Aerial porters from the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Contingency Response Group offload humanitarian cargo from a U.S. Air Force KC-10 aircraft in Dakar, Senegal, Nov. 12, 2014. The Kentucky Airmen will stage the cargo in Senegal before transloading it to U.S. Air Force C-130J aircraft for delivery into Monrovia, Liberia, in support of Operation United Assistance (Dale Greer/Air National Guard)
WASHINGTON — The Army has identified 15 National Guard and Reserve units from around the United States to deploy early next year in support of the fight to end a record Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
President Barack Obama in October authorized involuntary activation of reserve units for Operation United Assistance. On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel signed an order authorizing the deployment of about 2,100 Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers to Africa to replace deployed troops.
Among them is 34th Infantry Division headquarters, Minnesota Army National Guard, which will replace the 101st Airborne Division’s headquarters, which is now running the operation.
Many of the other units have highly specialized capabilities, including medical logistics, preventive medicine and several types of engineering.
“These reserve component units were selected based on their capabilities and ability to respond to the unique demands of the mission, and were done in consultation with the Chief, National Guard Bureau, and the Chief, Army Reserve,” according to a written statement from the Army.
Officials have repeated since the beginning of the operation that U.S. troops are deploying to support anti-Ebola efforts, but would not provide patient care to those infected with the virus. No U.S. troops have shown symptoms of infection in twice daily health checks, Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, the operation’s commander, said last week.
Still, to provide what officials say is an added margin of safety and reassurance, troops stationed in Liberia are undergoing 21 days of quarantine upon return. More than 80 servicemembers entered what the Pentagon calls “controlled monitoring” last Thursday at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
Mobilizing Army National Guard units include:
16th Engineer Brigade Headquarters, Ohio Army National Guard 223rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Linguist Detachment), California Army National Guard 272nd Engineer Company (Vertical Construction), Texas Army National Guard 294th Area Support Medical Company, Iowa Army National Guard 891st Engineer Battalion, Kansas Army National Guard Mobilizing United States Army Reserve units include: 96th Sustainment Brigade, Salt Lake City and Denver 313th Movement Control Battalion, Baltimore 324th Fire Fighting Detachment, East Point, Georgia 324th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Granite City, Illinois 329th Survey and Design Team, Saint Joseph, Minnesota 387th Medical Logistics Company, Miami 398th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Rockville, Maryland 452nd Preventative Medicine Team, Miami 996th Horizontal Engineer Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin B Company, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Columbus, Ohiocarroll.chris@stripes.com Twitter: @ChrisCarroll_
