Maryland Guard's Surgeon Details State COVID-19 Assistance

April 22, 2020 | BY David Vergun , DOD News

Some 1,400 Maryland National Guard soldiers and airmen are on active duty, and 700 more are on enhanced standby, able to come on active duty within a matter of hours if called upon by the governor, the Maryland Guard's state surgeon said.

Of those called up, 73 are health and medical specialists who are now dealing with COVID-19, Army Col. (Dr.) Eric Allely told reporters by phone during a Pentagon news conference today regarding the Guard's COVID-19 efforts in his state.

The Maryland Guard has visited about 40 of the 227 skilled-nursing homes throughout the state, as well as some children's facilities, he said. Skilled nursing homes are in-patient rehabilitation centers staffed with trained medical professionals.

The visits are performed with multidisciplined Guard teams of health and medical specialists, Allely said, working closely with the Maryland Department of Health.

Several types of teams conduct the visits, Allely said. One does an overall assessment, one provides care, another works in behavioral health, and another provides medical testing and education.

The behavioral health professionals are particularly important, the doctor said. "People need to be reassured," he explained. "They are experts at post-traumatic stress and are extremely well received."

Allely said the guardsmen do COVID-19 testing and turn the tests over to the Maryland Department of Health, which runs the tests at 10 a.m. daily. Results are provided the same day. The staff in the skilled-nursing homes he's visited are professionals and don't often get the credit due them, he added.

The health of the guardsmen is also important, he told reporters, noting that he's trying to ensure people are not working long hours and becoming fatigued. "This is not a sprint; it's a marathon," he said. "I take this very seriously."

The Maryland Guard also is supporting food and food distribution missions throughout the state. "For us, it's not just about handing out food," Allely said. "It's about being there in any way we can help."

Noting that the virtual online community is important to efforts to stop COVID-19, the state surgeon said guard officials are working cyber threat issues, ensuring that information is accurate and that people stay connected.

Defense Officials Express Agreement With President's Warning to Iran

April 22, 2020 | BY Jim Garamone , DOD News

Defense Department officials are in full agreement with President Donald J. Trump's warning to the Iranian regime on Twitter, senior Pentagon officials said today.

"The president issued an important warning to the Iranians," Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Norquist said during a Pentagon news conference today. "What he was emphasizing is all of our ships retain the right of self-defense, and people need to be very careful in their interactions to understand the inherent right of self-defense."

The president tweeted, "I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea."

The Iranian regime has a history of harassing U.S. vessels operating in the Persian Gulf. In the past, small, quick Iranian boats have charged at U.S. ships in international waters.

The president's tweet does not signal a new policy, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, as U.S. forces in any environment retain the right to defend themselves. "Every ship that deploys in harm's way has the inherent right of self-defense," Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten told reporters. "What that means is if we see a hostile act, if we see hostile intent, we have the right to respond, up to and including lethal force."

Hyten warned Iran that, if threatened, U.S. commanders "will respond with overwhelming lethal force."

Norquist said Trump was responding to Iran's poor behavior.  "He is emphasizing and warning them about the challenges of what they will create," the deputy secretary said. "I think it was a very useful thing that he put out, and I think it's an important thing for other people to understand and take very seriously."

Hyten emphasized that he thinks it is a good thing that the president warned an adversary. He said that if the Iranians want to go down that path, "we will come, and we will come large."

DOD Starts Tiered COVID-19 Testing Process to Ensure Safety

April 22, 2020 | BY Jim Garamone , DOD News

The Defense Department is moving to a tiered COVID-19 testing program to protect service members and ensure they can continue to do the nation's business, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten and Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Norquist described the four-tiered system and all other aspects of DOD's support to civilian agencies against coronavirus during a Pentagon news conference today.

The new system means the department is moving from a diagnostic focus to a diagnostic-plus-screening focus, the general said, noting that DOD now has the means to expand testing to a wider military population. The tiered focus gives priority to the highest-risk forces and will ensure strategic mission assurance, he added.

Tier 1 is testing for those involved in critical national capabilities such as strategic deterrence or nuclear deterrence, Hyten said. Tier 2 will test fielded forces around the world. Tier 3 encompasses forces being forward deployed or those redeploying, and Tier 4 is for all other forces.

Testing will become more frequent as supplies become more available. The military has already started testing those service members in Tier 1, the general said, but he pointed out that testing is not a solution. Service members still must engage in social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and all other recommendations of medical officials.

The testing is, however, a powerful tool. When used in conjunction with all other preventive measures, it can "improve our overall force availability," Hyten said.

Norquist and Hyten both said the department is adjusting to the new rhythm COVID-19 has enforced on the world. Military and civilian employees continue their missions under the new strictures, including a huge increase in telework. "We now have an estimated 970,000 active duty and civilian personnel teleworking with great success," Norquist said.

For example, the deputy secretary said, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service has 95 percent of its workforce teleworking. "Each month DFAS makes over 5.8 million payments to civilians, active duty, reserve, National Guard and DOD retirees, but because they previously prepared for it and practice extensive telework, they're sustaining regular operations at full capacity," he added.

But some jobs in the military can't be phoned in, and that includes training new recruits, working aboard ships and in cockpits and otherwise working in constrained spaces. The department is working to address those situations, Norquist said.

The department will screen individuals with questionnaires and thermometers to identify people at risk. They will be put in quarantine for 14 to 21 days, depending on the risk tolerance, to identify those who are infected, but are not yet showing it, he said.

"Prior to leaving quarantine, we will conduct a swab test and a temperature check to identify individuals who are infected, but still do not show it. … As the unit then moves to its mission, [we] will keep the group together, but [with] limited outside interaction to prevent introduction of infection from outside."

Again, masks, social distancing, cleaning workspaces and more will continue as the process continues, the deputy secretary emphasized. "These interim measures enable us to reduce the risk," he said. "So we continue to operate until we develop therapeutics and vaccines. And as we learn more about the virus, we will continue to evolve our approach."