Defense Department Aids U.S. Delivery of Ventilators to Indonesia

 Aug. 31, 2020 | BY David Vergun , DOD News

• Indonesia received a shipment of 500 ventilators from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Aug. 30, 2020. The Air Mobility Command transported them from Travis Air Force Base, California, to Jakarta, Indonesia.
• USAID also contracted with Korean Airlines to airlift 250 ventilators from the United States to Indonesia last week.
• On July 21, 100 ventilators were delivered to Indonesia. A final shipment of 150 is expected to be delivered sometime in September, which will bring the total to 1,000.

Ventilators are an important clinical component in the treatment of many COVID-19 patients.

"The Department of Defense is pleased to support the delivery of ventilators to our close partners in Indonesia," said Reed Werner, deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia. 

The U.S. government's contribution of more than $12 million in COVID-19 assistance to Indonesia in addition to the 1,000 ventilators is testament to the strength of the relationship between the two countries, Werner said, adding that DOD's involvement in the shipment of the ventilators reflects the many ways the countries' militaries work together to advance shared interests.

Stephanie L. Hammond, acting special assistant to the deputy assistant secretary of defense for stability and humanitarian affairs, said: "The United States, through the generosity of the American people and the innovation of American private industry, is providing access to brand-new, high-quality ventilators to countries that urgently need them to fight COVID-19." 

Ezra Cohen, acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low intensity conflict, added: "The Defense Department continues to play a key role in the global response to COVID-19. From the beginning of this pandemic, the department was quick to support our allies and partners through the provision and transport of life-saving medical equipment and humanitarian aid.

"We are now shifting our efforts to focus on sustainable preparedness and prevention activities. In addition to delivering ventilators to Indonesia, we are also helping set up isolation clinics and providing testing equipment and training to build public health capacity and to help prevent, detect and respond to infectious diseases."

Jennifer E. Smoak, DOD's assistant director of Disaster Relief Policy, said, "Helping people gain access to basic needs and build strong, healthy, stable communities is rewarding and, in part, why I answered the call to public service. As a working mother who helps others meet basic, humanitarian needs I am able to model for my daughter how to pursue a dream of helping others."

Before the flight to Indonesia, Air Force Maj. Roger Gates, a 21st Airlift Squadron pilot at Travis AFB who flew on this mission, said that since the ventilators are urgently needed by the Indonesian people, the Air Force is doing what it can to expedite the shipment in a safe manner.

"Each one of those machines has the possibility to save an individual's life. These ventilators may end up saving many lives," he said.

"The American people are very generous and industrious, even when they're also hurting from the pandemic," Gates said.

"I think that that is one of the best parts about being an American is that we are helping people out even when we're getting punched in the face with a tornado or hurricane or in this case a virus that's killing hundreds of thousands of people," he mentioned.

Last week, Gates' squadron was impacted by the California wildfires, and some squadron members' houses were burned. Despite that, he said the missions they were tasked with continued.

In concert with USAID and the State Department, DOD has so far provided more than $92 million in support for allies and partners' COVID-19 needs for testing, lab diagnostic support, preventative infection control, personal protective equipment, and the provision and transportation of humanitarian commodities. "This support has helped countries in every geographic combatant command build sustainable public health capacity," Smoak said.

For nearly 60 years, USAID and DOD have partnered to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and promote economic growth and stability around the world, she added.

Swift Sub

 

The USS Newport News arrives at Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn., Aug. 31, 2020, for a scheduled homeport shift.

Marine Maneuver

 

Marines fast-rope out of an MV-22B Osprey during training aboard the USS America in the Philippine Sea, Aug. 23, 2020.

DOD Working Toward Networked Indo-Pacific

 Aug. 31, 2020 | BY Jim Garamone , DOD News

When Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper talks about the Indo-Pacific he talks about it becoming a "networked region" — not in the information technology sense, but as like-minded countries working together.

His travels to the region this week and previously are to encourage this concept, said David Helvey, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs.

"This is about countries that have common interests and shared interests that are willing to commit resources to work to support the folks to left and right in pursuit of a common task," Helvey said during an interview with reporters traveling with Esper.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization binds together 30 nations in collective defense, but there is no comparable treaty organization in the Indo-Pacific. In the region, the United States has a series of bilateral, treaty-based alliance relationships and a set of partnerships. "When we talk about promoting a networked region, we're talking about building the relationships we have not only with our allies and partners, we're promoting the contacts, coordination, integration [among] our allies and partners themselves," Helvey said. "Sometimes that involves us, sometimes them, working together in support of shared interests."

The bottom line is a set of like-minded allies and partners who share values to support the principles of a free and open Indo-Pacific. "We are committing resources to work together to support it, uphold it and promote its resilience," he said. 

