Thread: U.S. boots on the ground ...

Did Obama Say He’s Putting People in Africa Before Americans?

October 9, 2014 By TPNN Staff

When Obama spoke earlier in the week about the spreading and deadly Ebola virus, a little reported segment included a phrase that seems to indicate that he’s putting a foreign country’s needs over those of American citizens.


Here’s what Obama said immediately after the comments in the video below, from the same press conference (see video below), held in the Roosevelt Room on October 6, which are copied from the Obama White House website, (emphasis added):

But let’s keep in mind that as we speak, there are children on the streets dying of this disease, thousands of them. And so obviously my first job is to make sure that we’re taking care of the American people, but we have a larger role than that. We also have an obligation to make sure that those [African] children and their families are safe as well because ultimately the best thing we can do for our public health is also to extend the kind of empathy, compassion and effort so that folks in those countries as well can be rid of this disease.”

http://www.tpnn.com/2014/10/09/video...ore-americans/

These Two Generals Are Taking on Obama’s Plan To “Misuse” the Military

The Obama administration recently announced plans to send up to 4,000 US military troops to west Africa to help combat the Ebola virus. The stated purpose of sending military troops to the Ebola-ravaged region is to provide assistance with command, control, logistics, civil affairs, and medical assistance. US officials have repeatedly said that troops’ exposure to the deadly disease would be “limited.” Two retired Generals are taking exception to this plan though, calling it a “misuse” of US military troops, according to WND.

Retired Army Lt. General William “Jerry” Boykin says, “This is a president who thinks like a community organizer and not like a commander-in-chief who takes his responsibility for his troops seriously,” adding, “At a time when our military has been at war for 13 years, suicide is at an all-time high, [post-traumatic stress disorder] is out of control, and families are being destroyed as a result of 13 years of war, the last thing the president should be doing is sending people into West Africa to fight Ebola.”

Boykin stressed, “This is not what the military does,” saying that their mission always has been and always will be “to fight and win the nation’s wars.”

“That should be what the president is focused on now. The mission of the military is to fight war, not to fight Ebola,” Boykin said. “It is a misuse of our military, and I for one am very opposed to this [deployment].”

Boykin pointed out that our troops would not be receiving any type of inoculation against the virus because one isn’t available yet. At most our troops would receive a briefing about the disease.

http://conservativetribune.com/gener...litary-misuse/

Is this crazy, or is it just me: No boots on the ground against ISIS, but we’re deploying Marines and the 101st against a virus

Written by Allen West on October 10, 2014

I’m sorry to have to ask this yet again, but exactly what is the mission of our U.S. military under the Obama administration? I can tell you that it once was to deploy, fight, and win the wars and battles of the United States. Yet I am appalled when I look at the $500 million Congress and Obama appropriated to the Syrian rebels while we are “pink-slipping” our own combat leaders. And our president consistently states he won’t deploy U.S. combat troops on the battlefield against ISIS. So why are we deploying members of the 101st Airborne Division and US Marines to West Africa…to fight Ebola? How exactly do you shoot a virus?

As reported by the Washington Examiner, “The House on Thursday gave the green light for President Obama to spend an additional $700 million to combat the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa, but a Republican is blocking the money in the Senate.”

“Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said he objects to a move by the Obama administration to shift the money within the Department of Defense so that it can be spent on the overseas operation, which so far involves deploying more than 4,000 troops to the front lines in Africa’s Ebola-stricken nations. Inhofe said he is concerned the Department of Defense budget has been stretched too thin and wants more details about the mission.”

I fully concur with Sen. Inhofe that we just keep giving up millions of dollars to the Obama administration with no clear objectives. So what is the task and purpose of the West Africa deployment? What are our forces there to accomplish and what is the operational name? What are the rules of engagement and what precludes us from being drawn into mission creep — as I recall how a humanitarian mission in Somalia turned into a combat zone — for which the Clinton administration bungled in the Battle of Mogadishu, depicted in Black Hawk Down.

And how is it that without Congress in session, $700 million was appropriated without any House floor debate? Where are the voices of our representatives? Look, I know how this happened, the ol’ unanimous consent as dictated by legislative body leadership. So while all these Members of Congress are in the district, perhaps our news outlets and the constituents should be asking how they voted on this spending measure? I bet most of them will give you the “deer in the headlights” look.

“Sen. Inhofe is still working with the administration to get answers to his concerns he raised when the reprogramming request was approved two weeks ago,” an Inhofe aide told the Washington Examiner. “Sen. Inhofe understands the critical timeline with ensuring operations that have already been started can continue, and is working with the Pentagon to get these concerns addressed as soon as possible.”

