If recent studies show that most teens are online and busy video chatting with their friends, 18-year-old Brandon Merck is undoubtedly not part of "most" teens. Army National Guard Private First Class Merck is outside the comfort of his home and is serving the nation during the pandemic.
Called to serve
The eighteen-year-old Private from Georgia is a combat medic of the 108th Cavalry. He is the youngest, and his group has just finished their fundamental training. Despite that, he did not refuse to be at the frontlines when he was called to assist the medical teams at the North Fulton Hospital. He was only given a short notice but did not hesitate to answer quickly.
According to Lt. Col., Chris Powell, combat medics are very much in demand now that there is a pandemic. He added that even though he just came out of training, Private Merck is already able to perform well.
PFC Merck's parents were prepared
In an interview with Fox 5 Atlanta, Private Merck's parents, who are recently in Canton, said they were prepared for the moment that their son will be called during the pandemic to help at the frontlines. His dad, Andy Merck, knew at the back of his mind that it was just a matter of time before their teenage son will serve.
Both Private Mercks parents, Andy and Enid, are confident that their son will do a great job assisting medical teams because he had intensive training with the Georgia National Guard.
His mother, Enid, trusts that Merck will step up and do everything assigned to him with excellence.
It has been three weeks since Private Merck's parents have seen him, but they are thankful they have technology that seemed to narrow the distance between them.
Private Merck in action
Private Merck assists in a hospital by helping in drawing blood from patients and transporting some of the patients as well.
Also, just two days after arriving at the North Fulton Hospital, Private Merck already had his first Emergency Room patient, who came in because of cardiac arrest. There was no time for him to even ease up on his tasks.
Private Merck says that while assisting at the hospital, he felt all his training kicking in, especially while working with coronavirus patients.
National Guards assists during the COVID-19 pandemic
Aside from PFC Merck, 28,400 troops have been activated to assist efforts in mitigating the COVID-19 in the United States. The National Guards, in particular, has assistance that includes helping some testing sites, aiding logistical support, packaging and distributing food and other supplies, giving labor for call centers, creating intensified medical support, and sanitizing common spaces.
The National Guards is an organization activated by governors to respond to emergencies like natural calamities or, in this case, a pandemic like the coronavirus.
Military Times report that early this April, 349 guard troops already tested positive for the coronavirus.
