Rochester resident overseeing Guard's vaccination effort

Apr. 15—The officer overseeing more than 2,000 National Guard soldiers supporting COVID-19 vaccination sites across New England — including 700-plus in New Hampshire — lives in Rochester.

U.S. Army Reserve Col. David A. Yasenchock was mobilized last spring and is now the defense coordination officer for FEMA Region 1.

"It is a privilege and an honor to be selected and vetted for such a position especially since I plan to retire from the military within the next year after 33-plus years of service," Yasenchock said in an email.

He was deployed to the Pentagon soon after 9/11, served in Iraq as an adviser to the Iraqi military and as a commander of a logistics unit in Afghanistan. He was also a Department of Defense (DOD) liaison officer during the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.

Yasenchock worked for the Rochester School District as its IT administrator for 23 years and said he recently accepted a job as the director of information technology at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth. He has a PhD in cybersecurity.

The former employee of Cabletron systems moved to Rochester in 1995 and said he has deep roots in the area.

His wife, Colleen, worked for the Rochester School District for more than 10 years.

His daughter, Amanda, is a Spaulding High School graduate who is a librarian at the Maple Magnet School.

Yasenchock said his current assignment involved working alongside FEMA to set up a pilot vaccination site in Massachusetts.

The site went into full operation at the Hynes convention Center on April 1 with the help of 216 sailors who arrived in Boston.

During the eight-week mission, they will administer up to 7000 vaccines per day, he said.

"My team stands by to support any DOD operations needs to the region," Yasenchock said.