WAIPOULI — As a cool breeze blew, the Hawai‘i National Guard gathered outside the Sheraton Kaua‘i at Coconut Beach to hold a promotion and award ceremony Tuesday morning.
WAIPOULI — As a cool breeze blew, the Hawai‘i National Guard gathered outside the Sheraton Kaua‘i at Coconut Beach to hold a promotion and award ceremony Tuesday morning.
Jayeson Laga, Jonathan Yam, Alex Splajt, Frankie Albert and Cristian Tomaquin were all promoted from private first class to specialist, and several members were honored for their leadership and exceptional work in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tomaquin, an O‘ahu native, recently came back from basic training in Missouri. He didn’t have an inkling that he would be moving up yesterday.
“I wasn’t expecting to be promoted today,” Tomaquin said. “I’m very thankful to the commanding officer and everybody on our task force.”
The Hawai‘i National Guard was activated in March to assist the county and Kaua‘i Police Department in conducting traffic checkpoint stops and contact tracing, enforcing emergency rules and other tasks like medical screenings at Lihu‘e Airport and keeping an eye on docks and other ports.
The crew has also helped with the county’s food distribution, led by the Kaua‘i Incident Management Team and spearheaded by the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation in May.
“Everybody in the county has been really supportive on Kaua‘i,” said Maj. Dale Balsis, task force Kaua‘i commander.
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Sabrina Bodon, public safety and government reporter, can be reached at 245-0441 or sbodon@thegardenisland.com.