In the House, meanwhile, The Examiner says, “both Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif., and Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., signed off on the money transfer, which adds to the $50 million the House had already approved for the Defense Department to spend combating Ebola overseas. McKeon said he made the decision to approve the money after Defense Department officials provided details about the mission. “While I maintain concerns, particularly regarding the safety and security of our military personnel supporting this mission,” McKeon said in a statement, “the DOD has provided us with much of their force protection plan and the other information requested.” The money will cover operating expenses for six months.”

I have the utmost respect for Chairman McKeon under whom I served on the House Armed Services Committee — but this is not how our regular order is supposed to work, not the manner in which our Constitutional Republic is supposed to operate. If the president wants to deploy our military, he needs to publicly make the case before the American people. In addition, our representatives, who are the stewards of our taxpayer dollars, should allow the debate to occur before the American people on this spending measure. Something is just not right when all these deployments and appropriations are happening when our legislative branch isn’t in session in D.C. It would be nice if the American people knew what the “details” of the mission encompassed — which we do not.

Ladies and gents, this is how we end up with a government spending out-of-control by doing things under the guise of humanitarian causes — such as the excuse for Libya — and we have no understanding of operational mission and intent. Right now our president is committing our military without congressional approval and appropriating our taxpayer resources without the consent of the governed. These are not the machinations of a Republic but something completely different — something that violates our rule of law and system of governance. Our military cannot fight a virus — why do we have the United Nations?

We have a virus called Islamo-fascism manifested in a virulent strain called ISIS — which Obama refuses to contain, fight and eliminate. The question is why? John Kerry said Kobani isn’t part of our strategic goal. We could have easily contained the spread of Ebola but as usual we’re now reacting — and deploying our men and women in uniform into what is clearly an undefined and nebulous mission — another unnamed operation.

http://allenbwest.com/2014/10/crazy-...s-101st-virus/

Obama may call on reserves to deal with Ebola in Africa
Gregory Korte and Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY 6:28 p.m. EDT October 16, 2014


WASHINGTON — President Obama has issued an executive order allowing the Pentagon to call up reserve troops to combat the Ebola crisis in Africa.

Obama notified Congress of his order Thursday. It reads:

"I hereby determine that it is necessary to augment the active Armed Forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation United Assistance, which is providing support to civilian-led humanitarian assistance and consequence management support related to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa."

The Pentagon is identifying gaps that active-duty troops cannot fill, said a Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. Among the specialists that might be tapped: technical engineering, communication systems, logisticians, comptrollers and religious specialists.

All reservists called to duty will be given proper training and medical-threat briefings, the official said.

The Pentagon said it had no immediate plans to send reservists or National Guard troops to Africa, saying that the order simply allows the military to begin planning for those forces in its overall response. It "doesn't mean that we are deploying these forces, but it gives us the option to do so if we need to," said Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman.

The White House said it didn't know exactly how many reserve troops would eventually be required. "The president has laid out very clearly what the mission is. The Department of Defense has told the president that it will require about 4,000 Department of Defense personnel to execute the mission the president has directed them to execute," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said earlier in the afternoon. "What I don't know is the composition of that force."

Obama canceled a second day of political events Thursday in order to deal with the Ebola crisis from the White House. He was meeting with top advisers on Ebola Thursday afternoon and was expected to make a brief statement afterward.

The White House also expanded on its justification for not instituting a travel ban on people from Ebola-ravaged countries Thursday as pressure from lawmakers mounted to take that action. "It would provide a direct incentive for individuals seeking to travel to the United States to go underground and to seek to evade this screening and to not be candid about their travel history in order to enter the country," Earnest said.

That's a new argument for the White House, which has all along argued that free travel is necessary in order to get health care workers and equipment from the United States to the African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

In all, the Pentagon expects as many as 3,000 troops could be sent to Liberia to fight the disease. There are no plans for them to be involved in the direct treatment of victims. Instead, they will build treatment facilities and operate labs.

The Pentagon recently finished building a mobile, 25-bed hospital in Liberia for infected health-care workers, said Army Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, who commands the Pentagon's task force responding to the Ebola crisis.

The hospital will be staffed by the U.S. Health Service Commission Corps, Williams told reporters on Thursday. Two laboratories are also operating, and troops are constructing 17 treatment centers.

If troops are infected by Ebola, they would be quarantined, stabilized and transported out of Liberia for treatment, Williams said. Troops are constantly monitored for signs of the virus, Williams said. On Wednesday, his temperature was checked eight times.



