From coronavirus to civil unrest: The Massachusetts National Guard has done it all

The National Guard’s motto of “Always ready, always there,” was as true as it’s ever been during the past tumultuous two years, including unique missions for everything from responding to civil unrest to driving students to school.

“It’s certainly not the mission that any of us ever expected when we raised our right hand, but we know we are capable and confident of doing whatever is in front of us,” said Maj. Russell O’Neill of Medfield, who has been with the Guard for 21 years.

O’Neill just wrapped up his role as second in charge of Operation Children First, which supported Massachusetts schools as they faced a bus driver shortage and soldiers drove students to and from school in vans.

“Anything and everything can be asked of you and you have to be ready to get out of the house and up to the armory as soon as you can,” O’Neill told the Herald.

Regular missions for the state’s approximately 8,500 National Guard soldiers and airmen have typically included deployment abroad, response to snow storms, floods and other natural disasters along with security for large events such as the Boston Marathon.

But to keep up with an unprecedented era of the coronavirus pandemic coupled with political and racial tensions that erupted into protests and riots, Gov. Charlie Baker turned to the National Guard time and time again for unique missions — and they stepped up.

Lt. Col. Bryan Pillai, a military police officer, in one moment found himself commanding security at coronavirus treatment facilities such as the Boston Hope Medical Center, and in another walking through downtown Boston in May 2020 to handle civil unrest where the destruction was “unfathomable.”

The protests calling for justice after the murder of George Floyd had turned violent that night, and the National Guard responded.

Pillai said it was “exceptionally jarring” to go from one extreme to the next in a short period of time.

“Those were not scenes I would hope to ever see in the United States again,” he said.

Pillai also helped to coordinate the activation of Massachusetts National Guard soldiers to Washington, D.C., following the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“It’s been a very trying time. It’s been a very unique time,” Pillai said.

So far this year, at least 4,297 National Guard soldiers and airmen have been activated, the most in at least a decade. Last year 3,324 were mobilized, which is four times the 813 members in 2019. The increase is mainly attributed to COVID-19 and civil unrest.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Morin, of Methuen, who has been with the Guard for 32 years and also works for Homeland Security, was activated full time in April 2020. He has since been involved in several coronavirus-related missions including testing efforts in nursing homes, vaccination clinics in high risk communities and, now, testing in a dozen school districts.

Morin said being in the National Guard is the “best team sport out there,” and compared aspects of the pandemic to the aftermath of 9/11, when he worked as a military police officer in Logan International Airport.

“Here was a traumatic event, an emotional event, so activating personnel brings a sense of calm,” Morin said.

The National Guard serves a dual state and federal mission, which did not get put on hold during the pandemic, with soldiers still deploying to the Middle East and tackling other missions for both the nation and the state.

Maj. Katherine Murphy said what makes the National Guard so versatile is the desire to serve and use a wide variety of skill sets to make a mission successful. In addition, people often serve the communities in which they live, creating a unique bond.

“Folks join the National Guard because they want to serve their community and they have a desire to serve our nation, so I think those who are part of our organization want to be here and are committed to their service whatever that is,” Murphy told the Herald.

Murphy, who joined the Guard as a behavioral health officer, confronted a difficult challenge at the start of the pandemic and served as deputy command for a task force at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home for more than two months where many elderly veterans lost their lives to coronavirus.

Murphy said that mission embodied the “soldiers-for-life motto.” She said, “To also serve our brothers and sisters in arms who wore the uniform before us, and I think it was beneficial for them to see soldiers near them to care for them.”