"I, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me god."
With this oath comes challenges, hard days and far more hours of work than imaginable. But what is does not include is immunity to the dangers of the outside world. With the coronavirus practically arising out of nowhere, destructive and hazardous, guess who is on full alert to keep Americans safe.
President Trump has issued an order to bring select veterans and reserve military personnel back into "active duty" in order to assist with the coronavirus response. The president said that the decision will "allow us to mobilize medical, disaster and emergency response personnel to help wage our battle against the virus by activating thousands of experienced service members, including retirees," according to an article posted by The Washington Post. Veterans have volunteered and offered support to assist with the relief of this pandemic.
While it has not been expressed whether involuntary recalls will be taken, Lt. Col. Emmanuel Ortiz-Cruz, army spokesman, said around 15,000 veterans have interest in rejoining the service to help the military's response to the pandemic. Different skill sets and requirements are being looked for to help control the spread of the virus, along with a potential 24-month active duty time period for those who are selected.
The U.S. military is conducting a change of mission to combat COVID-19 in other ways as well. They have raised the Health Protection Condition level to Charlie across all installations, meaning access is limited to essential personnel only, along with extra measures being implemented to protect immediate contingency response forces in order to prevent exposure to this virus; should they need to deploy. Screening procedures and testing sites are being developed worldwide to provide medical support in order to protect citizens, and Army hospital staffs are providing routine and emergency medical support, allowing them to focus their resources and efforts on detecting and treating exposed patients.
Army Lieutenant, Ethan Green, is racing to develop a cure for COVID-19. A doctoral student at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is the only active-duty military member on the Walter Reed Army Institute of research team. This army microbiologist, along with researchers at WRAIR have been diligently since the beginning of this year to develop vaccines and treatments to combat the coronavirus. Trials are in place to test the effectiveness and safety of some protein vaccines, which target a large portion of the virus, ultimately to weaken and eliminate it.
The coronavirus has infected a large number of military members and officials, along with the highest number of cases being confirmed on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.
-Navy: 57 cases
-Army: 44 cases
-Air Force: 43 cases
-Marine Corps: 26 cases
The Defense Department officials also have said that 61 military dependents have the virus, 59 civilian workers and 27 contractors. Many troops have required hospitalization from the virus, as well as those is Afghanistan. However, these numbers are continuing to increase.
Virtual recruitments are also being imposed to prevent the spreading and limit in-person contact. "Recruiters will remain accessible to those interested in a career with the U.S. Army, but they will communicate through text, phone calls, direct messages or video chat rather than face-to-face," according to army.mil. All future soldiers are being prescreened for symptoms to COVID-19 prior to departing for any basic training.
Although there's an obvious distinction between those in uniform and civilians, one thing resides in us all: anyone is at risk of catching the coronavirus, and there is a mutual effort required between us all to work on protecting ourselves and others.
