OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma National Guard is helping distribute critical medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile Warehouse to facilities throughout the state.
Gov. Kevin Stitt assigned more than 25 members of the Guard to assist the Oklahoma State Department of Health and other state agencies to fulfill, secure and transport the supplies as part of the State's whole-of-government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are here at a very important [time] for Oklahomans," said Maj. Gen. Michael Thompson, the adjutant general for Oklahoma. "This stockpile plays a tremendous role in the health of [the] citizens of Oklahoma. So, to be here and help distribute needed personal protective equipment across the state of Oklahoma is very critical. I'm glad that the Guard is here. It has an important role in that."
After an order for medical supplies is received and printed by the stockpile's staff, service members pick the quantity and type of equipment in each order. They then put the boxes on pallets, which go to the quality assurance team, where the pallets are checked and then wrapped with plastic to secure them for transport.
"They have six sets of eyes [during picking] that check it, and then it goes to our quality assurance team," said Staff Sgt. Betty Ayers, with Company B, 545th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and the noncommissioned officer in charge of the stockpile teams. "They have another six sets of eyes that check it and double-check it there to make sure everything's correct."
Many of the Guard members, who live and work as civilians throughout Oklahoma, are able to see the direct impact their work has on their communities.
"I think it's awesome because we're shipping out to places like Comanche County Health Department and Lawton, Oklahoma," said Spc. Payton Fremin, a Lawton native with Company A, 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. "That's my family and that's my friends. It's awesome that I am able to work up here shipping out things that they need."
Although the teams at Oklahoma Strategic National Stockpile are assembled with Guard members from different units, their training, deployments and camaraderie allow them to create effective and cohesive teams to work together for their fellow Oklahomans.
"I've been in [the Oklahoma Army National Guard for] 10 years, and this is actually my very first state active duty mission," said Ayers. "It's basically just like any other annual training that we do. … Even if we don't know each other, we blend really well together because we're all trained the same. So we're all basically like family by the end of the day."
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health's website, the Strategic National Stockpile is administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and designed to stockpile large quantities of medicine and medical supplies at sites throughout the nation to be distributed to, and used by, the public in a catastrophic health emergency. For a state to receive these supplies, they must have a written use plan in place and have run out of supplies needed to assist the community.
"This is a perfect example of what Oklahoma National Guard does when our community needs us," said Thompson. "We come here for these kinds of missions. For us at the Strategic National Stockpile, there's really not a more important need than that right now. So having members of the Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard here to help the state at this time is very important. We're glad we're a part of this team."