US military faces new kind of threat

At Fort Campbell in Kentucky, spouses of US soldiers heading for Liberia seem to be lingering just a bit longer than usual after pre-deployment briefings, hungry for information about Ebola.

For these families, the virus is raising a different kind of anxiety than the one they have weathered during 13 years of ground war in Afghanistan and Iraq. They want to know how the military can keep soldiers safe from the epidemic, a new addition to the Army's long list of threats.

"Ebola is a different problem set that the division hasn't (faced) before," said Major General Gary Volesky, who will soon head to Liberia along with soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division.

There are already more than 350 US troops on the ground in West Africa, mostly in Liberia, including a handful from the 101st. That number is set to grow exponentially in the coming weeks as the military races to expand Liberia's infrastructure so it can battle Ebola.

The military has already set up a headquarters in Liberia's capital, Monrovia, and hopes to have a 25-bed field hospital up and running by the middle of the month. It also aims to quickly build up to 17 treatment units.

Volesky said he has seen more of what he called "stay behind dialogue" after these pre-deployment briefings, something he encourages.

The message at Fort Campbell and at American military bases elsewhere is that the threat from Ebola is manageable. With the right precautions, the risk is low.

US soldiers certainly will not be treating sick Liberians and, if all goes according to plan, they will not interact with them either.

But there is still concern among military families. That is something US forces on the ground say they are wrestling with, even as they report feeling relatively safe from infection.

"I have two kids," said Lieutenant Colonel Scott Sendmeyer, a chief engineer already in Monrovia. "Of course they're worrying about their dad.

"At the same time, I've shared the training that I've received with my family. That's the way I (relieve) them of their fears."

The hemorrhagic fever, which has no proven cure, has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa since the outbreak began in March. More than half the dead have been in Liberia, where the healthcare system is still reeling from the devastating 1989-2003 civil war.

Safety training

The risks of failing to contain Ebola in West Africa have come into sharp focus in the United States after the first patient diagnosed with the disease on US soil, Thomas Eric Duncan, died on Wednesday.

As the Ebola threat evolves, the Pentagon has acknowledged that the size and duration of the mission in West Africa could change as well. Deployments might even top the current projection of nearly 4,000, an increase from an earlier estimate of around 3,000.

(China Daily 10/13/2014 page11)