Jeff Hulbert from Annapolis, Maryland, dressed in a protective suit and mask holds a poster demanding for a halt of all flights from West Africa,as he protests outside the White House in Washington, DC on October 16, 2014. Top US health officials faced a grilling Thursday by lawmakers infuriated over the nation's fumbling response to the Ebola outbreak, as the Obama administration scrambles to contain the disease's spread. US authorities began screening for Ebola on Thursday at the Washington area Dulles airport, Chicago's O'Hare, Newark and Atlanta airports, after New York's JFK began screening last week.Together, the airports receive 94 percent of travelers from the Ebola-affected countries.
(Photo: MLADEN ANTONOV, AFP/Getty Images)

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...p=breakingnews

Why is Obama taking reservists out of civilian jobs to send into Ebola hot zones?

Written by Allen West on October 17, 2014

Some things are just dumb and some things are absolutely insane. Such is the decision made by Barack Hussein Obama via executive order on Thursday.

As reported by Politico, http://www.politico.com/story/2014/1...la-111953.html

“President Obama authorized the Pentagon to call up military reservists to help fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The president issued an executive order and a letter to Congress that said he’d deemed it “necessary to augment the active armed forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation United Assistance, which is providing support to civilian-led humanitarian assistance and consequence management support related to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa.”

“About 540 U.S. active duty troops are now posted in Liberia, helping its government, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies fight the outbreak. Obama’s order would permit the Pentagon to call up National Guard troops or military reservists to join the effort.”

I do believe the U.S. military can play a part in combatting the spread of the Ebola virus — here in America, but not overseas — and especially not in the Ebola “hot zone. Of course it’s just too easy to point out the irony of Obama’s intransigence regarding “boots on the ground” to combat an enemy that has beheaded Americans — but somehow combatting Ebola is more important.

If we have healthcare professionals in America who have contracted this disease, why are we sending in our own troops who aren’t trained or prepared for this endeavor? And where is the United Nations? Where is the World Health Organization?

So now we’re going to take men and women out of their civilian jobs and deploy them into a dangerous virus zone? Has Obama secured safe transit and clearance for these troops when they redeploy from West Africa? I understand our military providing humanitarian assistance – as a matter of fact in late 2005, I remember an earthquake hitting us in Kabul ,Afghanistan at the Military Training Center. The epicenter was over in Pakistan. And our military executed humanitarian assistance operations into Pakistan to provide aid. It’s important to note the exact same helicopters that were flying combat operations in Afghanistan were tasked to fly cross-border into the country where the enemy had sanctuary to fulfill that mission.

We got that, and saluted our brave men and women, saluted the flag and executed the operation. However, in this case, Obama is deploying our men and women into an area where they’ll be exposed to a deadly killer enemy against which they cannot fight. Why? Is this the warped sense of commitment Obama sees for our military that he and his policies are decimating?

Politico reports “as many as 4,000 or more American troops could deploy to West Africa to help fight the Ebola outbreak there, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said Thursday. They’re helping build and support Ebola treatment units, run mobile testing labs and train health care workers in an all-out effort to containing the deadly virus. USAID’s leader in Monrovia, Ben Hemingway, told reporters at the Pentagon by phone on Thursday that it was “difficult” to assess whether the outbreak has slowed since the international response began. The current military commander in Liberia, Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams (an Army Artilleryman with whom I served in the 4th Infantry Division) said Marines are still flying to remote parts of the country doing “site surveys” for areas where they could build the Ebola treatment units.”

“U.S. troops have been tasked with building 17 treatment centers, 65 “community care centers” and setting up four more mobile testing labs. The Pentagon estimates operations there could last a year or more. Each service member deploying to Liberia is getting special instructions on preventing infection, Williams said, and everyone is taking intense precautions to avoid infection. For example, Williams estimated he’d had his temperature taken eight times just on Wednesday. “It’s discipline,” he said. “Everyday in the morning with my breakfast, I take a malaria pill … We don’t shake hands. I wash my hands — a lot — with chlorine.”

“MG Williams said commanders have contingency plans in case an American soldier or aid worker does contract Ebola: Those patients would be isolated, quarantined and flown to the U.S. for treatment.”

“He acknowledged, however, the arrangements aren’t yet clear for American personnel whose normal duty stations are overseas. It isn’t clear, for example, whether the Marines who deployed to Liberia from Spain would have to be quarantined before they can return there, or whether Williams’ own staff members could rotate directly back to Caserma Ederle [Vicenza] Italy (where I served as a young lieutenant).”

So there are SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) details that apparently haven’t been hammered out.

I know Major General Darryl Williams and am quite sure he’ll accomplish the mission assigned to him, but I question why the Commander-in-Chief deployed our military into a very dangerous area to build treatment centers and “community care centers?” Our men and women shouldn’t be used as some sort of hired hands. We could have easily provided prefab shelters that are easy for host nation personnel to construct. And I am further concerned about calling up additional reservists and exposing them to this deadly virus.

