Photo By Elizabeth A Stoeckmann | St. Paul District employees wait 15 minutes after receiving their vaccine to monitor...... read more read more
Employees of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, lined up inside the Minneapolis Air Force Reserve fitness center waiting for their COVID-19 vaccination March 28 and then again April 27.
The Corps’ Readiness Operations Center played a key role in the joint effort with the 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis Air Force Reserve, Minnesota, where more than 140 Corps personnel received both rounds of the vaccine from the Air Force Reserve aeromedical technicians.
St. Paul District Commander Col. Karl Jansen made a request to the Minnesota Federal Executive Board for assistance in finding vaccinations for the Corps’ critical workforce.
“Because the Corps has a strong federal and Department of Defense partnership within the Twin Cities area, our friends at the 934th immediately responded and within days, both agencies worked out details for the voluntary opportunity,” Jansen said.
Ready to respond, Airmen from the 934th escorted Corps employees to a required medical briefing and then to the auditorium for the vaccine and observation waiting area.
“Both the Corps and 934th leadership coordinated for the morning arrival of Corps employees for their first vaccine,” said 934th Emergency Operations Center Commander Jon Pieters. “Army Corps of Engineer employees arrived promptly and were marshalled to an educational briefing before receiving their vaccine.”
Phil White, Corps Readiness Operations Center chief, is responsible for the mitigation and reporting of COVID-19 for the St. Paul District.
“Phil White and Kristin Kosterman did an outstanding job organizing the event and keeping all employees informed of what to expect,” said Abby Hansen, Corps chief of the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center. “Furthermore, the staff at the 934th were well prepared, organized and incredibly welcoming. Everyone was ready to assist, answer questions, and ensure we all felt safe, healthy and ready for our vaccination.”
The buzz of chatter was high amongst employees who hadn’t gathered in one common place since the pandemic started in March 2020. The location was ideal and Corps employees said they were grateful for the convenient opportunity.
“I wasn’t expecting to get my vaccine until much later in the spring/summer,” said Nathan Wallerstedt, Corps chief of the Project Management Branch. “This was a great opportunity that the 934th Airlift Wing was willing to provide vaccinations to other federal partners within the area.”
The 934th has administered more than 2,000 first and second doses of the vaccine since the beginning of the year.
“I am extremely proud of the Aeromedical Staging Squadron team. Not only for how they prepared for this Point of Distribution (POD) for the Corps, but for all local partnering agencies,” said Air Force Capt. Jon Polos, 934th Aeromedical Staging Squadron Director of Operations. “We are fostering new relationships and simultaneously opening up new training opportunities with federal agencies we previously had not worked this closely with.”
Air Force Staff Sergeant Julia Matthews, a medical case manager for the 934th Aeromedical Staging Squadron said she volunteered to helped with the first and second point of distribution operation for the Corps. The process is common to the medics because of mass vaccines to service members, federal employees, spouses, dependents and smaller unit needs.
The fluidity of the process from start to finish was impressive for Joe Schroetter, Corps project manager.
“I appreciated the convenient location of the 934th to efficiently offer the vaccine,” Schroetter said. “The event coordination was seamless, and employees were happy to see each other.”
Taking care of people is one of the Corps’ guiding principles.
“I’m grateful for the positive response from our community partners in taking care of our people in a safe environment to get us back to normalcy,” Jansen said.
The 934th leadership couldn’t agree more.
“We plan and prepare for contingencies every day,” said Air Force Col. Randy Stoeckmann, 934th Mission Support Group commander. “The Airmen are poised and ready to respond with pride and professionalism. Everyone’s mission is critical to helping bring an end to the pandemic.”
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| Date Taken: | 06.08.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.02.2021 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 400316 |
| Location: | ST. PAUL, MN, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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