For This FAA Employee, National Guard Deployment Is Just “Neighbors Helping Neighbors”
Rick Breitenfeldt thought he had seen it all during his time as a member of the Maryland National Guard. In the last 17 years, he has been deployed following 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, wildfires and riots.
As it turned out, Rick hadn’t seen it all.
In March, Breitenfeldt’s unit, the Joint Forces Headquarters, was mobilized along with the entire public affairs apparatus of the State of Maryland to assist with that state’s response to the COVID-19 emergency.
Breitenfeldt, a media specialist in the FAA’s Office of Communications, said “the Maryland National Guard has long-standing partnerships with state emergency managers and first responders to help ensure a rapid and unified response. The Guard has units that specialize in areas like medical and transportation that can aid and augment civil agencies’ capabilities,” he added.
Breitenfeldt serves as a state public affairs officer in the Guard. “I basically do for the Maryland Guard what I do for the FAA,” he said. “My job will be to help the media see what we’re doing, get them the right people and the right interviews, and facilitate their access to the facilities,” he explained.
The Maryland Guard has given Breitenfeldt and his team plenty to share with members of the media. Guard members packed food and set up distribution sites at 38 locations around the state. Most of the food, Breitenfeldt noted, was for children who receive free lunches at school.
Guard members put their health — and possibly their lives — on the line when they responded to the Pleasant View Nursing Home in Mount Airy, Md., which had reported an outbreak of COVID-19 among more than 60 of its residents, five of whom have died. Three providers and six medics assessed the residents’ conditions to determine which needed a higher level of care.
The Guard also set up a COVID-19 testing facility in the parking lot of FedEx Field in Landover, Md. “The hope is people will be able to drive through and get tested and know their status from their car,” said Breitenfeldt. “It’s a proof-of-concept effort. If it works [here], we’re prepared to do the same at other sites, such as the Preakness racetrack.”
The next day, Breitenfeldt and his unit would be at the Baltimore Civic Center. There, Guardsmen are converting the Center into a field hospital, building beds and setting up rooms and a medical facility with triage capabilities in conjunction with FEMA and Maryland’s Department of Health.
This deployment has differed from past ones in significant ways, said Breitenfeldt. “Normally the Guard supports law enforcement and first responders, helping them to save lives and ease human suffering.
“Here, it’s a little bit different,” he continued. “Everyone can get to where they need to go. It’s not so much a security or delivery mission. It’s just freeing up folks so that they can do their civilian missions.”
In addition, the aftermath of a natural disaster usually results in a crush of media inquiries for several days before abating. The past few weeks of the pandemic, however, has seen a steady stream of media requests.
Also, the traditional avenues for communicating — press conferences and personal interviews — are rendered obsolete by the nature of the pandemic. Instead, Breitenfeldt has been using video meeting services to deliver the Guard’s messaging.
“It’s been a little bit hard to adapt,” admitted Breitenfeldt.
As for personal safety, “I guess I have as much concern as anybody else does,” he said. Personal protection includes “a lot of hand sanitizer and handwashing. We have the tools that we need to keep our workspace and areas clean,” he added.
One small advantage for this deployment is the accommodations. Breitenfeldt is used to sleeping on floors, cots, or wherever space allows. But because of the requirement for social distancing, he and his colleagues were put up in a hotel. “It’s not out of comfort but out of safety … a desire for keeping the force healthy,” he said. “It’s really out of necessity.”
Not that he spends much time in his room. Rick’s days last 10 to 12 hours; then it’s time to eat dinner and to sleep.
The next day he’s up early and ready to start communicating. “The main message is, ‘We live here in this state, so it’s neighbors helping neighbors. If you see us, you should feel easy — not uneasy — because we’re here to help. We’re in this together. We’ll get through this together.”
Despite their varied circumstances, each of Breitenfeld’s deployments have had one thing in common: appreciation from civilians. “Be it at a gas station or a pharmacy or a hotel, I’ve never once been greeted [with] anything but a smile and a ‘Thank you for your service,’” he said.
“Everybody has a different comfort level,” he added. “But [in my experience] everybody feels a little better when they see someone in uniform. They have some sense of confidence for assurance that we’re going to get through this.”
Breitenfeldt in return appreciates the opportunity to provide assistance, and most of all, to share the experience with colleagues in the Guard.
“What I like best in situations like this is where you can get out and help people who are in need [and] be of service. You’re okay with putting your own life on hold and helping others.”
The camaraderie “is definitely one of the things I will miss,” he added. “Who knows what tomorrow is going to bring. That’s the beauty of the Guard. The resources and skills we bring from our civilian jobs is what makes the Guard so special.”
