The United States Africa Command, working through United States Army Africa, has designated the Army's response to the Ebola epidemic as Operation United Assistance.[3] Up to 4,000 U.S. Army troops are planned as part of an aid mission there, starting September 2014.[1] Initially, the overall plan was to build 17 hospitals around the country of Liberia, each with 100-bed capacity.[4] However, in late November 2014 this was reduced to 10 treatment centers with 50 beds each.[5] By early January 2015, 8 out of 10 centers were completed.[6] This type of hospital is called an Ebola Treatment Unit or ETU for short.[7] The military is also working with USAID.[4]
A 25-bed hospital planned for health workers staffed by U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers was opened November 7, 2014, near Monrovia.[7]
Deploymentedit
General David Rodriguez briefs reporters on Operation United Assistance, October 8, 2014
By the end of September 2014 150 military personnel were helping USAID in the capital, Monrovia.[8] Special isolation units for the C-17 Globemaster aircraft are being worked on in late 2014 to support medical evacuation of personnel should they be infected.[9] The current evacuation aircraft can only carry one patient at time, while the isolation unit is being designed to support up to 15.[9]
By early October there about 400 troops were in Liberia.[10] This included soldiers from an Engineering Battalion, to help construct buildings for the operation.[11] Initial work included transporting supplies to Liberia, and scouting out sites to build the treatment centers.[12] By December 2014, there were three thousand servicemembers deployed for the operation; by February 2015, the number of servicemembers dropped to around thirteen hundred.[13] In early April 2015, 48th Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Brigade deployed to Liberia to oversee the draw down of the operation.[14]
Monrovia Medical Unitedit
The 25-bed Monrovia Medical Unit was constructed for health care workers supporting Operation United Assistance.
The Monrovia Medical Unit is a 25-bed field hospital for local health care workers, that opened in November 2014 in Liberia in response to the Ebola epidemic there.[15] Hundreds of health workers from Liberia and West Africa have died from the disease, and it is hoped the hospital will be an encouragement to volunteers.[7] By October 2014 construction of the buildings for one 25-bed hospital was finished, called the Monrovia Medical Unit.[16] The plan was for US. Public Health Service officers to take care of Ebola-infected health care workers at the 25-bed facility.[17] The staff was to come from members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.[18] By October 19, it was reported that 223 health care workers had cases of Ebola in Liberia, and 103 of them had died.[19][20]
On 7 November 2014, a new air-conditioned 25-bed hospital was opened for West African health care workers.[7]
Precautions and quarantineedit
Although U.S. troops will not be assigned to provide care for Ebola patients, rigorous precautions to protect them from the virus will be put in place. On 17 October 2014, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James Lariviere told Congress that "We have a no-touch policy and a three-foot separation rule with local nationals"..."A typical soldier’s day will be to get up, have their temperature taken, go out and perform whatever task they are there to do. They will only eat approved food and drink bottled water and wash their hands in chlorine solution. When they get back to their compounds, they will have their temperature taken and do a chlorine wash again."[9]
^ ab"Obama Activates Reserves for Operation United Assistance". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
^Operation UNITED ASSISTANCE: The DOD Response to Ebola in West Africa (PDF) (Report). Joint and Coalition Operational Analysis. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
^ abMaj. Dale Greer (20 October 2014). "01st Airborne Soldiers head to Liberia in support of USAID". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
^U.S. military will build fewer Ebola clinics in Liberia
^. Archived from the original on 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
^ abcd"US, Liberia Open 1st Ebola Treatment Unit for Health Workers". VOA. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
^"Operation United Assistance Helps in Liberian Ebola Fight". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
^ abc"Isolation pods will carry troops if they get Ebola". Army Times. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
^Jim Michaels, USA TODAY (11 October 2014). "Training, protocols reduce Ebola risk for U.S. troops". USA Today. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
^1st Lt. James Vidal, 15th Engineer Battalion Public Affairs Representative (17 October 2014). "15th Engineer Battalion deploys Soldiers in fight against Ebola". Retrieved 24 November 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^. Archived from the original on 2014-10-25. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
^Zoroya, Gregg (4 February 2015). "Military Ebola mission in Liberia coming to an end". Military Times. Gannett. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
^Troung, Chi (2 April 2015). "48th CBRN Brigade uncases colors in Liberia". Fort Hood Sentinel. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
^Liberia: Monrovia Medical Unit Aids Health Care Workers in Ebola Fight
^(1) Pentagon Spokesman Notes Operation United Assistance Progress (2) U.S. uniformed officers to treat Ebola patients in Liberia
^Wong, Kristina (2014-10-16). "US personnel will staff Liberian Ebola hospital". The Hill. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
^Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY (5 November 2014). "U.S. uniformed officers to treat Ebola patients in Liberia". USA Today. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
^(PDF). 22 October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
^WHO (22 Oct 2014). "Ebola Response Roadmap Situation Report" (PDF). who.int. Retrieved 22 Oct 2014.
