I've been using the term "pandemic militarism" for a month now, and folks have been asking what I mean. I don't have time to write something formal, so let me share a few brief informal thoughts:

1)

most visibly, pandemic militarism refers to how the military is deployed to respond to the pandemic as emergency "first responders." This has involved using military bases as quarantine sites, the army core of engineers creating hospital spaces, and...

the docking of the mercy class of hospital ships such as the USNS Comfort. Moreover, military production and logistics is utilized (to varying degrees) to produce, procure, or deliver medical supplies across the country. Relatedly, pandemic militarism deploys the military--

often the national guard--as law enforcement to impose closures, curfews, quarantine sites, airports, highways, etc.

2)

Pandemic militarism is also visible in the militarized rhetoric about the pandemic circulated by politicians and the media. We are in a "war" with...

the virus, which is an "invisible enemy" that has "invaded" the nation. This is "World War C." Our "Pearl Harbor moment" and "9/11 moment." The hospitals are the "front lines" of the war. Doctors and nurses are the "soldiers" and their PPE is their "armor."...

Ventilators, therapeutics, and vaccines are our "weapons" in our "arsenal" that are being "deployed." We are all "enlisted" in this battle. This militarized rhetoric is meant to stir feelings of patriotism, duty, national unity, sacrifice, solidarity, productivity...

resourcefulness, idealism, mobilization, and courage. At the same time, this rhetoric functions to justify pandemic militarism itself and its viral spending.

3)

Another important aspect of pandemic militarism is that the pandemic exposes the vulnerabilities...

and "unreadiness"... of the military. Several war games and training exercises around the world have been cancelled (currently activists and politicians are calling for the cancellation of RIMPAC, one of the largest military war games in the Pacific, because it risks...

spreading the virus), some troops have been withdrawn from sites of conflict, and many soldiers have been infected by the coronavirus.

The most visible example is the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which docked on Guam after a leaked plea for help from its Captain went viral...

because the coronavirus had spread throughout the aircraft carrier. 400 sailors have tested positive so far. 2,000 of the 4,000 sailors have been evacuated off the ship and quarantined in hotels in Guam (an interesting example of pandemic "militourism")--a decision...

that has been criticized by many on Guam because it endangers the public. The Captain himself was fired, tested positive for COVID-19, and is now in quarantine on the Naval Base in Guam. Moreover, the Acting Navy Secretary resigned after a leaked recording about the situation...

An overall embarrassing situation for the military.

The Pentagon expects the virus to incapacitate more navy ships at sea. Recent numbers reported that the Army and Air Force have over 700 positive cases combined, and the Marine Corps has nearly 100 cases. Controversially...

the Pentagon plans to stop reporting military cases at the local level because it might compromise operational security. This is controversial because there are many soldiers and their families who live, shop, and work off-base in places like Hawaiʻi, where I reside...

, and where the public is calling for greater transparency.

4)

The pandemic has caused a state of military emergency, insecurity, unreadiness, and vulnerability. This creates a dangerous situation. China recently held a series of navy drills in the Pacific....

conspicuously at the same time that the US navy is suffering from coronavirus outbreaks. And the US is stubbornly refusing to cancel RIMPAC and is still conducting some military testing in the Pacific--perhaps as a compensatory show of strength while trying to contain the virus..

. within its ranks. Which is to say, the pandemic could be an opening for further militarization and conflict due to geopolitical destabilization.

This pandemic is a time of deep trauma and transformation. It could likely lead to further militarization of our everyday lives....

I only hope that we will continue to question, critique, and challenge pandemic militarism.