Like so many military, civilian, and contractor personnel working onboard Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the men and women of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21 “Blackjacks” have been stepping up to help people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, not just in their communities but also around the world. And like those of their colleagues, many of HX-21’s opportunities have come about because someone asked for help.

For Assistant Maintenance Officer/Material Control Officer Orlando Suazo, it all started with a call from his niece, an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in New Mexico. She needed fabric face coverings that fit over her N95 filter masks because, at that time, there were only enough N95s to allow each EMT one mask per shift.

“My wife Sarra and my mother-in-law Connie Cherry run a craft business out of our house,” Suazo said. “They started using scrap materials to make masks for my niece.” They used a mask design on the internet that they modified to make it big enough to fit over an N95 mask for medical personnel and first responders, and also produced a version that can be worn alone. “We sent two dozen masks off to my niece, and they were a big hit with the rest of her EMT squad. So we made some for them too.”

Sarra posted a photo of the masks on Facebook along with a note inviting anyone who needed masks to let her know, and encouraging people to spread the word. “And it’s been going nonstop since then,” Suazo said. By early May, the Suazo and Cherry family had distributed over 1,600 masks to first responders and medical field professionals not just in New Mexico and throughout Maryland, but to every state in the U.S. And when the Department of Defense issued policy guidance for face protection, they began making masks for Suazo’s colleagues in the squadron as well. “We even sent some masks to a group of ladies that work at the United Service Organizations in Japan, sailors in Atsugi, and service members stationed in Germany,” Suazo said.

To keep up with the demand, Suazo’s wife and mother-in-law enlisted his help. “We each have our own little piece of the process,” he said. “My wife and I assemble the pieces and my mother-in-law and I tag-team on the sewing. My father-in-law, Ron, even helps by turning the ties for the masks. And with our two kids at home, we have been using this as an opportunity to teach them some life skills. We showed them how to use an iron and cut the patterns —until they get bored and run off, and then it's all back on the grown-ups again!”

With each pack of masks, the family includes a thank-you note with words of support and encouragement, thanking the recipients for their work on the front-lines of the pandemic to keep others healthy and safe. There’s also an email address to contact them if the recipient knows of others who need masks, too.

“We haven't asked anybody to pay, but we have received a few donations from folks that we have sent the masks to, which helps pay for shipping costs,” Suazo said. “That has been a blessing.”

“I think that in these tough times that we're facing, a lot of people are uncertain about what's going on,” Suazo said. “We all have gifts that were bestowed upon us, and it's our time to use those gifts to serve others. What we're just trying to do is use the gifts that God has given us so that we can serve others in our community.”

Like the Suazo and Cherry family, Lt. Gavin "Flanders" Kurey and his wife Katie got involved in making face protection through the request of someone else — in this case, a literal knock on the door.

For the past five years, the Kureys have owned and operated a metalworking shop called Planeform, currently located in Hollywood, north of the base. Next door to their shop is Pax Space, a collaborative “makerspace” equipped with computer-aided design tools, 3-D printers, and other fabrication equipment that is freely available to members. “When the pandemic started, one of the gentlemen who is a member there dropped by our shop and said they we're trying to connect with small local manufacturers and individuals who could help them create personal protective equipment for medical professionals, which was in short supply,” Kurey said. “We said we'd be glad to help, just let us know what you need. And it just took off from there.”

The Kureys volunteer the use of their industrial-grade laser cutter to cut large clear acrylic and plastic sheets donated by local hardware stores and other organizations into face shields, which they then pass along to volunteers working out of the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. The volunteers then attach the face shields to 3D printed headbands, resulting in facemasks that medical professionals can use in local hospitals and medical clinics. A pair of nonprofit organizations created by several NAVAIR government and contractor employees, Southern Maryland Agile Response Team (SMART), and Southern Maryland Loves You, then distribute the completed personal protective equipment. The first batch went to employees of the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, who serve over 400 resident veterans. Another batch delivered to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Several other deliveries have been made to various organizations in need around Southern Maryland.

“A very good 3D printer might complete one headband in about an hour, whereas we can make a face shield in about 30 seconds to a minute depending on what kind of material and how thick it is,” Kurey said. “The laser we have can run indefinitely all day and all night if we needed it to.”

“My wife and I are humbled to be in a position to help, and we’re happy to help,” Kurey said. “We recognize that we have an ability and opportunity to help out, and it has been impressive to see motivated people with technical backgrounds come together at the grassroots level to help. It's just really cool to be part of that kind of movement.”

Kurey said that the community around NAS Patuxent River is particularly well suited to help out with making personal protective equipment for medical personnel and first responders because of the abundance of technical expertise that have gathered there. “It's nice to be among a bunch of people who are smart and have technical prowess,” Kurey said. “The Pax River community and the NAVAIR folks and so many others around here who are supporting the defense industries are doing a really good job at stepping up and pitching in.”

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