Coast Guard reservists staff community vaccination centers around the country in response to FEMA mission assignments. FEMA photo courtesy Lauren Loyless O ver the last year, the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve have seen a pandemic-related surge in operations at all levels of the organization, bringing on people to support by adjusting policies, augmenting a strained or quarantined active duty crew, or, most recently, working with the Department of Health and Human Services on interagency operational coordination. In February, the Coast Guard Reserve was called upon in a different way to directly support the national vaccination effort at federally supported community vaccination centers around the country. “So far we have sent about 100 reservists on Title 10 orders to support vaccination centers across several states in response to FEMA mission assignments,” said Capt. Craig Wennet, a member of the Office of Emergency Management and Disaster Response at Coast Guard Headquarters assigned to the COVID Crisis Action Team to coordinate the involuntary recall. Weighing the requested need against the Coast Guard’s available bandwidth, the service pulled together teams of co- located personnel, rather than sending individual reservists. The members are currently supporting vaccination center efforts in Oklahoma City, New York, Dallas, Oakland Calif., and Portland, Ore. 22 RESERVIST � Issue 1 • 2021 New York In New York, 20 reservists, most from Sector New York and Sector Long Island Sound, in New Haven, Conn., reported to two community vaccination centers in Brooklyn and Queens, N.Y. The sites are state-run and federally-supported, with FEMA as the lead agency. Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Brodeur of Sector LIS Enforcement volunteered to leave his job as a communication and outreach specialist; he reported to the site in Queens in late February. "I talked to my wife and my kids, and I said, ‘This might be a way for me to make a difference,'" Brodeur said. "Things moved fast—we got orders on a Thursday to report by noon Friday, and when we walked in the door of the facility, [FEMA and the Navy] were happy to see us. Typical Coasties, we jumped right in." The first week, the team saw 14-hour, adrenaline-fueled days, but they soon settled into a rhythm. Working seven days a week was tough, but they appreciated the kindness and gratitude from the community. “This was a very hard-hit area a year ago,” said Brodeur. “People have been telling us about family members who were impacted, and they see this as perhaps a little light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.” The centers stayed open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but lines formed outside by 6 a.m., and a steady pace of community members flowed in at a rate of 3,000 per day. Senior Chief Petty Officer Jeff Ray, the senior enlisted reserve advisor for Station New London, Conn., and deputy team leader for the Coast Guard members, reminded the team
