Breakneck pace of crises keeps National Guard away from home – By Lolita C. Baldor (Associated Press) / August 1 2021
SHADDADI, Syria (AP) — In the searing 108-degree heat, far from his Louisiana health care business, Army Col. Scott Desormeaux and his soldiers are on a dusty base near Syria’s northern border, helping Syrian rebel forces battle Islamic State militants and keeping an eye on Russian troops in the region.
© Provided by Associated Press Capt. Michael Switzer goes to sit at his desk before he goes to sleep in his office at Camp Beauregard in Pineville, La., Friday, July 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
It’s tough duty for the soldiers. But their deployment to the Middle East last November is just a small part of the blistering pace of missions that members of the Louisiana National Guard and America’s other citizen-soldiers have faced in the past 18 months.
© Provided by Associated Press FILE – In this Jan. 18, 2021, file photo National Guard troops sleep inside the Capitol Visitor’s Center at the Capitol in Washington. Over the past year, National Guard members have been called in to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and race riots. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Beyond overseas deployments, Guard members have been called in to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and protests against racial injustice. For many, it’s meant months away from their civilian jobs and scarce times with families. While Guard leaders say troops are upbeat, they worry about exhaustion setting in and wonder how much longer U.S. businesses can do without their long-absent workers.
Back home in Louisiana, Sgt. 1st Class Bray Harris has been living in hotels around Baton Rouge since March 2020, helping provide COVID-19 testing and the vaccine to residents. He’s only been able to race home to Lake Charles — two hours away — a few times, including to evacuate his mother during one of the major storms that hit the state.
