Operation Gloria was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

military operation conducted in support of handling the

COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden The COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden is part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , there have been confirmed cumulative cases and deaths with confirmed COVID-19 in Swed ...

Background

Sweden's first case of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

was discovered in January 2020. The 11th of March, the Swedish Public Health Agency (''Folkhälsomyndigheten'') asked the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

for support in handling the outbreak. The Swedish Armed Forces was first tasked with supporting the civilian society in case of peace time emergencies in 1995 by the then current Swedish government. The task was abolished in 2004, but was later added again in 2009.

Swedish military support in handling the Covid-19 outbreak

Field hospitals

The Swedish Armed Forces set up two

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

s; one in the capital city of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, and one in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, on the west coast. Originally, the armed forces was preparing to set up a field hospital at Ärna Air Base in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, north of Stockholm. The resources were instead rerouted to Älvsjö mess hall, in southern Stockholm. The hospital was prepared to admit 550 ICU patients, but was demobilised in June 2020, without taking in one single patient. This was due to the hospital in the Stockholm area had contingency preparedness and was able to handle the situation by themselves.

Staff support

The armed forces also sent staff officers and civilian personnel to support

Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare ( sv, Socialstyrelsen) is a Swedish government agency. The agency was the result of a merger between the National Swedish Board of Health and the Swedish Royal Board of Social Affairs in 1968. ...

(''Socialstyrelsen''),

Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth ( sv, Tillväxtverket) is a Swedish government agency organized under the Ministry of Enterprise, tasked to promote entrepreneurship and regional growth, and to implement structural funds program ...

(''Tillväxtverket''), and several

county administrative board A county administrative board ( sv, länsstyrelse) is a Swedish Government Agency in each of the counties of Sweden, led by a vice-regal governor ( sv, landshövding) appointed by the government for a term of six years. The lists of gubernatorial o ...

s (''Länsstyrelser''). The Swedish

Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland (Carl Philip Edmund Bertil; born 13 May 1979) is the only son and the second of three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. , Prince Carl Philip is fourth in the line of succession ...

, asked, and served in the Swedish Armed Forces high command to support the operational staff leading the support operation. He served with the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

at the time.

Transport resources

The armed forces provided

transport capacity Route capacity is the maximum number of vehicles, people, or amount of freight than can travel a given route in a given amount of time, usually an hour. It may be limited by the worst bottleneck in the system, such as a stretch of road with fewe ...

to several civilian agencies in the form of ambulances and airlift capabilities in the form of helicopters -

NHIndustries NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...

- and aircraft -

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

Equipment

The armed forces provided the civilian agencies with 50.000

gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mask ...

s and 40.000 chemical weapons protection gear. It also supported with medical technologies equipment, EKG equipment, and

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

Contact tracing

The largest part of Operation Gloria was military personnel helping out with gathering and deliveries of contact tracing tests. Military personnel, mainly from the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...

(''Hemvärnet'') - but also

conscripts Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

and professional soldiers - delivered and gathered individual self tests from sick individuals and delivered these to test labs for control, contact tracing, and

anti-bodies An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

Vaccinations

The Swedish Armed Forces were asked to relieve the civilian medical organisations by

vaccinating Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

their own personnel, mainly in the regions of

Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...

, and

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

. After some debate, Swedish military personnel taking part in international military missions - such as

MINUSMA The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (, MINUSMA) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise t ...

- were allowed to be vaccinated ahead of time.

Laboratory

The

National CBRN Defence Centre The National CBRN Defence Centre ( sv, Totalförsvarets skyddscentrum, SkyddC, , Total Defense Protection Center) is a Swedish military unit with expertise regarding chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense used by both the army, m ...

(''Totalförsvarets skyddscentrum'', SkyddsC) in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Ume� ...

conducted an

exercise Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic ...

together with

Uppsala University Hospital Uppsala University Hospital ( sv, Akademiska sjukhuset'', often referred to colloquially as "Akademiska" or "Ackis"'') in Uppsala, Sweden, is a teaching hospital for the Uppsala University Faculty of Medicine and the Nursing School. Uppsala Univer ...

(''Akademiska sjukhuset'') and the Public Health Agency to maintain readiness and Freedom of Action to sampling and analyzing possible contagion. The exercise showed a positive outcome. This resource was however never activated.

References

{{reflist Military operations other than war COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...