COVID-19 Mission

New York State commenced an emergency humanitarian support mission in March last year, with a request for service members from all the NY state military forces (Army National Guard, Air National Guard, New York Guard, New York Naval Militia) to support the COVID-19 crisis in NYC.  “I came on mission on April 1 and worked at the state military headquarters, the Division of Military and Naval Affairs (DMNA), in Latham, New York,” Rainbow said. He was there through June 30, 2020, and for that period was a Logistics Coordinator with the Joint Force Headquarters J4 Army Logistics Operations Center, AKA the Joint Operations Center (JOC) J4 Division. 

Rainbow’s operational role was to coordinate the movement of service members, materials, medicines, medical equipment, food, and vehicles around the state to support the evolving needs of the relief operations. At the peak of this response, his team was supporting over 5,000 service members and 800 vehicles with housing, food, working environments, fuel and mission support. “During this time, operations were running 24 hours per day and included Medical services to take the overflow from hospitals, COVID-19 positive isolation, Points of Distribution (POD) of health and sanitation supplies, welfare checks on families in isolation, and distribution of emergency stocks of food and water,” Rainbow said. When the outbreak was projected to surpass hospital capacity, he added, it included the setup of the USNS Comfort in New York Harbor and the Javitz Center as triage and hospital overflow services with National Guard from other states as well as volunteers. By late April and early May, as local funeral services were overloaded, this expanded to include mortuary services.

Lake Ontario Flood 2020

In mid-May, the state was projecting a second emergency with the possible flooding of Lake Ontario. “This is a cyclical event that happens every few years and causes widespread local damage in the counties bordering on the lake,” Rainbow said. He was asked to lead a Logistics Assistance Team (LAT) to setup the infrastructure of equipment, housing, food and water, and operational space to manage a second mission. After getting a site at Hancock Air Field in Syracuse, NY, equipped and training the on-ground logistics team, Rainbow returned to the Joint Operations Headquarters to support the COVID-19 mission.

The Military Commendation Medal is awarded to any member of the New York State Organized Militia who, while serving in any capacity, distinguished themselves by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service. Rainbow is a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) with the rank of Staff Sergeant in the New York Guard. Members of the New York Guard assist National Guard Soldiers and Airmen to serve the people of New York as members of Guard Joint Task Forces which respond to state natural disasters, state emergencies and state security requirements.