Soldiers with the Michigan National Guard's Task Force 182nd provided free COVID-19 drive-thru testing in Cadillac, Michigan, for anyone who wanted to be tested.
"For the past couple of months, we've been assisting with COVID-19 testing across the state with prisons, long-term care facilities, community events and even soldiers for pre and post [annual training] testing," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Emanuel Mosley.
As the platoon sergeant for the task force within the 272nd Regional Support Group, Mosley was in charge of all the teams at the Cadillac testing site. All of the soldiers want the participants to feel as comfortable as possible while taking the test, he said.
"Any way I can help, it doesn't matter what it is, if I'm able to assist anything to ease that anxiety that people may have," Mosley said. "I understand this is a dynamic that no one ever experienced before, unless you're over 100 years old. This is something different that the world has to deal with, and I support it all the way. As long as I'm here to help, I'll do what I can."
For Mosley, this means talking with the citizens, explaining what they are doing and just easing the pressure they may be feeling. He said he hopes the participants will go and tell others, so they will be more inclined to get their own test done.
Testing the communities is just the current stage of the task force's mission. They started out testing prisoners and then moved onto testing long-term care patients. They are still delivering testing kits to any long-term care facilities that request them.
"I enjoy this,' Mosley said. "Having more than 19 years in, and being toward the end of my career, this is something different. This virus hit the world unexpectedly, and we were called up to participate. This has been great, and we've been enjoying ourselves as well as learning new things."
After so many years in the guard, this is the first time Mosley has participated in a state relief effort. But some guardsmen, like Army Pvt. Tyler Stone, were greeted by the pandemic straight out of the gate.
"It definitely threw me in the deep end, but I love it," Stone said. "I'm actually really glad I get this opportunity, because things like this don't come along that often. I'm just really glad I got out of training in time for this, and that I was able to help in any way that I could."
Stone completed his advanced training to become a medic a month before he was called up to be on this mission. He did not even have the opportunity to attend his first drill before he started performing tests across the state.
"Since we've opened, we've had nonstop people coming in, which is just fantastic because that's what we're here for. We love to see a big crowd," Stone said. "We love to help the community in any way we can."
Although the testing was conducted in the middle of the week, the turnout was far greater than expected. Task Force 182nd normally operates testing sites on the weekends, but for this one, they had old and young coming through, along with a young adult baseball team coming after practice.
"After doing this I think I will appreciate what the National Guard does even more, because a lot of people don't really understand all that we do," Stone said. "Getting to be out here and actually working to make a difference in my community is great. I've loved every second of it. I think enlisting was the best decision of my life."
Whether it comes at the beginning of a career or at the end, the soldiers who are conducting the COVID-19 tests really appreciate what they are doing. After conducting more than 60,000 tests, the teams with Task Force 182nd are making a difference all around the state.
(Army Staff Sgt. Tegan Kucera is assigned to the Michigan National Guard.)