Members of the Nebraska National Guard traveled to the Czech Republic in November at the request of the Czech Ministry of Health to assist in an assessment and advisory role in that nation's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nebraska Guard personnel teamed up with members of the Texas National Guard in performing the mission.
The team of guardsmen and women, comprised of physicians, medical administrators, planners and logisticians, assisted with implementation of best practices and setting up field hospitals as the Czech Republic anticipated a resurgence of the virus, according to a Nebraska National Guard news release.
That destination was particularly noteworthy in Nebraska, where Czech Americans compose 5.5% of the state's population, the largest percentage in any state.
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National Guard medical providers could not engage in direct patient care in the Czech Republic.
The mission marked the first time in the 27-year history of a partnership between the Czech Republic and both the Nebraska and Texas National Guard that "a real-world, collaborative mission effort was requested," Lt. Col. Shane Varejcka, Nebraska National Guard state partnership program coordinator, said in the release.
"The medical part of our partnership had never been a line of effort requested by the Czech Republic," said Lt. Col. Amy Johnson, Nebraska Air National Guard 155th Medical Group nurse and medical administrative officer for the team.
That marks this mission as "a pretty big deal," Johnson said.
Air Force Capt. Stephanie Evans, a nurse with the Nebraska National Guard's 155th Medical Group, said she was chosen for the mission because of extensive COVID-19 patient experience as a critical care nurse working with Nebraska Medicine's bio-containment unit in Omaha since January.
"It's been comforting knowing they are doing most of what we are doing, even across the ocean how things are so similar," Evans said.
"We are all fighting COVID-19 together."
"This is something that needs to endure," Texas National Guard Joint Surgeon Army Col. Peter Coldwell said.
Coldwell said he believes it would be beneficial to invite Czech providers to spend time in both Nebraska and Texas and have the opportunity to interact and train alongside American providers.Â