Air Force Reserve COVID-19 team lead visits HARB

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Lionel Castellano
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office

Maj. Gen. John Hickok, Air Force Reserve COVID-19 team lead, visited Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida to observe the base's COVID-19 vaccination efforts Nov. 6.

During the November unit training assembly, Hickok met with base leadership and 482nd Medical Squadron personnel to see first-hand the base’s COVID vaccine efforts and to thank everyone involved for all their hard work

One of the Reserve Citizen Airmen the general spoke with was Lt. Col. Joanna Dunk, 482nd Fighter Wing Installation Vaccine Coordinator, who gave him a tour of the wing's COVID-19 vaccination implementation processes during a mass vaccination event.

“It is a recognition of what we have done for the wing, service members and the community at large,” said Dunk. "For our members, it shows that what we do matters.”

Colonel David Castaneda, 482nd Fighter Wing commander, and other base leadership sat down with Hickok to discuss HARB's progress during the last two years dealing with the pandemic and how the wing is focused on meeting the Air Force's COVID-19 vaccination mandate to have all Reserve members fully vaccinated by Dec. 2.

"Being able to highlight the tremendous progress of the men and women of this wing to combat COVID-19 to Maj. Gen. Hickok was a great opportunity," said Castaneda. "We shared our successes and challenges over the past two years with him. Hopefully, what he learned during his visit can help the Air Force Reserve's overall COVID effort."