Nothing to see here, move along...

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 True enough. The only reason I can think of is that in order to do their jobs the military is also very, very good at logistics and supply. Every once in a while I read an article about what it takes to feed an army and the numbers are impressive. Other than that agreed it is crazy to send the military there.

The other possibility that comes to mind is that it is chaos on the ground and the aid workers cannot really do anything without troops maintaining at least a rough sort of order. Perhaps these are 3,000 MPs?

[Brat]

Ebola in the US will be a challenge but nothing like what will happen if it becomes established in a place like India. There is no way to prevent it from entering the US at some point, we don't have social practices like washing the dead that promote contagion. The illness does not lie dormant long like AIDS so carriers will be quickly identified.

For some time I have been looking for a treatment that addresses resistant bacterial infections and viruses. I heard about this in a science podcast. http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vao...l/nm.3640.html I hope this will quickly be tested.http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpage/463/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25216635
http://www.scientificamerican.com/po...ns-from-blood/

[M Paquette]

If ebola does spread within the United States, my family and I are prepared to do whatever it takes, including:

1) We won't leave the deceased in the house for a mourning period of several days after death.
2) We are prepared to give up the traditional hand-washing of the dead.
3) We won't be re-using the unwashed linens from the deceased's bed.
4) DW and I agree that we won't be sleeping together should one of us come down with the disease, nor will we be inviting the children to sleep in the same bed.
5) We won't be encouraging fruit bat colonies on our property, or in any adjoining rain forests.
6) We will all give up the handling and raw meat consumption of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines.

I would encourage everyone to talk with their families about this, and make sure everyone is willing and ready to make the necessary sacrifices, even *sob*, even giving up their delicious monkey tartar.

[6miths]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 I have been to several countries and their slums in Africa. IMHO it is pure insanity to send US troops there to "battle" Ebola. In case it is not understood, the job of the military is to break things and kill people. That does not include expertise in deadly disease eradication.

Pretty much this. While some armed forces have evolved towards humanitarian forces the above statement is still pretty accurate, especially in the case of a combat ready force like the US military. The other issue is sending a group of young, invincible, naive folks to what is almost the equivalent of a different and very dangerous planet. And not the kind of danger that they are trained and equipped for.

[6miths]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette If ebola does spread within the United States, my family and I are prepared to do whatever it takes, including: 1) We won't leave the deceased in the house for a mourning period of several days after death. 2) We are prepared to give up the traditional hand-washing of the dead. 3) We won't be re-using the unwashed linens from the deceased's bed. 4) DW and I agree that we won't be sleeping together should one of us come down with the disease, nor will we be inviting the children to sleep in the same bed. 5) We won't be encouraging fruit bat colonies on our property, or in any adjoining rain forests. 6) We will all give up the handling and raw meat consumption of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines. I would encourage everyone to talk with their families about this, and make sure everyone is willing and ready to make the necessary sacrifices, even *sob*, even giving up their delicious monkey tartar.

No, no, not the monkey tartar!!

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustic23 I think I will worry about the stock market, or if the Texans will win another game! Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

If the Texans win another in a row (that will be three), J.J. Watts will get his own personal TV channel.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 True enough. The only reason I can think of is that in order to do their jobs the military is also very, very good at logistics and supply. Every once in a while I read an article about what it takes to feed an army and the numbers are impressive. Other than that agreed it is crazy to send the military there.

From a strategic perspective, the U.S. military has spent the last two decades trying to overcome the "Pax Americana" reputation by working with African governments. This is a great opportunity to send in the civil affairs and medical teams to help with relation-building (instead of nation-building)... while gaining real-world experience with handling epidemics and other nasty disease control. Interpreters, public affairs staffs, logistics, construction-- there's a lot of practical skills that the military can apply to help the medical staffs and the NGOs.

Maybe they can also treat patients with other diseases or syndromes, and build a school or two. But when it comes to budget negotiations, AFRICOM does not want to be sitting in their air-conditioned HQ writing point papers about engagement and partnerships.

I doubt that any of the troops could bring a case of Ebola back to the family. I'd be more worried about malaria and a host of other contagious diseases that could slip through a homeward-bound screening.

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords From a strategic perspective, the U.S. military has spent the last two decades trying to overcome the "Pax Americana" reputation by working with African governments. This is a great opportunity to send in the civil affairs and medical teams to help with relation-building (instead of nation-building)... while gaining real-world experience with handling epidemics and other nasty disease control. Interpreters, public affairs staffs, logistics, construction-- there's a lot of practical skills that the military can apply to help the medical staffs and the NGOs. Maybe they can also treat patients with other diseases or syndromes, and build a school or two. But when it comes to budget negotiations, AFRICOM does not want to be sitting in their air-conditioned HQ writing point papers about engagement and partnerships. I doubt that any of the troops could bring a case of Ebola back to the family. I'd be more worried about malaria and a host of other contagious diseases that could slip through a homeward-bound screening.

I have been following this pretty carefully via the almost daily reports on the PBS Newshour. The epidemic reached the crisis state in Sierra Leon and Liberia a month ago. It is getting worse in Guinea but not an exponential rate, according to the President of Doctors without borders.

Some of the US plans of training health workers will have to modified, since there simply aren't people to be trained in places like Liberia. Many of the hospital in Monrovia are essentially shut down the toll among health care workers has been really great. The greatest need is really warm bodies, who have received simple training in dealing with infections. Since virtually everybody in the Army/Marine has been trained in preparing for chemical and biological warfare. Skills like decontaminating areas and objects. Along with basics stuff like helping like distributing food and water to patients.

If we deploy the 3000 quickly they can save tens of thousands, maybe even 100,000+ lives, it seems like the risk of a couple cases of Ebola is a small price to pay.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp If we deploy the 3000 quickly they can save tens of thousands, maybe even 100,000+ lives, it seems like the risk of a couple cases of Ebola is a small price to pay.

Especially for those of us who will safe right here. Perhaps less so for those who are deployed on this odd mission.

Ha

[brewer12345]

I will know the US population is in full pants-filling mode when you can no longer buy n95 masks on Amazon.

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Especially for those of us who will safe right here. Perhaps less so for those who are deployed on this odd mission. Ha

It is an all volunteer force, and I believe most are volunteers for this specific assignment.