There are examples of this process. The nations of the region cooperate in enforcement of United Nations Security Council resolutions on North Korea. The United States, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Australia work together to pool resources and share information. This supports implementation of sanctions against North Korea.

Another example is Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines working together in the Sulu Sea to combat piracy, human trafficking and terrorism in that area. Singapore is another nation working with allies through its maritime fusion center or its new counterterrorism information facility. 

Exercises also help build the network, such as the Rim of the Pacific exercise that's going on now. There are other exercises that just include the United States, Japan and Australia and one with only the U.S., Japan and India. "We also have continued defense cooperation [with] the United States, Japan and South Korea," he said. "So, to the extent that we're able to not only have bilateral, also multilateral security cooperation is part and parcel of networked security measures."

Helvy also spoke about realignment in the region. Esper is looking at the force lay-down worldwide and the Indo-Pacific is, obviously, a large part of that effort. The secretary wants to make sure the United States has the right forces in the right places. 

"We are heavily concentrated in Northeast Asia," Helvey said. Some of these troops' placements are legacies of World WarII. "We'd like to be able to make our presence more geographically distributed, more operationally resilient," he said. "Maybe the future is going to be less about bases and more about places — being able to operate across a multiplicity of locations, which give us the flexibility and the agility to respond to a variety of different threats and challenges."

The build-up on Guam is one example of this. "[The Guam base] is going to allow us to be able to project power across and throughout the region and be able to distribute it rapidly," he said. 

The idea is to ensure the United States is resilient in the face of many different types of threats, including China, he said. 

China is the concern of many nations in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

"One of the key things in our strategy is talking about putting the relationship with China on a trajectory of transparency and non-aggression," Helvey said. "That's going to require a sustained, open channels of communication with the Chinese — the secretary has talked to his Chinese counterpart a number of times already."

These communications are tools for risk reduction or crisis management. 

The United States and China may have common interests where the two countries could work together. "I think we would have hoped that COVID would have been one of those areas where we can work together, but the Chinese have been unwilling," he said. 

A denuclearized North Korea is an area with a shared interest. "There's other areas where we may have opportunities to cooperate based on shared interest, but that's something we have to work in with Chinese to identify," he said.

Scrubbing Sailors

 

Sailors sweep the USS Carl Vinson during testing of the ship’s aqueous film forming foam distribution system in the Pacific Ocean, Aug. 26, 2020.

Smoky Scene

 

Marines fire a machine gun during training at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 26, 2020.

Medics Keep RNC Support Teams Safe From COVID-19

 Aug. 31, 2020 | BY Army Staff Sgt. Mary Junell

Joint Task Force — Republican National Convention came together in Charlotte, North Carolina, Aug. 21-24, 2020, during the global pandemic to ensure the safety of citizens, delegates and critical infrastructure during the RNC event.

However, with the spread of COVID-19 a concern, the task force medical staff's priority was to develop and implement a plan to keep joint forces — consisting of North Carolina National Guardsman, active duty soldiers, Marines, airmen, and Defense Department civilians, safe.

Army Staff Sgt. Stacy Tindle, the medical noncommissioned officer in charge for the 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, had a primary responsibility to ensure the medical welfare of all the joint forces within the joint operations area — preventing the spread of COVID-19. Every person who entered the North Carolina National Guard Armory in Charlotte was required to wear a mask and advised to maintain 6 feet of separation whenever possible. They were also greeted with a list of questions — asking about possible contact with COVID-19-positive patients, signs or symptoms that could be associated with COVID-19 and if they had experienced an elevated temperature within the last 24 hours.

"We check the temperatures of every person coming inside the building," Tindle said. "We also provide medical support throughout the day whenever there's a need."

JTF-RNC participants were given a sticker with the color of the day to wear — indicating they went through a preliminary medical screening. If a person had a temperature or answered yes to any of the questions, they were not allowed to enter the building and required further medical attention.

The medical team, including Army Capt. Joseph Mintz, a physician's assistant with the 130th MEB, prepared for months to make sure they were ready to keep JTF-RNC safe during the event.

"We had a few drills where we had personnel here when we were doing these screenings and mask-wearing procedures," Mintz said. "We collaborated with other sections to make sure we had enough cleaning supplies and surfaces were being sanitized. We had [time] to get that system set up so it was already in place by the time we got here."

Even though the convention was downsized due to the pandemic, the event still brought support teams from across the country, a concern for the medical team. Teams of medical personnel, physicians, nurses and medics went around the state to ensure everyone involved was complying with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

"A huge number of [people] have come from all over the state, as well as Washington, to support the Republican National Convention," Tindle said. "This has been a huge undertaking. We've all been really excited about it, and it's just been a great honor, but the number of personnel is key because we want to make sure [everyone is] safe at all times."

