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Florida National Guard takes on Tampa Bay missions

The St. Petersburg battalion began organizing a Tampa warehouse full of basic supplies on Wednesday.
 
Florida National Guard Spc. John Larson, with the Florida Medical Detachment, retrieves a sample from a patient at a COVID-19 community-based testing site in Broward County on March 19.
Florida National Guard Spc. John Larson, with the Florida Medical Detachment, retrieves a sample from a patient at a COVID-19 community-based testing site in Broward County on March 19. [ SGT. MICHAEL BALTZ | 107th Mobile Public Affairs Deta ]
Published April 29, 2020|Updated April 30, 2020

The Florida National Guard 53rd Brigade Support Battalion, based in St. Petersburg, began a new mission on Wednesday at a Feeding Tampa Bay warehouse in Tampa, full of donated food, water and other basic supplies.

Guard members will inventory, package or repackage goods, and organize the space to assist the Hillsborough County emergency management team, according to battalion commander Lt. Col. Christopher Buckley.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the local battalion also has been scanning travelers at Tampa International Airport for the past five weeks, handing out and collecting Florida Health Department disclosure forms from passengers coming from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana, Buckley said.

“We’re really the manpower for the state to get the job done,” Buckley said. The unit has activated more than 200 of its members on missions across the state.

His team has helped direct individuals at three drive-through testing sites in Palm Beach County. Buckley praised the team’s efficiency, at one site helping to test 800 individuals in a day.

As of April 26, about 2,904 Florida Guard members were deployed as part of the state’s COVID-19 response, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis, having tested more than 84,870 individuals at mobile and walk-up testing sites.

The St. Petersburg battalion and other components of the Florida National Guard historically have assisted state and federal agencies in the wake of disasters such as hurricanes, often doing so behind the scenes. This time, the missions place Guard members out front, making the work even more rewarding.

“You get to look the people in the eye that you’re supporting,” Buckley said.

Other Guard units have been assisting state agencies in testing for the coronavirus at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Tampa Bay and elsewhere. The 50th Regional Support Group in Miami-Dade County has provided translation services for Spanish and Haitian-Creole residents. And members of the 870th Engineer Company are receiving and distributing food to those in need in Tallahassee.

Members of the St. Petersburg battalion not called into action are working in healthcare roles and as first-responders in their civilian capacities, Buckley said.

None of the missions have any end date in sight, he said.