U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia - Update: Troop presence plans being scaled back

[Shiloh]

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia

Source: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=123537

rmy Expeditionary Laboratory Team to Deploy to Liberia

By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2014 ? A highly trained team of soldier-scientists who are part of an Army expeditionary laboratory unit is deploying to Liberia for up to a year to establish four labs outside Monrovia and contribute to the U.S. effort to halt Ebola outbreaks in West Africa.

The 1st Area Medical Laboratory is part of the Army?s 20th CBRNE Command based at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The 20th CBRNE?s soldiers combat chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats facing the nation. The 1st AML deploys worldwide in support of joint and combined operations to protect U.S. forces through disease surveillance and environmental testing to determine threats and environmental health hazards.

Army Col. Patrick M. Garman, 1st AML commander, spoke with DoD News about the 22-member, one-of-a-kind unit that consists of microbiologists, biochemists and laboratory technicians...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia

Source: http://www.armytimes.com/article/20...iformed-officers-treat-Ebola-patients-Liberia


Non-military uniformed officers to treat Ebola patients in Liberia
Nov. 6, 2014 - 12:51PM |
By Gregg Zoroya
USA Today

President Obama has assured Americans that none of the nearly 4,000 U.S. troops heading to Liberia will treat Ebola patients, but 70 uniformed officers of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps will.

The corps, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, will open a clinic outside the Liberian capital, Monrovia, this weekend and is tasked with treating Liberian doctors and nurses who contract the deadly disease. It is the first time U.S. government personnel have been given that assignment, although all volunteered...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia

Source: http://www.wistv.com/story/27327959/military-names-5-us-bases-for-ebola-mission-troops


Military names 5 US bases for Ebola mission troops
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top U.S. military officer has designated five U.S. bases where American troops would be housed and isolated for 21 days upon returning from Africa after serving in the Ebola response mission, U.S. officials said Friday.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed a plan that lists Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; and Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, as bases where troops would be quarantined. The U.S. also hopes to use two bases in Italy and Germany for returning troops based in that region.

Military service members are required to undergo 21 days of isolation and monitoring, while Defense Department civilians can choose to go through the quarantine period or not.

The plan exempts military personnel who travel to Africa for short-term visits and have very limited contact with people there, such as military staff traveling with a senior official who only stops in the country for a day or two. Any final decision on individual service members would be up to their senior military commanders...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia

Source: http://www.stripes.com/news/self-monitoring-no-ebola-quarantine-for-ramstein-aircrews-1.313397


19 minutes ago
Self-monitoring, no Ebola quarantine for Ramstein aircrews

By Jennifer H. Svan
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 10, 2014


RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany ? When Tech. Sgt. C.J. Campbell walks in the door after a day at work, the thermometer resting on his kitchen table is a reminder that it?s been fewer than 21 days since he returned from a mission to West Africa.

The twice-daily temperature checks have become a routine part of the Ramstein-based loadmaster instructor?s daily activities.

?It?s like waking up and shaving in the morning,? Campbell said.

Days before Halloween, Campbell, 40, of St. Louis, flew on his first mission to Liberia, delivering military personnel and supplies to one of three countries battling the world?s largest epidemic of the Ebola virus.

Upon returning, public health checked his temperature and issued him a digital thermometer. So far, he said, he?s been symptom-free...

 

[Emily]

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia - Update: Troop presence being scaled back

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia - Update: Troop presence being scaled back

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/u-s-scaling-back-troop-presence-ebola-hit-liberia-n247201

U.S. Scaling Back Troop Presence in Ebola-Hit Liberia

The Pentagon doesn?t plan to deploy the full 4,000 U.S. troops to Ebola-stricken Liberia ? scaling back the number even as the virus makes rapid gains elsewhere in West Africa. Army Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, who?s leading up the effort overseas, said the current 2,200 troops will grow to nearly 3,000 by mid-December. But the military doesn?t expect more soldiers on the ground will be necessary...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia - Update: Troop presence plans being scaled back

Source: http://www.army.mil/article/138397/...ntifies_ARNG_and_USAR_Units_for_OUA_Rotation/


Department of the Army Identifies ARNG and USAR Units for OUA Rotation

November 16, 2014

By Office of the Chief of Public Affairs

The Secretary of Defense has approved the mobilization of Army National Guard and Army Reserve units from 12 states in support of Operation United Assistance. The units identified below will deploy as part of the second rotation of OUA forces in spring 2015 as part of a joint and interagency team supporting the lead federal agency, USAID, as we collectively respond to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The October 2014 Executive Order authorizing the mobilization of Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve Members in support of Operation United Assistance gave the National Guard Bureau and Army Reserve advanced notification to prepare units and personnel for a possible deployment.

