Photo By Maj. Travis Mueller | U.S. Soldiers with the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade are taking numerous...... read more read more
Subscribe
Amid challenges presented by COVID-19, Soldiers with the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade successfully mobilized from their home stations to Fort Hood over the past week.
The 28th ECAB is here for a couple weeks to prepare for their deployment and to ensure Soldiers have the training, experience and confidence to accomplish their missions and stay safe. They will soon deploy to the Middle East where they will assist U.S. Central Command with increasing regional security and stability in support of U.S. interests.
Though he acknowledged that there were some delays due to weather and lost baggage, Col. Howard Lloyd, commander of the 28th ECAB, described the movement of the brigade to Fort Hood as “spot on.”
“Almost 1400 Soldiers embarked for this place without any hiccups. They are here, all safe. They are all bedded down,” said Lloyd. “Our unit movement officers and logisticians did a great job to support the force.”
The 28th ECAB command team understands the concerns about COVID-19 and the potential spread within the formation. It is very important that Soldiers remain healthy and the brigade has taken numerous steps to ensure the virus doesn’t spread.
“Precautions we are taking to prevent transmission of COVID-19 are wearing masks whenever we are within six feet of each other. We are socially distancing as much as possible. We are also keeping up with frequent hand washing and sanitization of our areas,” said Maj. Todd Lupold, 28th ECAB surgeon. “Our Soldiers have been counseled frequently about the precautions for COVID-19 and the importance of wearing masks and we keep up on each other and keep an eye out for each other.”
28th ECAB Soldiers also underwent COVID-19 testing in the first couple days after arriving at Fort Hood. A small number of positive cases were discovered but although the Soldiers were asymptomatic they were taken into isolation where they could receive the best care and stop any spreading of the virus.
Soldiers are currently engaged in mandatory quarantine. During that quarantine, which lasts 14 days since the brigade arrived at Fort Hood, Soldiers are placed under some restrictions. They are unable to shop at the PX, go to the normal dining facilities or use the post gym.
Two to three barracks are grouped into cohorts. Each cohort is assigned a dining tent, a morale tent and an exercise tent with select gym equipment. Separating cohorts this way limits the spread of any viruses in common areas.
“Are we confined right now during the quarantine? Yeah we are,” said Lloyd. “We really can’t go anywhere we want because, anyone that may have the virus from us, we don’t want to spread it to them and if they have it, they don’t want to spread it to us.”
At the end of the mandatory 14-day period, assuming no outbreaks of the virus, things will open up to 28th ECAB Soldiers including the PX, dining facility and gym. However, Soldiers will still be advised to take personal measures to prevent the spread of illness and stay healthy.
Following these precautions will keep the threat of COVID-19 in the formation low, and will allow the 28th ECAB to aggressively train without fear of spreading the virus to the many essential personnel deploying and helping them deploy.
“The Soldiers are owning it. They are doing a fantastic job to get the job done. We’re already out there at the airfield doing maintenance on aircraft. We’re doing maintenance on vehicles. We’re setting up our mission command right now," said Lloyd. "Everything is on-track, even with the restrictions.”
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 07.10.2020 19:22 |
| Story ID: | 373735 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 535 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, 28th ECAB successfully "beds down" at Fort Hood amid COVID-19, by MAJ Travis Mueller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
