Read on Twitter
What we've seen aboard the USS Teddy Roosevelt over the past week is a crisis throughout the military I've been watching play out on social media over the past month.
In short, many service members feel the DOD is not doing enough to protect them from #COVID19.
Thread.
In short, many service members feel the DOD is not doing enough to protect them from #COVID19.
Thread.
Basically, the grievances are:
Some leaders lack the cognitive horsepower to understand the threat of COVID-19.
Some leaders *do* understand the threat, but feel they cannot take prudent measures to protect troops bc they feel they will get in trouble for cancelling events.
Some leaders lack the cognitive horsepower to understand the threat of COVID-19.
Some leaders *do* understand the threat, but feel they cannot take prudent measures to protect troops bc they feel they will get in trouble for cancelling events.
Finally, many feel the DOD is not being open and transparent with service members about the extent and threat of COVID-19.
Articles like this were funny at first. Then, in a case of life imitating art, we saw pictures of service members grossly disregarding social distancing measures for no reason whatsoever. https://www.duffelblog.com/2020/03/commander-holds-mandatory-all-hands-town-hall-for-coronavirus/
Service members have been voicing their frustration on social media, most notably on Reddit (a site most Twitter generals don't follow). They've also been sharing their concerns with reporters.
Most of the reporters willing to voice their concerns are former service members themselves, like @PaulSzoldra, @DanLamothe, @Tmgneff, @JimLaPorta or they have long experience covering the military, like @JeffSchogol.
For weeks, there have been pictures circulating on social media of massive gatherings of troops, despite warnings about social distancing. It was a joke at first, but now it's concerning. It's not a joke.
We've also seen some commanders invoke the term "readiness". I understand the US military should be concerned about all threats, but COVID19 is a major threat to our national security.
Military organizations may not be able to train for war, and we have many US service members engaged in combat throughout the world. Nevertheless, we need to understand that sickness is a very serious enemy.
Shameless plug: For nearly a decade, I've blogged about the fact that sickness can severely impede military operations. Don't believe me? Just read Clausewitz Book V, Chapter 12 or Bill Slim's book.
https://web.archive.org/web/20130512150140/http://conflicthealth.com/scurvy-manpower-and-the-american-revolution/
https://web.archive.org/web/20130512150140/http://conflicthealth.com/scurvy-manpower-and-the-american-revolution/
We need to take this virus seriously. Some of us will need to go into harm's way to combat the virus. The rest of us do not.
