Around two dozen military support staff are leaving Newark University Hospital after spending about a month embedded with clinical staff. 

It’s a fond farewell to the 25 trained Army men and women who call themselves the “flu fighters.” They provided relief to the overworked staff, especially as the holidays came to a close and the Omicron variant caused all sorts of chaos in the early weeks of winter. 

An awards ceremony was held inside the auditorium recognizing the efforts of the soldiers and civilian hospital staff. The military provided more than 4,000 hours of service in the hospital in all areas, from the emergency room to the operating room.

When the military arrived, there were 100 COVID-19 patients at the hospital, including many staff out of work dealing with their own illnesses. On Monday, there were two active COVID-19 cases at the hospital.