When COVID-19 appeared in Tennessee, Guardsmen from across the state were ready to serve their community. Thousands volunteered to help in the fight against COVID-19, which gave some Guardsmen valuable experience while protecting the state.
Airman 1st Class Marialuz Deavers, a combat medic with Nashville’s 118th Medical Group, was training to become an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician at Smyrna’s Motlow State Community College when the Tennessee National Guard began accepting volunteers to join the COVID-19 Task Force.
Deavers wanted to serve and knew that the medical training she already received would be valuable during the pandemic.
Deavers used her training at several sites during her time. She traveled throughout the state on quick response missions to administer COVID-19 tests to nursing homes, state employees and private companies.
Airman 1st Class Marialuz Deavers, a combat medic with Nashville’s 118th Medical Group, fills a syringe with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Cookeville. Deavers has been administering COVID-19 tests and vaccines since March 2020, when Gov. Bill Lee activated the Tennessee National Guard to support the Tennessee Department of Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Sgt. Finis L. Dailey, III)