Mobilizing Army National Guard units include:

34th Infantry Division Headquarters, Minnesota Army National Guard
16th Engineer Brigade Headquarters, Ohio Army National Guard
223rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Linguist Detachment), California Army National Guard
272nd Engineer Company (Vertical Construction), Texas Army National Guard
294th Area Support Medical Company, Iowa Army National Guard
891st Engineer Battalion, Kansas Army National Guard

Mobilizing United States Army Reserve units include:

96th Sustainment Brigade -- Salt Lake City, Utah; and Denver, Colorado
313th Movement Control Battalion -- Baltimore, Maryland
324th Fire Fighting Detachment -- East Point, Georgia
324th Expeditionary Signal Battalion -- Granite City, Illinois
329th Survey and Design Team -- Saint Joseph, Minnesota
387th Medical Logistics Company -- Miami, Florida
398th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion -- Rockville, Maryland
452nd Preventative Medicine Team -- Miami, Florida
996th Horizontal Engineer Company -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
B Company, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion -- Columbus, Ohio

These reserve component units were selected based on their capabilities and ability to respond to the unique demands of the mission, and were done in consultation with the Chief, National Guard Bureau, and the Chief, Army Reserve. These units will mobilize under the authority of 10 USC 12304.

DOD will continue to announce major deployments as they are approved. For more information on these respective deployments, contact Lt. Col. Robert Ditchey, 703-607-2582, National Guard Bureau Public Affairs; or Lt. Col. William Ritter, 910-570-8346, U.S. Army Reserve Public Affairs.

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia - Update: Troop presence plans being scaled back

Kirby: Timeline for Operation United Assistance Depends on Ebola Trend

By Nick Simeone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2014 ? The U.S. military effort to help prevent the spread of Ebola in West Africa could be extended beyond its six-month mission if there is a surge of new cases of the deadly disease, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today.

Despite a reported drop in new cases in hardest hit Liberia, Kirby said it?s too soon to determine whether this trend will hold. ?We have to be prepared for this to go longer than six months,? he said, ?which is why the secretary authorized the call-up of more than 2,000 reserves and guard.?

More than 2,500 U.S. military personnel are in West Africa as part of Operation United Assistance, helping U.S. and international agencies battle the world?s worst Ebola outbreak by providing logistical support and training for health care workers, as well as testing fluid samples and building emergency treatment units.

?As construction gets completed, the requirement for those types of troops may decrease,? Kirby said, at which time Army Maj. General Gary J. Volesky, the commander of the mission, may decide to reduce troop levels.

The World Health Organization says Ebola has killed more than 5,400 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea since March. None of the American military personnel deployed as part of Operation United Assistance is involved in the direct treatment of Ebola patients.

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=123694

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. Military response begins as troops, equipment reach Liberia - Update: Troop presence plans being scaled back

U.S. officers mourn losing their 1st Ebola patient

Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY 8:48 p.m. EST November 22, 2014

MONROVIA, Liberia ? A cluster of American uniformed officers gathered in the sticky heat this week to say a prayer for a dead Liberian nurse, the first loss to Ebola at the only U.S. government-operated clinic in West Africa.

The 34-year-old nurse's death Wednesday hit the American staff hard at the clinic charged with caring for health care workers sickened by Ebola.

"She was one of us. She was a health care provider just like all of us," said Russ Bowman, 53, of Albuquerque, a lead physician here. "This is what this unit is for ? to provide care to folks ... providing care for the people of Liberia. We're here to back them up. And we weren't able to save her. And that's a tragedy."

