The Military Must Balance National Security Risks With The Health Of Its Troops by Meghann Meyers – Military Times
With the services on track to report more than 1,000 cases of COVID-19 by the end of the week, military senior leadership is looking at a tough choice.
They can ramp down some missions in an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus throughout the ranks and sacrifice both short- and long-term readiness.
Or, they can push ahead knowing that it could take longer for the infection rate to peter out ― and possibly cost more lives ― but having preserved national security to the fullest extent possible.
Those questions are part of the ongoing discussions at the highest levels of the Defense Department, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told Military Times on Friday.
“[There] seems to be this belief that the best way for the Department of Defense to defeat COVID-19 is for us to stand down and stop operations around the world,” Hoffman said. “One, that’s not going to happen. Two, we don’t believe that’s necessary.”…