Col. Rachel Kaiser, a 62A Emergency Physician with the 332 Med. Bde., recently attended a holiday reception at the White House, recognizing first responders and front line personnel supporting the COVID-19 pandemic response. Col. Kaiser served this summer with Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force 7454-1, in San Antonio, Texas.

Attending the reception at the White House was truly the experience of a lifetime for Col. Kaiser. “I'm so honored to have been invited. Entering the White House is always an awe-inspiring experience, just thinking about all the history that occurred there,” she said.

The event was attended by a wide-ranging group, representing a broad spectrum of the medical community. Some of the guests Kaiser met included physician who works in the ICU at the Philadelphia V.A. Hospital, and an entrepreneur who is developing new vehicles to transport patients to medical facilities.

It was impossible for Col. Kaiser to absorb the history around her, “Just being in the Executive Mansion, where so much history has taken place and where so many vital decisions have been made was awe-inspiring. The East Room was festively decorated, but I remembered it was also the room where both Lincoln and JFK briefly lay in state after they were assassinated,” she said.

Focusing on the events of the day, Kaiser said, “I thought of all the state dinners that have taken place in the State Dining Room as I enjoyed a traditional southern dinner of mac and cheese and jambalaya and marveling at the 400 lb. gingerbread White House on display.”

Reflecting on her once in a lifetime experience, “I enjoyed looking out the windows of the White House to experience what the president sees. The Blue Room overlooks the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument, a direct connection to our nation's founding fathers and our legacy of freedom,” Kaiser said.