The Defense Department will support a State Department request to assist with the return of U.S. citizens currently being treated for the Ebola virus, and will allow a contracted private charter aircraft to land at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, according to a statement issued today by Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby.
Kirby’s statement reads as follows:
“The Department of Defense received a request from the State Department to assist with the return of U.S. citizens currently being treated for the Ebola virus. DoD assistance is limited to allowing the State contracted private charter aircraft to land at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia.
“Defense Department personnel will have no contact with the patients or be involved with their transportation.
“The safety and security of Department of Defense military and civilian personnel is our highest priority. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance on the safe transport and care of patients with infectious diseases.
“The patients will be escorted throughout by specially and frequently trained teams that have sufficient resources to transport the patients so that there is no break in their medical care or exposure to others.”