FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Since the 101st Airborne Division has deployed to Liberia to help with efforts to contain one of the country's worst recorded outbreaks of the Ebola virus, Families and concerned community members have had questions about the state of the mission. To address concerns and provide an in-depth update about the situation in Africa, Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, conducted a Virtual Town Hall meeting Jan. 15. Inviting Family members and community leaders to the conference room of McAuliffe Hall, Volesky shared a wealth of information regarding the Division's current undertaking.
"I just want to thank all of the mayors and the champions -- all of the distinguished guests that have come today," he said in an opening statement to the gathered party. "It resonates over here, I can tell you that. Because there have been a lot of different stories out in the media and on the news, I want to make sure we give you a perspective of what we see here on the ground."
"Lines of effort"
Volesky began the video conference by outlining the mission tasked to the 101st Airborne Division while in Liberia in support of Joint Forces Command -- United Assistance. In the McAuliffe Hall conference room, slides were presented to help convey current efforts and future expectations.
"We got told we were going to have to some very specific tasks," he said. "Some of those were [to] build Ebola Treatment Units, train health care workers to fill those treatment units, sustain those treatment units and then protect the force. Those were our lines of effort …"
These tasks, according to Volesky, were met head-on by the 101st -- but only with the help of other organizations from across the Army.
"We've got engineers from Fort Hood [Texas] and Fort Carson [Colorado]," he said. "We've got folks from Fort Eustis [Virginia] and we've got an aviation unit from Fort Bliss [Texas] -- so this is really a joint force from across the Army, and we've been getting great support from all of them."
"What we've done"
With such an overwhelming amount of support, Fort Campbell support has been able to tackle these lines of support at an effective rate -- which spells good news for the prospective redeployment timeline.
The construction and maintenance of Ebola Treatment Units was one of the main focuses on the task outline -- with 15 ETUs expected to be established across Liberia. "The last two Ebola treatment units should complete all of their construction and be completely handed over to a non-governmental organization by the end of this month," said Volesky. "When we first got here, the assessment was -- based on Ebola and all the work that had to be done -- that we might get these tasks completed on our end by the first of April."
With the completion of the treatment units came the need for trained medical workers to man these units and treat affected individuals -- while working to quell the transmission of the aggressive disease.
"In health care worker training, we've trained over 1,500 -- that was 86th [Combat Support Hospital] that was responsible for training those," said Volesky. "We also sent some mobile training teams out into the communities where ETUs were being built to train the cadre there. We finished that at the end of December."
According to Volesky, a major advantage in the fight against the spread of the Ebola virus has been the addition of Army testing laboratories.
"Before the laboratories came, if you took a blood sample from somebody suspected of being infected with Ebola, it could take four to five days to get that result," he said. "Because these labs are here, what used to take four or five days now takes three to four hours. The impact … has been huge on the ability to turn the corner on Ebola infection."
Yet another factor in the equation was sustaining -- with protective equipment -- the supplies needed to perpetuate the effectiveness of the ETUs across Liberia. Responsibility for that task, according to Volesky, was turned over to the United Nations World Food Programme Dec. 15.
"When you look at those lines that we had to do, they're complete," said Volesky. "And we continue to support the United States Agency for International Development to continue the process."
What it means
With these treatment and prevention measures in place, a significant change has taken place in long-term Ebola Virus Disease trends. According to Volesky, October saw 82 probable or suspected patients each day across Liberia -- with 40 to 50 percent of the suspected cases confirmed as positive. Today, he says there is an average of one confirmed case each day.
"So when you look at where we were when we got here compared to where we are today, that's been some pretty good progress by the team and everybody that's worked with the United States of America and the government of Liberia," said Volesky.
From Jan. 10 through 12, Volesky said that no new cases of Ebola were reported throughout Liberia -- a dramatic change.
"What the 101st and its joint force partners brought was speed, flexibility and the ability to get to places no one else could and bring capability there so that we could get our head around this problem," he said.
What comes next?
Now that things are in place to combat the Ebola outbreak, the important task at hand is to make sure the measurements stay in place, and that people in the regions don't become complacent and allow for a resurgence of infection. 101st command has briefed its tasks and accomplishments to their higher headquarters. They in turn met with Army command in Washington for three days to determine the next course of action.
"We're waiting on that decision, and we think that decision is going to be made some time between now and the 25th of January," said Volesky. "I fully expect that we'll redeploy some people in February because their mission is done and we don't need them to do what we have remaining."
For the rest of the Division, Volesky says Fort Campbell should expect to see a redeployment between March and early May.
Soldier and Family safety
"We told you what our mission was, we told you what our lines of effort are -- but the first and number one priority for us has always been protecting the force," said Volesky. "I'll tell you we are very focused on ensuring that Soldiers adhere to all of the protection measures we've put into place."
In addition to preventative measures taken in Liberia, Volesky said that all Soldiers undergo twice-daily temperature checks, with any Soldier with a temperature of 100.4 or higher placed in isolation.
"We're very self-contained and we don't have anybody anywhere near infected patients," he ensured participants. "We are doing everything we can to make sure that the Soldiers are maintaining their focus on staying healthy so our Families are safe when we come back."
Colonel David "Buck" Dellinger, Fort Campbell Garrison commander, was on-hand to present questions for Volesky on behalf of Fort Campbell residents.
"Could you cover if there's been any changes in the monitoring policy or are you expecting any changes about controlled monitoring?" he asked.
"When you leave here, the second those wheels leave the ground, your controlled monitoring period starts -- and it's a 21-day process," Volesky confirmed.
To quell any rumors about changes in the controlled monitoring policy, Volesky assured participants that each and every Soldier that redeploys from Liberia will be subjected to the same 21-day isolation process, ensuring the safety of Soldiers and Families upon their return to Fort Campbell.
Volesky concluded the video conference by commending the Soldiers, Families and civilians of Fort Campbell for the milestone reached of 101 days without any POV fatalities.
"I think I'm going to stay in Liberia," he said jokingly. "It seems like all of the good stuff always happens when I'm away. 202 is a great number, too -- so let's see if we can get there. But that's a great testament to our leadership and our Soldiers embracing what we call force protection. Keep up the great work."
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