This is a disconcerting misuse of our U.S. military. I wonder if the Commander-in-Chief will visit those troops during the year he has committed them. And lastly, what are their rules of engagement during this deployment?

http://allenbwest.com/2014/10/obama-...ola-hot-zones/

10.17.14

U.S. Soldiers Get Just Four Hours of Ebola Training

As the U.S. military rushes to combat Ebola in West Africa, soldiers are receiving on-the-fly instructions on how to protect themselves against the deadly virus. American military operations to fight Ebola in Africa are unfolding quickly—forcing the military to come up with some procedures and protocols on the fly.

Soldiers preparing for deployment to West Africa are given just four hours of Ebola-related training before leaving to combat the epidemic. And the first 500 soldiers to arrive have been holing up in Liberian hotels and government facilities while the military builds longer-term infrastructure on the ground.

For soldiers at Fort Campbell and Fort Bragg preparing for their deployments to West Africa, Mobile Training Teams from the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), based out of Fort Detrick, have been tasked with instructing them on Ebola protocols.

A team of two can train as many as 50 personnel over that four-hour time frame, USAMRIID told The Daily Beast. The training includes hands-on instruction on how to put on, remove, and decontaminate personal protective equipment, followed by a practical test to ensure that soldiers understand the procedures. “All training is tiered to the level of risk each person may encounter,” said USAMRIID spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden.

The training process sounds daunting: One USA Today report described soldiers being told that Ebola “basically causes your body to eat itself from the inside out” and that Ebola is “worse” than what soldiers encountered in Afghanistan. Others reportedly heard that the disease is “catastrophic” and “frightening… with a high fatality rate,” though the chances of contracting it are low.

“I’ll be honest with you,” one soldier told the newspaper. “I’m kind of scared.”

The military maintains that the risk of contracting the virus is minimal. Ebola is not an airborne disease, and there are no plans for U.S. service members deployed to West Africa to have any contact with sick patients. “I’m not an epidemiologist, but it’s been shown that this disease is most manifest when handling bodily fluid—blood, other sorts of fluids, and there is no plan right now for U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines to do that,” Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, the officer in charge of America’s operations center in Liberia, told reporters Thursday. “As long as you exercise basic sanitation and cleanliness sort of protocols … I think the risk is relatively low.”

There are just over 500 military service members in West Africa, serving in Senegal and Liberia. A major part of their mission is logistics and construction: The U.S. military is building a 25-bed hospital and 17 Ebola treatment units, as well as training health-care providers in Liberia.

A small number of specially trained soldiers from USAMRIID are at the highest risk, and an exception to Williams’ comment that soldiers are not handling bodily fluids. These service members have been supporting a laboratory in Liberia to run Ebola tests on patient samples, but are also are highly prepared to deal with infectious diseases.

The first 500 American troops in Liberia are so far living in improvised quarters in hotels and government building, according to congressional and military sources. The military is working to transition in the future to “life support areas” that will house the thousands of soldiers who eventually arrive to support the U.S. mission to combat Ebola in West Africa, according to a military spokesman. They are also utilizing local drivers and vehicles to support their movements. “The hotels are fairly well controlled in terms of access… They have a fairly well-structured screening process going in and out,” a Senate aide briefed by the Pentagon on the military’s procedures told The Daily Beast. “It sounds like they have an adequate level of screening and protective measures in place. That being said, once they move to a self-contained quarters, that will probably be better.”

Soldiers based in Liberia have their temperature measured several times per day, and are not permitted to shake hands. The military maintains that American service members have only limited interactions with locals on the ground. But some American soldiers are working with the Armed Forces of Liberia on a day-to-day basis, and others are training health-care providers on how to combat the virus.

Further, the military acknowledges that it is currently sharing hotels and businesses with foreign nationals. "We are here with the permission of the Liberian government and we do not clear out local hotels and businesses during our stay," said an Army spokesman. "We chose hotels with the safety of our service members in mind, and the hotel staffs monitor all employees and guests and allow us to conduct safety inspections of their facilities to ensure they meet our safety criteria."

Instead, the military spokesman focused on the precautions that they are already taking: Soldiers based in Liberia have their temperature measured several times per day, and are not permitted to shake hands. They are also are required to frequently wash their hands with a chlorine solution. Some locations even employ chlorine mats that service members are required to wipe their feet on in order to enter. “The facilities that we’re in have been vetted by our doctors. [They] have gone through the facilities to make sure that they’re safe for our soldiers,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Indovina said. “We’re very confident. We’ve had very good luck from the time when we’ve arrived on the ground.”

Congress has been slow to give the green light to funding for military operations combating Ebola in Africa, in large part due to initial skepticism over whether there was a sufficient plan for protecting American service members in Liberia.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...ml?via=desktop