More Ft. Bliss troops join Ebola fight

Over 100 soldiers said their goodbyes to family and loved ones Wednesday morning as the first big group from Ft. Bliss loaded up for Liberia.

There were tearful farewells as soldiers from the 2-501st General Support Aviation Battalion took off to Monrovia, Liberia. They’re joining the advance troops setting up operations there to begin aiding Ebola treatment units with transportation and logistics.

The soldier’s flight by charter get will skirt the Atlantic, stopping at a number of places like Nova Scotia and Spain before finally landing in Liberia.

The soldiers have been trained in support and safety operations, such as how to properly use the protective equipment to keep them from being exposed to the virus. But battalion commander Lt. Col. Whitney Gardner says it’s not expected they’ll need to use that training.

“Well, No. 1, we’ll maintain stand-off range,” Gardner said. “And No. 2, we’re not going to be transporting anyone who’s even suspected of having the Ebola virus disease.”

For the families of those being sent to Africa, it’s not the same as previous deployments.

“It’s kind of different than the average Afghanistan-Iraq deployment,” said Ryan Robins, husband of an air traffic controller being deployed . You’re fighting a disease instead of a person, so it’s different.”

“I’m a nurse,” said Sara Fielder, wife of another soldier. “So I’m very familiar about everything that’s going on, and I’ve been following it. I believe they have all the appropriate precautions in place, and I’m not worried about him catching anything.”

The soldiers departing Wednesday will be part of about 325 total in Task Force Iron Knights, supporting Operation United Assistance. Soldiers from Ft. Bliss could be involved with the operation for nine months or longer as needed.