More than 30,000 U.S. troops are in quarantine as the U.S. military attempts to keep them safe from COVID-19 ahead of training or deployment, according to a senior military official who spoke Wednesday during a discussion on progress and challenges implementing the national defense strategy, reports Stars And Stripes.
"Today we have over 30,000 members of the military in a quarantine environment because they're getting ready to deploy, they're getting ready to go on a ship, they're getting ready to go into basic training," Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, D.C.
"They're getting ready to go into an environment where, in order to stay safe and make sure we don't infect large numbers, we put them in quarantine."
Hyten said the additional time might take its toll on service members and their family members, but it is something his staff is closely watching.
"You think about what that does to the family – if you're deploying, you're going to be gone for 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, then you add 2 weeks on the front of that and maybe 2 weeks on the back of that.
"There's stress on the force, there's no doubt about it. But morale is still positive."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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