DoD Sets Policy for Troops Returning from Ebola Areas

By Karen Parrish
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2014 – Pentagon officials released guidance today outlining a 21-day “controlled monitoring” policy for Defense Department personnel returning from areas where the Ebola virus is present.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued an instruction that applies to DoD service members returning from Ebola virus disease outbreak areas in West Africa and the continental United States. Civilian employees and contractors will be instructed to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Controlled Monitoring Policy

Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby detailed the policy at news conference today.

The policy requires 21 days of monitoring at one of a number of separate locations on U.S. military installations, and includes no physical contact with family and friends, base community and the general population.   

“Selection criteria for these installations included proximity to medical facilities capable of treating Ebola and the ability to conduct twice daily temperature checks, medical screenings, and to control movement and access,” Kirby said.

He listed seven locations approved as controlled monitoring sites. They are:

-- Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas;

-- Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Hampton, Virginia;

-- Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas;

-- Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina;

-- Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington;

-- U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder, Germany; and

-- U.S. Army Garrison Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy.

Other Ebola-related Announcements

Kirby also announced that 30 additional military personnel will be identified and trained to provide back-up capability to the existing 30-person Ebola medical support team, and that civilian employees who become ill or are injured while deployed in the operation, dubbed United Assistance, are authorized to receive medical care at a military treatment facility at no cost to them.

The additional response team, Kirby said, is not being assembled because of expected additional need, “but rather it is an effort to establish an additional cadre of personnel that would be given the same specialized training as the first group we trained last month.”

This additional group will begin training in San Antonio around Nov. 17, he added.

A Prudent Approach

In an Oct. 30 interview with DoD News reporter Jim Garamone, Dempsey and Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, his senior enlisted advisor, said the measures reflect a conservative and prudent approach. The interview took place after the policy had been decided upon, but before the instruction was issued. They said the reintegration process fits the needs of service members and their families, and that leaders will assess and adapt the program as needed.

Up to 4,000 American service members may deploy to West Africa to provide support for the worldwide effort against the Ebola virus. 

(Follow Karen Parrish on Twitter: @ParrishDoDNews)