Lawmakers press for more military action on coronavirus – By Meghann Myers (Military Times) / March 14 2020
One democratic member of Congress is calling for the National Guard and reserves to call off drill weekends while the coronavirus spreads across the U.S., while another is calling for the same organizations to be on alert to help their local civilian health departments with emergency response.
In separate letters sent Friday to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Rep. Elaine Luria of irginia and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois called on the Pentagon’s top official to turn his attention to the military’s reserve component as the federal government issues travel restrictions and advises Americans to take care to stay out of close contact with others.
“After receiving extensive briefings on the Federal Government’s response to the COVlD-19 outbreak, I am concerned that [DoD] has not yet taken proactive steps to ensure the readiness of National Guard and Reserve units to support local civilian authorities should this pandemic continue to spread,” Duckworth wrote.
To shore up that readiness, Luria in her letter suggested that the reserve component stand down on scheduled drill weekends for the time being, in order to prevent any spread of the virus.
“The Navy has already announced cessation of drills for this weekend, but I am concerned other services have not followed suit,” she wrote.
A Pentagon spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Continue to article: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/03/13/lawmakers-press-for-more-military-action-on-coronavirus/
