CHARLESTON, W.Va. –
At the direction of Governor Jim Justice and in conjunction with the Joint Interagency Task Force, the West Virginia National Guard will begin to draw down the number of service members providing support to the State of West Virginia for Covid-19 response, to include those serving in hospitals beginning this week.
At present, more than 530 WVNG Soldiers and Airmen are working in various capacities across the state, to include logistics and transportation, Covid-19 testing and vaccinations, contact tracing, hospital and administrative support.
Beginning March 11, the WVNG’s hospital support mission will come to a close. Current Federal Emergency Management Agency Covid-19 response orders for more than 500 WVNG service members are set to end March 16, 2022. There is a possibility for extension through June 30th for WVNG personnel to assist in mission close out and to provide continued support for various state agencies.
The month of March will mark the two-year anniversary of the West Virginia National Guard’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic that blanketed the globe and affected West Virginia residents. Many Soldiers and Airmen have been on federally-activated order for more than 720 days during their volunteer roles to support the state.
“I cannot begin to describe how proud I am to serve alongside the men and women of the West Virginia National Guard who, for the past two years, have been working around the clock to help the State of West Virginia with any task to help save lives in the fight against Covid-19,” stated Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, the Adjutant General of the WVNG. “More than 1,000 service members helped their fellow West Virginians throughout this period by transporting supplies, offering testing and vaccinations, helping with contact tracing or in the hospitals, sanitizing buildings and vehicles, processing unemployment claims, and the list could go on. This has been our longest-running activation as a National Guard, and our Soldiers and Airmen did the work without fail.”
He continued, “Throughout this response, our men and women also responded to other state and federal missions, truly showcasing the breadth and depth of expertise and professionalism in our ranks. We will continue to provide support where needed in a federal and state capacity, through our work with Governor Justice and the JIATF until we are through this pandemic phase.”
Service members will begin their out processing next week and will be able to participate in an on-site job fair to connect Soldiers, Airmen and their spouses or family members with employment opportunities, if needed.
The WVNG has been mobilized since March 2020 to assist the State of West Virginia in the COVID-19 pandemic response. Since that time, the Guard has:
· Supported 5,242 Covid-19 testing lanes for more than 100,000 citizens
· Supported 11,187 Covid-19 vaccination lanes
· Conducted 146,568 data entries for contact tracing with local health departments
· Completed 5,194 delivery missions for personal protective equipment and supplies to all 55 counties in West Virginia
· Disinfected 644 vehicles and 365 facilities
· Supported 37 hospitals/long-term care facilities in 26 counties