Campus News

UB student called to active duty with National Guard

Lt. A. Fox helps to assemble COVID-19 test kits.

Lt. A. Fox helps to assemble COVID-19 test kits at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Schenectady. Photo: Courtesy of Lt. A. Fox.

By MICHAEL ANDREI

Published April 1, 2020

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“This is one of those times when everyone can make a difference. ”
Lt. A. Fox, UB student and medical services officer
National Guard

A UB student who is also a lieutenant with a National Guard medical unit based in Buffalo is among those called to active duty by the Guard in mid-March in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Lt. A. Fox [first name withheld by request] is a medical services officer assigned to Charlie Company, 427th Brigade Support Battalion, based at the Connecticut Street Armory.

The National Guard medics have been sent to the New York State downstate region to assist at COVID-19 testing sites.

“I was among those in our unit who were assigned to Stratton Air National Guard Base in Schenectady,” Fox said on Friday. “We were assembling test kits — biohazard bags, swabs and vials — to be sent where they were needed around the state.

“Other medics from my unit have been assigned to drive-in testing sites on Staten Island, and in The Bronx and New Rochelle, conducting testing with the swabs.”

Fox, who is from Lockport, graduated with a BS in animal behavior, ecology and conservation from Canisius College in 2017. She is  completing prerequisites for UB's Accelerated Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Program, with plans to enroll in the School of Nursing in May 2021 for the one-year ABS program.

“I have been in the Guard for several years and have done volunteer activations before, but this is my first mandatory active duty mission,” she said.

One of the test kits assembled by Lt. A. Fox's unit.

One of the test kits assembled by Lt. A. Fox's unit. Photo: Courtesy of Lt. A. Fox

Fox said her unit was assigned on a support mission, coordinating people and supplies and then delivering them where they are needed.

“We put the kits together pretty rapidly, in assembly-line fashion," she said, noting her unit assembled around 90,000 test kits in about three days — with 24,000 being completed the first day.

As her unit’s second-in-command, Fox said much of what she is focused on is day-to-day operations.

“Coordinating soldiers, meals, rest cycles — this is going to be a long mission and addressing and fixing small problems before they become big ones is important,” she said.

Dan Ryan, director of UB’s Veteran Services office, explained that many service members today “have the expertise to assist with medical care, build field hospitals, provide shelter or transport food, medical equipment and people to meet the needs of the public in a crisis. That is now happening in New York, as well as other states.

“UB students who are veterans in the National Guard or members of the reserves who are called to active duty are an integral part of our campus community,” Ryan said.

“UB honors and supports the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.”

Asked for her reaction to what she is seeing and doing on active duty, Fox said, “It’s amazing to experience how well the National Guard is trained, and ready to support and work alongside our local officials and emergency responders to handle a crisis.”

She also urged young people to take the pandemic seriously and pay attention to what is happening in their communities. “This is a novel virus, meaning it is a new strain and therefore spreads very easily. It affects everyone and not just older people,” she said.

“It may be hard to think about it when it is not directly around you. This one of those times when everyone can make a difference.”