Putting the Science in MST The Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., is staying open for business, and one reservist has had a major impact on its operations. To be fair, Coast Guard reservists have been involved with surging personnel support around the country as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in his safety goggles and lab coat, one definitely stands out. Meet Petty Officer 2nd Class Min C. Rhee: formerly, a paralegal for the State of New York and a marine science technician at Coast Guard Sector New York, but currently, a full-time lab technician at the Coast Guard Academy’s COVID-19 Surveillance Testing Program. Rhee works in what normally would have been a science lab that’s been transformed due to the emergency into a COVID-19-testing lab. He took a leave of absence from his job in New York City and volunteered to come on orders with the Coast Guard for a job in New London, which was close enough to his family in New York. “There was no description, just ‘COVID relief,’” said Rhee with a laugh. “I thought I’d be doing swabbing.” It turned out the Academy was looking for a person who could continue running their testing program; they didn’t realize the gift they’d received. “The precision with which he operates would make most people crack,” said Chief Petty Officer Chad Cruset, another reservist who trained with Rhee in order to do a similar program on the west coast. “Putting the right person, in the right place, at the right time? That’s this guy.” Learning from one of CGA’s professors, Dr. Joshua Gray, section chief of chemistry at CGA, Rhee learned a system of anonymous PCR testing. Weekly, a small percentage of asymptomatic students and faculty are randomly tested in four-person micropools. The science gets complicated, but Rhee said in order to do a test completely, he looks through each sample to ensure there’s enough human DNA to know the sampling was done correctly. Then, he looks to identify the coronavirus RNA. “It’s almost like a spy game,” joked Rhee. “I’m trying to find that one asymptomatic person who is unknowingly transmitting coronavirus to other people, which would shut down the facilities.” Within hours of running the texts on the micropools, Rhee has results. If one of them pops positive, all members of that micropool go for more in-depth testing at the clinic, maintaining the integrity of the anonymous system. Rhee said the proactive testing keeps the students safe, which keeps the Coast Guard Academy on track and delivering future leaders to units around the country. “If we didn’t keep these places open, it would have a rippling effect,” said Rhee. “But with this testing, we’re able to keep things going.” Rhee has run almost 10,000 tests, but the positivity rate is miniscule; maybe ten positive students in the last year. Rhee has helped train other reservists, like Cruset, who are using the same surveillance testing on the West Coast and at Training Center Cape May, N.J. “We’re kind of trail blazing,” said Rhee, “but we also have a proven track record.” . Work study A year after enlisting in the Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Perez Lopez, a reservist at Port Security Unit 311 deployed in 2018 with PSU 311’s Shoreside Security Division in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While there, he began his master's degree in organizational leadership from Waldorf University. Perez Lopez volunteered to extend his deployment to support PSU 301’s Waterside Security Division. As part of his deployment with the two PSUs, Perez Lopez picked up engineering and boat crew qualifications, but simultaneously, he continued working on his degree. He graduated May 8, 2021. BZ! . Issue 2 • 2021 . RESERVIST 33
