pandemic has them taking the lead more than
ever.
The theme of this year's International Women's Day, March 8, was
"Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world."
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, women across the world have been
leading efforts in patient care and the return to normalcy. Dedicated
medical professionals in the District of Columbia National Guard are
putting the well-being of others first, in and out of uniform.
Air Force Maj. Telisha Johnson, chief nurse for the 113th Medical
Group, D.C. Air National Guard, jumped at the call to coordinate with
leadership and local organizations to help mitigate the spread of the
virus.
"First, I was deployed to the [D.C.] Department of Health to assist
in [the] planning [of] an alternate care site … [and] figuring out the
staffing situation [if] there [were] a medical surge amongst the
hospitals," Johnson said. "When we got to the alternate care site, I was
responsible for not only training personnel that would be coming there
from MedStar [Health], but also I was going to be the operations chief
for the alternative site."
Being a leader in the medical field means determining where your time
is best spent, so when the virus began its surge across the U.S. in
March of 2020, Air Force Lt. Col. Karolyn Teufel, a physician with the
113th Wing, D.C. Air National Guard, had to make a tough decision.
"I was being asked to do both missions: patient care and contingency
planning and testing sites," Teufel said. "I was torn between
contributing to that guard mission but also taking care of COVID-19
patients at [my hospital]. D.C. got overwhelmed with COVID-19 in April
of 2020, and I just felt like I couldn't leave my coworkers at the
hospital."
Teufel withdrew from the military COVID-19 mission and devoted her
time entirely to patient care at her hospital through May before
returning to assist the military with testing sites in the summer.
Recently, as the focus has turned more from testing to prevention,
Johnson has been overseeing the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations
for military personnel in the D.C. National Guard and members of other
states supporting security missions in the district.
Given the unique challenge of COVID-19 — a virus that not only
attacks the physical health of millions, but also the emotional and
mental health of millions more — women are proving to be particularly
well suited to caring for the holistic health and recovery of the world.
"The post-COVID-19 world is a place where women will thrive, because
the experience of COVID-19, I think, allowed women to shine and prosper
in that they were already natural multi-taskers," Teufel said. "It
required people to think outside the box … that's already something
women were doing before COVID-19: trying to be creative in balancing
careers and families."
Women are standing out in every way during the pandemic, and it's causing others to take notice.
"One of the vaccine developers is a female. She's African American.
It is just amazing to see that no matter where you come from, you could
be a powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with," Johnson said. "I think
seeing that is what is inspiring little girls across the country. [It
is] inspiring women like me to keep on reaching."
As the country continues to social distance and vaccinate, women are
still balancing their other military roles. Teufel is preparing for a
possible deployment as a critical care air transport physician
transferring service members who are injured or sick from deployment
zones.
Regardless of the roles women have, they are being looked to as
leaders in all fields. Whether it's in the military or public sector,
more women are being recognized for their technical skills and
leadership abilities.
"We've definitely seen more leadership roles earned by [women] than
ever before across not only the military but the United States," Johnson
said. "We're pushing the boundaries. We're breaking glass ceilings and
doing everything we can to make sure that we have equal footing across
this country, across the world. I see nothing but greatness in our
future."
(Army Staff Sgt. Erica Jaros is assigned to the 715th Public Affairs Detachment.)
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