When First Lt. Mackenzie Watson arrived in Lincoln for only her second time on state active duty on May 15, little did she know she would be there for more than a couple weeks. In fact, she was there for over two months—she came back Aug. 5.
Watson had only been on state active duty once before — last summer when the Omaha area experienced flooding — and it lasted just a couple weeks. As it turned out, her COVID-19 mission was to last much longer.
She didn’t mind, though. It was one of the main reasons she signed up for the National Guard in the first place. She wanted to give back to her community.
“I’ve just always been big about giving back to my community,” she said. “It really does come back to just wanting to be part of something bigger than myself.”
Watson said that over 600 people were sent on state orders, and they were doing things like helping with food banks, mobile COVID-19 testing and the civil unrest mission, when the governor called the National Guard in for reinforcement during peaceful demonstrations, just in case.
Watson said her role was to prepare all of these soldiers for whatever mission they showed up for. She would see them when they first showed up for their mission, administer COVID-19 pre-assessment checklists, process the proper documents they needed and then greet them when they came back on their last day.
She said that even though she did not go out on the missions, she heard many stories from her fellow soldiers and felt proud to be a part of an organization that helps people.
“It was really just impactful to see how the National Guard — it was Air and Army — just came together and were able to provide such a service and support for our state while we’re going through something we’ve never seen before,” she said.
Watson decided to enlist in the National Guard in May 2014 partly because of her desire to serve the community, but also partly because of her father. He had served on active duty for the United States Army before she was born and was part of the prestigious group called the Old Guard.
“It was like a family thing,” said Watson. “The fact that he had done it was a part of it (the reason to enlist).”
Soon after she enlisted, Watson then participated in Chadron State’s ROTC program, where she commissioned as an officer for the Nebraska Army National Guard and graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. studies. Her husband, First Lt. Bryan Wood, serves in the West Virginia Army National Guard and is currently deployed in Kuwait. He is to return home in about two months.
Watson now serves as the teen librarian and children’s assistant librarian for the Lied Scottsbluff Public Library when she isn’t working for the National Guard as platoon leader of the 1075th Transportation Company Department 3, on active orders or at drill training, which happens two to four days each month.
She said she has been grateful to the City of Scottsbluff and the National Guard for allowing her to balance the two very different parts of her life.
“It’s nice because in both, I get to serve the community,” she said. “It was really nice that both entities allowed me to go do something and experience something that I wouldn’t have been able to if I didn’t have the support from them.”
*Originally published in the Scottsbluff Star-Herald on Sep. 8, 2020.
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