^Martinez, Luis (27 October 2014). "US Army to Quarantine Troops Who Were Fighting Ebola". ABC News. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation United Assistance.
Center for Army Lessons Learned, 16-05
April 11, 2024
operation, united, assistance, 2014, united, states, military, mission, help, combat, ebola, virus, epidemic, west, africa, including, part, epidemic, occurring, liberia, 101st, airborne, division, headquarters, responsible, leading, mission, troops, bound, mo. Operation United Assistance was a 2014 United States military mission to help combat the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa including the part of the epidemic occurring in Liberia 1 The 101st Airborne Division headquarters was responsible for leading the mission 2 Troops bound for Monrovia Liberia board a transport aircraft September 2014 Contents 1 History 1 1 Deployment 2 Monrovia Medical Unit 3 Precautions and quarantine 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory edit source source source source source source source Barack Obama calls Ebola a national security priority and announces the US will establish a military command center in Liberia United States Department of Defense video September 17 2014The United States Africa Command working through United States Army Africa has designated the Army s response to the Ebola epidemic as Operation United Assistance 3 Up to 4 000 U S Army troops are planned as part of an aid mission there starting September 2014 1 Initially the overall plan was to build 17 hospitals around the country of Liberia each with 100 bed capacity 4 However in late November 2014 this was reduced to 10 treatment centers with 50 beds each 5 By early January 2015 8 out of 10 centers were completed 6 This type of hospital is called an Ebola Treatment Unit or ETU for short 7 The military is also working with USAID 4 A 25 bed hospital planned for health workers staffed by U S Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers was opened November 7 2014 near Monrovia 7 Deployment edit source source source source source source source General David Rodriguez briefs reporters on Operation United Assistance October 8 2014By the end of September 2014 150 military personnel were helping USAID in the capital Monrovia 8 Special isolation units for the C 17 Globemaster aircraft are being worked on in late 2014 to support medical evacuation of personnel should they be infected 9 The current evacuation aircraft can only carry one patient at time while the isolation unit is being designed to support up to 15 9 By early October there about 400 troops were in Liberia 10 This included soldiers from an Engineering Battalion to help construct buildings for the operation 11 Initial work included transporting supplies to Liberia and scouting out sites to build the treatment centers 12 By December 2014 there were three thousand servicemembers deployed for the operation by February 2015 the number of servicemembers dropped to around thirteen hundred 13 In early April 2015 48th Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Brigade deployed to Liberia to oversee the draw down of the operation 14 Monrovia Medical Unit edit nbsp The 25 bed Monrovia Medical Unit was constructed for health care workers supporting Operation United Assistance The Monrovia Medical Unit is a 25 bed field hospital for local health care workers that opened in November 2014 in Liberia in response to the Ebola epidemic there 15 Hundreds of health workers from Liberia and West Africa have died from the disease and it is hoped the hospital will be an encouragement to volunteers 7 By October 2014 construction of the buildings for one 25 bed hospital was finished called the Monrovia Medical Unit 16 The plan was for US Public Health Service officers to take care of Ebola infected health care workers at the 25 bed facility 17 The staff was to come from members of the U S Public Health Service Commissioned Corps 18 By October 19 it was reported that 223 health care workers had cases