During these unprecedented times as Georgia fights to win the battle against COVID-19, Gov. Brian Kemp has turned to the Georgia National Guard. And the Guardsmen are answering the call.
More than 1,000 Georgia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have been activated to support the COVID-19 response effort and more than 60 volunteers from the State Defense Force are also supporting the operations.
“The Georgia National Guard stands ready to assist in this time of need,” said Maj. Gen. Tom Carden, Georgia’s Adjutant General. “Our training has prepared us to fight this virus, and we are eager to lend a hand in this battle.”
As of Monday, the largest number of Guardsmen have been deployed to work in nursing and long-term living homes to disinfect facilities and prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. So far, the Georgia National Guard has disinfected more than 30 long-term care facilities and will be continuing this operation for the next few weeks at more than 300 facilities. This Infection Control Team mission is assigned to the Georgia Army National Guard’s Macon-based 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and Marietta-based 201st Regional Support Group.
“Georgia’s top priority is increasing healthcare capacity to protect vulnerable Georgians, especially those residing in long-term care facilities,” said Gov. Kemp, when announcing this effort by the Georgia National Guard. “If we can keep these populations as healthy as possible, we will be able to conserve precious medical supplies and hospital bed space in the coming days and weeks.”
The Georgia National Guard has also deployed medical support teams to 17 hospitals. These teams provide support to the professional medical staff at each facility in order to enable them to focus on critical life-saving requirements. The teams are comprised of service members with medical training and certifications who are not currently employed in the medical field in their civilian profession.
Neither the infection control teams and medical support teams exist as units in the military and are “purpose built” in response to the public health state of emergency.
The Georgia Army National Guard and Georgia State Defense Force continue to support 10 food banks across the state — from Valdosta to Dalton. Support of food banks in Atlanta and Athens began Monday. Soldiers and volunteers provide these food banks with critically needed manpower to package and deliver boxed meals to Georgia residents in need.
Soldiers, Airmen and State Defense Force Volunteers are embedded at four state Department of Public Health facilities across Georgia. The mission of these Soldiers is to provide logistical planning and distribution support and supplement the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and Georgia Department of Public Health with manpower.
