The U.S. Army is sending about 700 soldiers from the 101st Airborne to Liberia to aid in handling the Ebola outbreak.
Fort Campbell Spokesperson Master Sergeant Brian Sipp says the deployment's length is undetermined and will depend on the situation's development. If a soldier was infected with Ebola while in Liberia, Sipp says he is currently unsure of the procedure.
“Right now we are just trying to identify what units and what individuals are going," Sipp said. "As we do our pre-deployment training they’ll definitely receive specialized medical training. We’re working with the U.S. Army Public Health Command and they have certain principles and policies in place to ensure that soldiers are protected from exposures to Ebola. I can’t speak to what specific procedure they have in place to handle this, but I’m certain that they do.”
Soldiers will also receive specialized equipment to lower risk of contracting the virus, as reported by Nashville Public Radio. 101st Airborne commander Gary Volesky says protecting the health of U.S. soldiers is his “No. 1 priority.”
The 101st Airborne deployment is part of the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak, which the Pentagon says will include establishing treatment centers and training health care workers. Another 700 from the army will join the effort. The Pentagon may eventually deploy as many as 3,000 troops to Liberia.
Officials say military will not provide direct care to Ebola patients and the 101st will be in Liberia for at least 6 months, according to an article from the the Army News Service. Sipp says the deployment date is undecided but soldiers will leave for Libera shortly.
