Military personnel return from Ebola hot zone; quarantined at Fort Bliss

Service men and women representing all branches of the military returned from West Africa Tuesday afternoon. Their next stop is the Fort Bliss Controlled Monitoring Area, or a quarantine facility for the next 21 days.

“I am confident that at the end of 21 days we will have 68 personnel who will depart Fort Bliss and return to their home station without having any signs or symptoms of Ebola,” said Fort Bliss Spokesman LTC Lee Peters.

Two of the service men and women come from the Navy, three from the Marines, 39 from the Air Force, and 21 from the Army. Three are civilians. There are 14 officers, 2 warrant officers, and 49 enlisted. Men make up a majority with 61, seven are women.

They were the people who had expertise in certain areas, allowing them to set the stage for the permanent troops who will help fight the Ebola in West Africa.

And now, they’re back.

But for their families, there’s still three weeks until they can be reunited. Some of the men and women have been gone for up to four months. This additional three weeks, though, is what give Fort Bliss confidence that Ebola will not be introduced in the U.S.

“Every single day we’re going to look after our teammates and focus on their health and safety,” said Col. Jay Gallivan, the head of the quarantine facility. “Also assist them with their readiness, so when they’re done with that monitoring they’re ready for the next mission,”

If a soldier steps off the plane with symptoms, he will be taken straight the William Beaumont Hospital for a 72-hour monitoring period. If it checks out that was just a minor cold, he will still have to serve his 21-day quarantine period.

If a soldier steps off the plane with no symptoms, she will be evaluated and taken to the Bliss Controlled Monitoring Area. There her temperature will be taken twice a day, she’ll exercise and attend classes. Socially, it’ll be just her, and her teammates.

“That was some of the concern that the family said,” Peters said, “is how can we ensure that we don’t bring Ebola back into my family and basically myself or even our children? So during this 21-day period here, families are not allowed or authorized to see their soldiers.”

On Wednesday, 125 more Fort Bliss soldiers will deploy to West Africa. Another 125 are scheduled to deploy next week.