The nurse ? whose name was not made available ? was unconscious and already failing when she arrived by ambulance the night before.

"It's a shame she wasn't here a lot earlier," said Jennifer Malia, 41, of Laytonsville, Md., a lab medical technician. "I believe we really could have helped and maybe had a different outcome."

Her arrival at such a late stage of the disease raises concerns that the new clinic, which opened Nov. 7, is not being adequately publicized by Liberian health officials. Four Liberian health workers with Ebola are being treated there. All are improving.
...

More...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...-public-health-service-patient-dies/19396309/

 

[Pathfinder]

U.S. Troops Fighting Ebola Epidemic Focus on Progress over Holidays

Military.com Dec 24, 2014 | by Richard Sisk

The troops have lit a Christmas tree, received a visit from Santa and even held a "Skype Hanukkah" this holiday season, but the focus for U.S. troops in Liberia during the holidays has been on maximizing the gains they've made against the deadly Ebola epidemic.

"It's been a whole lot better of late," Army Lt. Col. David Bowlus, a chaplain with the 2,400 U.S. troops in Liberia, said by phone Tuesday from Monrovia, the Liberian capital.

About five new suspected cases of Ebola have been reported daily in recent weeks, Bowlus said, compared to more than 50 at the end of October. "We're at the point where Ebola is no longer hunting us, we're hunting it," said Bowlus, 43, of Pemberville, Ohio.

For Christmas Day, a Catholic chaplain will be going by helicopter to conduct services at outposts in Liberia for troops serving in Operation United Assistance, the mission led by the U.S. Agency for International Development to combat Ebola, Bowlus said.
...
http://www.military.com/daily-news/...-epidemic-focus-on-progress-over-holiday.html

 

[Pathfinder]

U.S.-built Ebola treatment centers in Liberia are nearly empty as outbreak fades

By Kevin Sieff January 18 at 7:09 PM

TUBMANBURG, Liberia ? Near the hillside shelter where dozens of men and women died of Ebola, a row of green U.S. military tents sit atop a vast expanse of imported gravel. The generators hum; chlorinated water churns in brand-new containers; surveillance cameras send a live feed to a large-screen television.

There?s only one thing missing from this state-of-the-art Ebola treatment center: Ebola patients.

The U.S. military sent about 3,000 troops to West Africa to build centers like this one in recent months. They were intended as a crucial safeguard against an epidemic that flared in unpredictable, deadly waves. But as the outbreak fades in Liberia, it has become clear that the disease had already drastically subsided before the first American centers were completed. Several of the U.S.-built units haven?t seen a single patient infected with Ebola.
...

Full text:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...b52-11e4-86a3-1b56f64925f6_story.html?hpid=z1

 

[Pathfinder]

Military Ebola mission in Liberia coming to an end

Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY 6:31 a.m. EST February 5, 2015
...
The number of troops deployed to the West African country, which reached nearly 3,000 in December, will fall to 1,300 this week and decline through March as soldiers head home, according to a U.S. official familiar with the U.S. government efforts. The official declined to be identified because the government is not ready to disclose its plans to the public. The official said the returning troops would be replaced by a force of about 100 for at least the near term.

"They are drawing down gradually with a visible timeline," Liberian Defense Minister Brownie Samukai said of the U.S. military effort to stop the spread of the deadly virus. Brice de la Vingne, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, a leading aid group in the fight against Ebola in West Africa, said U.S. forces "are pulling out."

Neither White House officials nor Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, commanding troops in Liberia, would comment on any future plans.
...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/02/04/ebola-army-troops-liberia-usaid/22694031/

 

[Pathfinder]

Obama to Recall Military Personnel From Ebola Zone, Officials Say

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVISFEB. 10, 2015

WASHINGTON ? President Obama will announce Wednesday that he is withdrawing almost all the American troops who were sent to West Africa to help contain the spread of the Ebola virus, administration officials said Tuesday.

He will also outline new steps aimed at eradicating the disease now that the crisis has eased, said the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly until the moves are announced.

All but 100 of the 3,000 American military service members deployed to fight the deadly disease will return home by the end of April, the officials said...

Full text:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/w...l-fighting-ebola-home-officials-say.html?_r=0