Troops' Skill Sets During Pandemic Sharpen the Sword

April 23, 2020 | BY Terri Moon Cronk , DOD News

More than 56,400 Defense Department personnel are on the front lines of the war against the silent enemy known as the COVID-19 virus that's affected the nation, a DOD spokesman said.

Active-duty service members, reservists and National Guardsmen medical personnel and support troops are in place waging the fight against the virus, Army Lt. Col Chris Mitchell said yesterday.

Doctors, nurses, Army medics and Navy corpsmen are treating COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cases in support of local-area health-care workers.

U.S. Northern Command is responsible for DOD's active-duty personnel, with more than 14,000 people deployed, including 4,320 medical personnel, in support of response operations. And more than 1,000 medical providers are embedded nationwide within local hospitals, according to Northcom.

Nearly 3,000 Army Reserve soldiers support COVID-19 response via the 14 Army Urban Augmentation Medical Task Forces in these locations:

1 New York City, with six UAMTFs supporting the alternate care facility at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and local hospitals.

2 New Jersey, with three UAMTFs supporting the Edison Exposition Center, Newark University Hospital, the Atlantic City Convention Center alternate care facility and Salem Hospital.

3 Stamford, Conn., with one UAMTF at the Bennett Medical Center treating patients. Additional help is due to arrive this week.

4 Massachusetts, with a UAMTF at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center alternate care facility and another at Tewksbury Hospital that will be fully operational later this week.

5 Pennsylvania, with a UAMTF for the Temple University alternate care facility, and one in East Stroudsburg that has achieved initial operational capability.

6 Detroit, with a UAMTF at the TCF Center alternate care facility.

A Navy Expeditionary Medical Facility detachment is also at work at an alternate care facility in New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and is providing support in Baton Rouge, La.

More than 350 Navy, Air Force and Army Reserve citizen warriors were mobilized in the last week to support the DOD COVID-19 response. Most reservists will deploy to New York City hospitals to assist on the front lines. More than 5,100 reservists are on military orders supporting COVID-19 operations.

The Navy Reserve has more than 1,500 sailors engaged in COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts around the world, including more than 650 reservists at the Javits Convention Center alternate care facility and hospitals in the New York City area, and more than 200 reservists are serving aboard the Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort.

The Air Force Reserve mobilized more than 150 medical professionals to New York City, and they were expected to arrive at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, yesterday.

National Guard Troops

Nearly 42,000 National Guardsmen are supporting COVID-19 response at the direction of their governors. State priorities are focused on testing and screening, and providing logistical support through warehousing and distribution of medical supplies and food.

DOD's readiness posture is not degraded, Mitchell said. "Any time service members put their skills to use, it sharpens the sword. They're going to be better prepared to deal with this kind of thing next time around because they're using their skills and testing processes and things like that in a situation where they're under stress."