U.S. Commander Does Abrupt About-Face On American Troops’ Contact With Ebola Patients

[Purveyor]

Source: McClatchy

Tuesday, Oct. 07, 2014
By James Rosen
McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON In less than four hours, the top U.S. commander in Africa reversed himself Tuesday on the controversial question of whether American military personnel dispatched there will have direct contact with Ebola victims.

At 3:30 p.m., the Pentagon moved a rare “correction for the record” from an 11:30 a.m. briefing by Gen. David M. Rodriguez, head of the U.S. Africa Command.

“In response to comments I made today about U.S. military personnel potentially coming in direct contact with Ebola-infected individuals, specific to lab testing, I want to clarify my remarks,” Rodriguez said in an updated statement.

“U.S. military personnel working in the labs are not interacting with patients, only samples,” he said. “The testing labs are manned by highly skilled and trained personnel from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center.”

That statement directly contradicted what Rodriguez had said at the earlier briefing.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/07/6182359/us-commander-does-abrupt-about.html?rh=1

[LiberalFighter]

1. The military has a problem knowing what to do when it doesn't involve a military weapon.

[Marrah_G]

4. I don't think that is true

[gopiscrap]

6. I tend to agree!

[AnalystInParadise]

7. Well since their job

is to violently kill people and break things, of course they don't. Their job is to destroy the enemy and his will to fight, not wage humanitarian war against communicable diseases. But what do I know, I am a retired twenty year vet and 5 time combat deployment veteran (well 5 combat deployments to Iraq, and 1 to Bosnia and 1 to Kosovo back in the 1990's/Early 2000's)

[Mojorabbit]

20. My baby sis commanded an elite medical unit

that would drop in anywhere and put up field hospitals. We have a lot of well trained medical personnel in the services with lots of experience setting up in less than ideal circumstances.

[tazkcmo]

14. We' are very good

At what we are trained to do.

[Cha]

2. Good. thank you, Gen Rodriquez.. wishing you all the best in your endeavors with Ebola in Africa.

[TwilightGardener]

3. It would be pretty weird for professionals in a lab to need to have direct contact

with patients, unless there's some unusual situation going on. He simply misspoke in answer to a press question, and corrected it.

[Marrah_G]

5. That's what I got out of the article also

Not an about face, just a clarification.

[AnalystInParadise]

8. True

But the VAST majority of the soldiers going are not lab technicians. Infantry soldiers, Rangers and Intelligence soldiers at the 101st CP, MP's, Engineers and Civil Affairs at their respective units, so YES at some point direct contact with infected locals is HIGHLY likely.

[TheVisitor]

10. well...

MPs are a given, seeing as Africa doesn't have the best track record for peacefulness... also explains the rangers and IS folk...
they brought security in to protect them mainly while they are building places for other people to effectively treat people for Ebola... not necessarily getting into direct contact with anyone infected, but these people are primarily going to build treatment centers... hence the engineers...

[AnalystInParadise]

11. The Intel

folks will include HUMINT folks who will be on THT's (Tactical Humint Teams), in other words the HUMINT people, (several dozen) will be out and about talking to locals all day long everyday... that is their job, talk to locals, arrange sources, identify threats, etc. Additionally the G-4 (Logistics) people at the Div CP will need to interface with locals everyday to secure certain foods (usually local produce, far cheaper to buy on the local economy), certain local supplies, as well as buy any Class IX items that can be more quickly purchased on the economy versus shipping them to Africa from the US. Additionally the Civil Affairs people will be setting up village engagements to ensure that the villages closest to the FOB's or hospitals are secured and remain pacified with civil works projects, etc. Additionally the MP's will have daily contact, and we haven't even gotten to the Signals Retrans teams who will be out in the boonies on the hills providing line of sight for the signals communications. Of that number going to Africa, at least 10-20% will be out among the locals EVERYDAY. That is how a mission of this nature works. I was in Bosnia, Kosovo and the invasion of Iraq in 2003, each time we enter a new battlespace, these things I listed are the BARE MINIMUMS for a Command Staff.

[ProgressiveJarhead]

12. It Will Get Ugly

People who haven't been there and done that won't comprehend. Arm chair quarterbacks.

[AnalystInParadise]

13. I know

I am stunned we are sending some of these units.......I can't imagine a worse collection of units for this mission than this. The Medical Branch people I understand, the other Army units? I cannot comprehend what they are thinking.

[Hestia]

21. Thank you for the clarification on what these units do. There is much much more than just

sending in Medical Teams from your post.

FYI - Liberia considers itself the 51st State. The country was started by freemen/freewomen from the US who immigrated and who purposefully founded the capital - Monrovia - named after James Monroe. We have let them down time and again - it is fantastic that we can go and help them when it is needed.

[TheVisitor]

9. Sounds to me...

Like he got his ass handed to him for making an irresponsible comment... Sounds like something the fear-factory right wing would've encouraged him to say...

[snappyturtle]

15. What's the difference? Coming into contact with the actual people or their samples? nt

[sendero]

16. A HUGE difference..

... samples don't cough, samples don't sneeze, samples don't vomit, samples don't sweat.

The FACT is, despite all of the SCIENCE people telling us that they understand the transmission modes of this virus, which they clearly do not or there wouldn't be scads of health workers who followed all specified precautions now infected with ebola, that while this virus is not transmitted "airborne" in the conventional sense of the word if you get an aerosol droplet of spittle from an infected person who coughed you are at risk.

If you touch a wall that was touched by an infected person hours ago you are at risk.

Working with ebola patients requires RIGOROUS adherence to sanitation procedures, my gratitude and admiration goes out to everyone caring for these people.

[snappyturtle]

17. Thank you for your answer. It makes sense as long as the samples are

properly handled and there are zero lab 'accidents'.

I will say that I find employing soldiers for the good does more for our defense and safety than employing them to kill. imho

[sendero]

18. Exactly..

.... and it is much easier to avoid an accident with a petri dish than with a living human being.

[snappyturtle]

19. True. nt