National Guard | Army War College Foundation, INC. - Part 4

Army War College Foundation, INC.

Enriching, Enhancing & Encouraging

National Guard

Matt James, DDE ‘19

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LTC (P) Matt James is the G3 for the Washington Army National Guard (WAARNG) and he has been developing and executing plans to RSOI and deploy WAARNG Soldiers as part of Joint Task Force (JTF) STEELHEAD. JTF STEELHEAD is comprised of Airmen and Soldiers from the Washington National Guard providing medical and logistics support to local, state, and federal efforts for the COVID-19 response in the State of Washington. He is one of several 2019 USAWC graduates doing their part to “flatten the curve” during the State of Washington’s COVID-19 response. They report they have relied heavily on knowledge attained at USAWC to develop the WAARNG strategic response to the pandemic.

LTC (P) Matthew R. ‘Matt’ James
Distance Class of 2019, Seminar 12
G3, Washington Army National Guard

Jack Mushallo, DDE ‘19

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COL Jack Mushallo is the G4 for the Washington Army National Guard (WAARNG) and he has been developing and executing plans to RSOI and deploy WAARNG Soldiers as part of Joint Task Force (JTF) STEELHEAD. JTF STEELHEAD is comprised of Airmen and Soldiers from the Washington National Guard providing medical and logistics support to local, state, and federal efforts for the COVID-19 response in the State of Washington. He is one of several 2019 USAWC graduates doing their part to “flatten the curve” during the State of Washington’s COVID-19 response. They report they have relied heavily on knowledge attained at USAWC to develop the WAARNG strategic response to the pandemic.

COL John M. ‘Jack’ Mushallo III
Distance Class of 2019, Seminar 7
G4, Washington Army National Guard

Peter Mielo, DDE ‘20

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The Pennsylvania National Guard (PANG) Joint Staff has been actively supporting the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) response to COVID-19 since PEMA fully activated the Commonwealth Response Coordination Center (CRCC). The PANG Joint Staff provided planners to augment PEMA’s planning staff and Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers (EPLOs) to streamline planning and coordination. PEMA receives resource or support requests from affected counties or organizations, assesses if the request will be supported, and selects the agency best able to provide support. The PANG Joint Operations Center (JOC) receives a Mission Assignment number, if selected to support, and the Joint Staff coordinates support with three geographical task forces and two functional task forces. The Joint Staff has facilitated planning and coordination of repatriation of Pennsylvania residents from a cruise ship, support to Community Based Testing Sites, setup of Field Medical Stations, food distribution missions, and continued staff augmentation to PEMA. PANG continues to develop future planning efforts in support of potential PEMA Mission Assignments.

LTC Peter A. Mielo
Distance Class of 2020
Deputy J3/DDOMS, Deputy Director of Military Support
Pennyslvania National Guard

Dave Dean, DDE ‘18

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Dave Dean, DDE ‘18

COL David Dean is Commander of the Hood Mobilization Brigade, which oversees mobilization and demobilization operations at North Fort Hood, including the quarantine of more than 500 troops. Their efforts to combat COVID-19 while mobilizing and demobilizing Active Duty, Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers has been complex as it is across the force. In early April, six units were settled in at North Fort Hood, completing their demobilization processing before returning to their home states. That demobilization processing time had to be extended due to the Department of Defense-directed 14-day quarantine for the units filtering through from their overseas deployments. Their first two weeks on American soil are now spent in quarantine to protect our troops, to protect family members, and to protect the communities where they live and work. These 41 troops in the first unit quarantined at North Fort Hood were with the 647th Expeditionary Terminal Operations Element, based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, as they were redeploying from Germany in mid-March. While this unexpected extension to their stay at North Fort Hood was a delay to their homecoming, the seriousness of the pandemic, and the Army’s response, was not lost on these Army Reserve Soldiers. Dave’s unit took on their mobilization mission just a week prior to the quarantine order going into effect, so he and his team has had to hit the ground running. They benefited from some 2014 lessons learned when North Fort Hood was used to quarantine troops for 21 days after they returned from supporting the fight against the Ebola virus in West Africa. Initial plans were based on that model, but tweaks to improve the process had to be made for this novel coronavirus COVID-19, as expected. While in quarantine, troops are screened twice daily, and if a medical situation should arise, the staff of Troop Medical Clinic 14 at North Fort Hood are there to respond. As a Reservist himself, Dave has gone through the (demobilization) process and understands how anxious Soldiers are to return home to their families, but he also understands the importance of safety, well-being, and preventing the spread of this highly-contagious COVID-19.

COL David L. Dean
Distance Class of 2018
Commander, Hood Mobilization Brigade
Fort Hood, Texas

Chris Stanger, DDE ‘11

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I’m currently the Chief of Staff for the Arkansas Department of the Military. I’m working at the state level for all State Active Duty missions for the National Guard. I work the interagency business for the state, FEMA, and local officials regarding military solutions to civilian authority needs.

COL (Ret) Christopher ‘Chris’ S. Stanger
Distance Class of 2011

Jeff Dickerson, RES ‘13

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Jeff Dickerson came out of recent retirement to help lead the Georgia Department of Defense (DOD) COVID-19 Interagency Planning Team. He and his team are receiving needs from across the state and finding solutions as they stay abreast of the state’s health care system capacity and resources available to surge.

COL (Ret) Jeffrey C. Dickerson
Resident Class of 2013
Georgia Department of Defense