The U.S. military’s new enemy: Ebola. Operation United Assistance is now underway.
By J. Freedom du Lac
WashingtonPost.com
September 30, 2014
On Sept. 16, nearly six months into the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, President Obama formally announced that the U.S. military would lead the fight against the virus in West Africa.
“The reality is, this epidemic is going to get worse before it gets better,” Obama said at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, 177 days after the World Health Organization first declared the outbreak. “But right now the world still has an opportunity to save countless lives.”
The administration may spend up to $1 billion fighting Ebola, White House officials said. At the heart of the plan: The U.S. military is sending as many as 3,000 service members to West Africa — including medical personnel, engineers, administrators and transportation personnel.
Among the first to arrive: U.S. Africa Command’s Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, who was already in Liberia on the day Obama spoke at the CDC. He will lead what the Department of Defense has dubbed Operation United Assistance.
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