Social distancing in a submarine? Military adapts to coronavirus rules as best it can
Disruption to the U.S. military’s normal operations due to the coronavirus could last through July, top Pentagon leaders said Tuesday, as the various service branches do their best to adhere to guidance on the pandemic.
Like most of the country, where restaurants and stores have temporarily shuttered, and much of the population is teleworking, the Pentagon has directed the majority of its 22,000 workforce assigned there to work from home, and as of Monday at least 60 percent were doing that.
The military has seen the number of coronavirus cases within its ranks rapidly climb. This week the Pentagon elevated force protection measures, which closed entrances and further limited who could enter the building.
The military service branches have taken different approaches to trying to reduce the coronavirus outbreak among their forces while still maintaining their ability to operate.
For example, for air crews landing at Aviano Air Base in hard-hit Italy the concern for potential exposure happens when they leave the aircraft.
“While they’re in that aircraft, along other aircraft, they’re actually in an environment that is not a concern,” said Air Force chief of staff Gen. David Goldfein. “It’s when they leave that environment to go to their rooms or whatever. So we’re really minimizing movement and keeping them in a bubble, if you will”
The Navy, which has five aircraft carriers currently deployed, said it treats a ship at sea also as if it’s in self-quarantine.
“Ships at sea are essentially self-quarantined in place as units,” said Cmdr. Denver Applehans, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. To the extent possible, social distancing measures, frequent hand washing and precautions on covering coughs are also taken, Applehans said.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper noted that in some cases, guidance to prevent the coronavirus spread just isn’t practical.
“You can’t get social distancing in a submarine or even in a tank — but you take prudent measures as best you can,” he said.
Most of the coronavirus outbreaks the Navy has had so far have occurred on ships in port, and infected sailors have been removed for medical treatment, the Navy said.
In South Korea, which was hit early by the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. bases were put on strict lockdown. Measures such as taking the temperature of everyone who accessed the bases, and quick measures by the South Korean government to direct its population to self-isolate have led to the number of cases leveling off, Army Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said.
Each military base’s social distancing rules have been set by local commanders, leading to some concern that not every installation is treating the seriousness of the virus the same.
For example, on the Army’s portion of Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state, McClatchy was contacted by a reader with concerns that soldiers were still gathering in large groups at Fort Lewis for unit physical fitness drills and other functions.
A spokesman for Fort Lewis said the base had taken many actions to reduce spread among the soldiers, such as closing the dining hall and having take-out food only, closing the movie theaters and holding virtual church services.
But basic drills and physical fitness must continue to maintain readiness, the base said in a statement.
“We have balanced the need to maintain readiness with appropriate measures to protect the health of our service members, civilians and families,” the base said in a statement.
Based on data from China and other hard-hit countries, daily U.S. military operations may continue to be affected by the coronavirus “through late May, June, something in that range, maybe it could be as late as July,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley said on Tuesday.
Esper said the disruptions could last for “at least” the next 8 to 10 weeks.
The defense leaders’ remarks contrasted with President Donald Trump, who said at a Fox News virtual town hall on Tuesday that he would like to see the country return to more normal operations by Easter, which is April 12.
While the number of coronavirus cases relative to the size of the military is low, the numbers are rapidly climbing. On March 18, the Pentagon reported 49 service members, 14 civilians, 19 dependents and 7 contractors had tested positive for the coronavirus. By Tuesday, less than a week later, the number of cases had increased to 174 service members, 59 civilians, 61 dependents and 27 contractors who had tested positive. The Pentagon has also reported its first coronavirus death, a contractor who worked for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
There are more than 1.3 million service members in the active duty U.S. military. If the numbers of cases among service members remain low, “we will have moderate to low levels of impacts or readiness impacts, only because of the numbers, at least the numbers so far. This can change,” Milley cautioned.
Maintaining the military’s readiness, the ability to rapidly deploy forces and equipment, will be essential in the coming months if the pandemic drives instability overseas and the military is called upon to respond, Milley and Esper said.
“It could lead, in some cases, to social breakdowns, it could lead to political chaos in some countries, we have to be attuned to that,” Milley said.
There may also be a greater need for humanitarian missions, or a need to respond to an act of aggression, Esper said.
“It may be incumbent upon us to help them (other nations) with our own supplies, our own doctors, our own assistance,” Esper said. “For our potential adversaries it may cause them to act out in ways, ways that impact our security posture, our readiness. So we need to be very conscious to be on the lookout for that as this unfolds.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Social distancing in a submarine? Military adapts to coronavirus rules as best it can."
