ANNVILLE – On Friday, Maj. Gen. Anthony Carrelli, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), said more than 850 Pennsylvania National Guard (PNG) members have been working to support commonwealth communities with combating COVID-19.
He also reassured veterans that they will continue to receive their benefits.
“The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs has called upon state employees and the National Guard to go ‘outside the wire’ in this war against the virus to help save the lives of our families, neighbors, friends, veterans and fellow citizens,” said Carrelli.
“We are providing the critical support to continue training for our deploying units, fueling the state active duty enterprise, continuing veteran benefit programs, and caring for the residents in our six veterans’ homes.”
The department said the PNG was called early-on during COVID-19 to provide transportation to 30 Pennsylvania residents who were on the Grand Princess cruise ship back to their homes throughout the commonwealth, after they arrived at Harrisburg International Airport in Middletown.
As COVID-19 began making its way throughout Pennsylvania communities, the PNG has been called upon even more to protect and safeguard the health of citizens.
The department said this includes setting up a drive-through testing site in Montgomery County; helping a food bank pack emergency food in Pittsburgh; unloading much-needed medical supplies in Harrisburg; and helping to standup a federal medical facility at Glen Mills School in Delaware County.
The DMVA Office of Veterans Affairs team is also steadily working to make sure Pennsylvania’s nearly 800,000 veterans continue to receive the benefits they have earned through their service to our country.
These benefits include care for 1,300 residents in six veterans homes; locating military records, providing financial assistance during unforeseen financial crisis; and administering pension programs for service-connected disabilities.
For updates on DMVA visit www.dmva.pa.gov. For updates on the PNG visit www.pa.ng.mil.
