An artilleryman against the pandemic

Five years ago, Sergeant Escarbajal, posted to the 4th Coastal Artillery Regiment, received his dispatch after finishing his training in the NCO General Basic Academy. The artilleryman couldn’t have imagined back then that, five years later, he would be involved in the fight against a global pandemic like the one caused by Covid-19.

“It’s like something from a movie,” says the soldier from the Canary Islands who is working with his unit to disinfect centres, care homes for the eldery and other facilities which require the Army’s help.

The artilleryman warns that the soldiers’ job is to be where they are needed in any given moment, and so they have received a specific instruction which is appropriate for this type of intervention. And they have set to work to meet the needs that are required. In the same way, since the declaration of the State of Alarm, all the units of the Army have contributed to the Armed Forces’ work as part of Operation ‘Balmis’, which is fighting the spread of the virus. “Our intervention has mostly focussed on the province of Cadiz, although we are available whenever and wherever we are required,” he states.

These days, solidarity among people is becoming more and more prominent. The sergeant gives as an example the actions of a city councillor in one of the local councils in the Sierra de Cadiz. When he saw a woman who didn’t have a mask or gloves to walk her dog, he didn’t hesitate to look for some and give them to her.

“All my colleagues are united these days and we are working very long hours together, but this comradeship is something which we always have, even when we aren’t faced with a situation like this,” he clarifies.

He recognises that he misses his family, who are in the Canary Islands, and that, when it comes to leaving for work, the situation is different, given that the roads are empty and there’s almost no one around. However, he feels satisfied with the work he has carried out and he is grateful to be able to hear people applauding and calling him and his colleagues “champions.”

The sergeant hopes that we can all win the battle very soon. In fact, this is why he wanted to become a soldier: ‘to help your people in situations like the one we are currently experiencing. And, although we work year round for the Spanish people, it’s times like these when we can appreciate the Army’s work more.”

Finally, Sergeant Escarbajal expresses his hope that the current restrictions will end soon and that we can all return to normal.