{"id":324172,"date":"2020-06-03T06:02:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T20:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=324172"},"modified":"2020-06-03T06:02:04","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T20:02:04","slug":"guam-guard-helps-hand-out-food-packs-in-guam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/guam-guard-helps-hand-out-food-packs-in-guam\/","title":{"rendered":"Guam Guard helps hand out food packs in Guam"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Pvt. 1st Class Keana Ardiente of the Guam National Guard\u2019s 1-294th Infantry Regiment\u2019s \u201cAyuyu\u201d Company directs traffic in support of the COVID-19 food distribution site in Dededo on May 29. \u201cI feel proud and always motivated, serving my country and Guam,\u201d said Ardiente.\u00a0(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BARRIGADA, Guam\u2014The Guam National Guard\u2019s Joint Task Force 671 Task Force Response provided support to the Guam Department of Education last May 29 to distribute food to thousands of island residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Task Force Response soldiers and airmen worked alongside government of Guam law enforcement to regulate traffic and manage crowds. Thousands of cars lined roadways in the villages of Dededo and Barrigada to take advantage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Emergency Food Assistance Program, which Guam DOE oversees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re prepared to support valid mission requests from the government of Guam,\u201d said Joint Task Force 671 Dual Status Commander Brig. Gen. Johnny Lizama. \u201cOur service members have been out there since Day 1, fulfilling these missions with complete professionalism and we could not be more proud to serve our island and our fellow Guamanians. The soldiers and airmen have worked tirelessly around the clock to ensure the safety and security of our homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assisting with the food distribution is the newest mission for Task Force Response.<\/p>\n

Since the island\u2019s public health emergency was declared in March, service members provided traffic and crowd control at government of Guam COVID-19 quarantine and isolation sites; mass testing sites in support of the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services in the villages of Dededo, Mangilao and Agat; and in support of Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero\u2019s COVID-19 educational campaign along the island\u2019s main thoroughfares.<\/p>\n

Additionally, service members assisted with sanitizing government agencies in preparation for reopening.<\/p>\n

Exercising her powers as the commander in chief, Leon Guerrero activated the Guam National Guard and nearly 100 soldiers and airmen were called to duty under Task Force Response.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
SPC Peter Cruz of the Guam National Guard\u2019s Forward Support \u201cHulu\u201d Company directs traffic in support of the COVID-19 food distribution site in Tiyan on May 29.\u00a0(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSince we\u2019ve been activated, we have been providing security support to the Guam Police Department at the various isolation and quarantine sites throughout the island,\u201d said Maj. Alvin Alvarez, commander, Task Force Response. \u201cWe were also tasked to support the Department of Public Health and Social Services initiative to educate the public about COVID-19 and the governor\u2019s executive order.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Guardsmen are more familiar with responding to crises such as typhoons and earthquakes, the pandemic poses a unique situation, but the Guard remains ready and able to respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur units and our entire Guard have done a good job building airmen leaders and soldier leaders,\u201d said Alvarez. \u201cWe are always ready to respond to a crisis, whether manmade, natural or even a public health issue, this is what we\u2019re trained to do. Even though COVID-19 is unique, our soldiers and airmen are adjusting well and executing their missions the best they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the fight against the pandemic continues and mission requests are made, task force response and its soldiers and airmen are prepared to fulfill mission requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in this together,\u201d said Sgt. 1st Class Philip Biacan, Task Force Response non-commissioned officer. \u201cWe believe in our leadership and what they\u2019re asking us to do\u2014that this is all to benefit our community.\u201d (PR)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BARRIGADA, Guam\u2014The Guam National Guard\u2019s Joint Task Force 671 Task Force Response provided support to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":324174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[42,1205],"class_list":["post-324172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-food","tag-guam-guard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}