It’s 2020. Covid-19 is spreading across the country. Womack Army Medical Center is busy tackling the virus. Its leaders are producing educational videos. Its Blood Donor Center is investigating a treatment using blood plasma. Employees are testing and vaccinating as many as they can.

Five years later, Womack is now receiving recognition for the many duties performed to tackle the spread of the virus. The Army awarded the medical center a Superior Unit Award for “outstanding meritorious service providing coronavirus disease response efforts,” according to the award letter and the Army’s press release. 

The letter also stated Womack’s various units “performed in an exemplary manner, exceeding expectations” to “mitigate human suffering and loss of life.” Those units ranged from infectious disease to urgent care to pharmacy and more.

“Every single person in Army medicine and in military healthcare stepped up,” Col. Stephanie Mont, Womack Commander, said at the award ceremony. “And you all were a part of that, whether you were here at Womack or somewhere else.”

Womack gave its first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Dec. 15, 2020. It then became a drive-thru vaccination and testing site while treating those with the virus.

Mont told ceremony attendees she was not surprised by the award. Womack has earned several awards since the start of 2024, including the Excellence in Retention and Top Producer awards for retaining talent at the medical center. In the fall, the medical center received an ‘A’ grade from the LeapFrog Group, a national hospital safety grader. It was Womack’s second consecutive ‘A’ grade, the first given in the spring grading period.

Womack also earned the Stryker Sustainability Solutions Environmental Excellence Platinum Award for its efforts to reduce single-use medical device waste.

“If my children were still young and with me, I would have no issue ever, ever, bringing them here to get their treatment because you guys are all phenomenal,” Command Sgt. Maj. Angela Cox, also a member of Womack’s Command Team, said to the crowd at the ceremony.

Military’s Covid policies flagged by Trump

Womack’s award for its pandemic response came a day after President Donald Trump promised to reinstate and offer backpay to the troops dismissed from service for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine.

The U.S. Department of Defense required service members to receive the vaccine’s two doses starting in Aug. 2021, though the department did offer exemptions. In Jan. 2023, the department rescinded the requirement. 

According to Task & Purpose’s reporting, over 8,400 troops across all service branches were dismissed for going against then-DOD vaccine requirements. At least 345 soldiers were among them, The Military Times reported in 2022. 

According to CNN, in the eight months immediately after the vaccine requirement was dropped, only 43 of those dismissed sought to rejoin the armed services. Nineteen were soldiers.

For those who did receive the vaccine, Congress required the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study evaluating their health after they received the doses as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. According to the legislation, the study was presented to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate in December. The Secretary will have to continue to do so every year until 2028.

As of Jan. 2024, the Army recommends that all non-immunocompromised adults get the Covid-19 vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control also recommends vaccination and yearly boosters against Covid-19. 

More information on Covid-19 vaccinations is available on the CDC’s website. Soldiers with concerns about the vaccine can speak with one of Womack’s vaccine experts by calling 877-438-8222 or (DSN) 761-4245 and selecting “option one” from their menus.

CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the CityView News Fund.