The RNC was a large event bringing together military service members and Defense Department civilians from across the country, and the JTF-RNC medical team had the same priority they always do — health and safety.

"Our overall mission didn't really change much for the RNC," Mintz said. "Our primary mission is always safety and health; that's always our top priority no matter what's going on."

(Army Staff Sgt. Mary Junell is assigned to the 382nd Public Affairs Detachment)

On The Front Lines Against COVID-19

 Aug. 31, 2020 | BY RUSSELL TOOF, ARMY

Army Maj. (Dr.) Neel Shah admits there is a preconceived notion about his job. 

"Most people think it's just putting patients to sleep for surgery, but it is so much more than that," Shah said, an anesthesiologist at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany. "We are the physicians whose job it is to keep you alive, so you can undergo whatever procedure you need. We study diseases and how they will affect a patient before, during and after surgery and try to decrease any risks associated with them."

Shah, originally from Nashua, New Hampshire, joined the Army after an opportunity to perform an observership at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

"I saw doctors, nurses and other health professionals working tirelessly on wounded soldiers, sailors and airmen to get them safely back to their friends, families and battle buddies," Shah said. "It was a team that I wanted to be a part of, where I felt that I could contribute."

Shah, who joined the Army in 2009 when he started medical school, helps make sure the patient is optimized for their procedure before they ever set foot in an operating room.

"We meet with them before surgery to make sure that all of their other medical conditions are under control and ensure that the risk of surgery is not too great for them," Shah said. "Then in the operating room and after surgery, we make sure to execute an anesthetic plan that is perfect for that patient so that they can make it home safely to their families."

Shah's job, like most people's, has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The biggest problem for anesthesiologists and our certified registered nurse anesthetist colleagues is that we work every day on the parts of your body that shed the most virus — your nose, mouth and windpipe — and this puts us at significant risk for contracting COVID-19 from an infected patient," he said. "Worldwide, emergency room doctors and anesthesiologists are at the highest risk of contracting COVID-19 because we manage patient airways when they are the most ill. Because of this, we have had to use special protective equipment and protocols designed to minimize this risk. Luckily, here at LRMC, we have the equipment to keep us safe while managing these patients."

Despite the nature of his work, Shah is usually upbeat about it.

"Although I love all the procedures I do in my work, my favorite part of this job is the team-based model of the operating room," Shah said. "I come to work every day and ensure my patients have a safe and successful surgery with an incredible team of surgeons, nurses and anesthesia colleagues."

Shah added that his patients make his job equally rewarding.

"They are the best patients that any doctor could ask for, because they are focused on one goal — to get back to the fight and support their teams," Shah said. "When you have patients like that, it makes the job that much more satisfying."

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, is the largest American hospital outside of the U.S. and the only American level III trauma center overseas.

Regional Health Command Europe is responsible for the health care, public health, dental and veterinary services for Soldiers, their families and Defense Department beneficiaries throughout Europe.

(Russell Toof is assigned to Regional Health Command Europe).

Service Members Want Discussions on Race, Diversity, Inclusion

 Aug. 31, 2020 | BY Jim Garamone , DOD News

In meetings with Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper, service members in the Pacific said they want serious discussions about race, diversity and inclusion and want the military to confront racism and address conscious prejudice and institutional bias.

On every trip, the secretary makes time to speak with service members. Some of his talks include all hands and are on the record. Other talks are private and the secretary speaks in generalities about what he hears from service members.

During this trip he spoke to an all-hands gathering aboard the USS Essex and with a small number of crew members on the ship. He spoke with Marines, a SeaBee civic action team in Palau, and with airmen at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. He will have more opportunities in Hawaii.

''Most of my conversation was with the troops … talking, diversity, inclusion, and … on that particular topic, what they tell me is … any type of bias that they experienced has been mostly on unconscious bias,'' he said. 

But there is also conscious bias, and the service members discussed the need for understanding and education with Esper.

''I see a continuity in terms of their feedback, and ways to address bias in the ranks,'' he said. ''They all shared that there's a [discomfort] about discussing these issues, issues of race.''

They want more conversations. ''I don't believe anybody thinks there's a silver bullet,'' he said. ''They certainly want there to be more discussions, or would welcome more discussion — and less formalized discussion, more organic discussion.''

Service members do not want another PowerPoint presentation on equal opportunity, but an actual discussion seeking empathy and understanding.

''I come away encouraged,'' Esper said. He said service members have told him that, generally, their treatment within the military is different from that on the outside.