of Ebola in Liberia and 103 of them had died 19 20 On 7 November 2014 a new air conditioned 25 bed hospital was opened for West African health care workers 7 Precautions and quarantine editAlthough U S troops will not be assigned to provide care for Ebola patients rigorous precautions to protect them from the virus will be put in place On 17 October 2014 Marine Corps Maj Gen James Lariviere told Congress that We have a no touch policy and a three foot separation rule with local nationals A typical soldier s day will be to get up have their temperature taken go out and perform whatever task they are there to do They will only eat approved food and drink bottled water and wash their hands in chlorine solution When they get back to their compounds they will have their temperature taken and do a chlorine wash again 9 The Chief of Staff of the United States Army Raymond T Odierno ordered on October 27 a 21 day quarantine of all soldiers returning from Operation United Assistance Up to 12 soldiers have been quarantined so far in a U S base in Italy 21 See also editExpeditionary Medical Support System Operation Unified Assistance for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Operation Unified Response for the 2010 Haiti earthquake References edit a b Obama Activates Reserves for Operation United Assistance Retrieved 24 November 2014 Operation UNITED ASSISTANCE The DOD Response to Ebola in West Africa PDF Report Joint and Coalition Operational Analysis 6 January 2016 Retrieved 17 September 2020 Operation United Assistance United States Africa Command Archived from the original on 14 October 2014 Retrieved 8 November 2014 a b Maj Dale Greer 20 October 2014 01st Airborne Soldiers head to Liberia in support of USAID Retrieved 24 November 2014 U S military will build fewer Ebola clinics in Liberia Mission to Liberia has been a huge success story Fort Bliss officer says Archived from the original on 2015 01 15 Retrieved 2015 01 13 a b c d US Liberia Open 1st Ebola Treatment Unit for Health Workers VOA 7 November 2014 Retrieved 24 November 2014 Operation United Assistance Helps in Liberian Ebola Fight Retrieved 24 November 2014 a b c Isolation pods will carry troops if they get Ebola Army Times Retrieved 24 November 2014 Jim Michaels USA TODAY 11 October 2014 Training protocols reduce Ebola risk for U S troops USA Today Retrieved 11 July 2020 1st Lt James Vidal 15th Engineer Battalion Public Affairs Representative 17 October 2014 15th Engineer Battalion deploys Soldiers in fight against Ebola Retrieved 24 November 2014 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link First shipment of the ramped up U S military response to Ebola arrives in Liberia Archived from the original on 2014 10 25 Retrieved 2014 10 25 Zoroya Gregg 4 February 2015 Military Ebola mission in Liberia coming to an end Military Times Gannett Retrieved 3 April 2015 Troung Chi 2 April 2015 48th CBRN Brigade uncases colors in Liberia Fort Hood Sentinel Retrieved 3 April 2015 Liberia Monrovia Medical Unit Aids Health Care Workers in Ebola Fight 1 Pentagon Spokesman Notes Operation United Assistance Progress 2 U S uniformed officers to treat Ebola patients in Liberia Wong Kristina 2014 10 16 US personnel will staff Liberian Ebola hospital The Hill Retrieved 24 November 2014 Gregg Zoroya USA TODAY 5 November 2014 U S uniformed officers to treat Ebola patients in Liberia USA Today Retrieved 24 November 2014 Liberia Ebola SitRep no 157 PDF 22 October 2014 Archived from the original PDF on 24 October 2014 Retrieved 22 October 2014 WHO 22 Oct 2014 Ebola Response Roadmap Situation Report PDF who int Retrieved 22 Oct 2014 Martinez Luis 27 October 2014 US Army to Quarantine Troops Who Were Fighting Ebola ABC News Retrieved 8 November 2014 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation United Assistance Center for Army Lessons Learned 16 05 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Operation United Assistance amp oldid 1211560085, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
