Will the military be called up to

[MerryBlooms]

set up MASH units in hard hit states? Is that a lame question?

[Phoenix61]

1. I hope they are and no, it's not a lame question. If we had a real leader

manufacturing plants would be retooled to produce medical equipment and it would be an all hands on deck for all medical staff. MASH sites would already be in the process of standing up.

[MerryBlooms]

2. Sure seems to me, this week would be the perfect time to get them rolling.

[Quixote1818]

3. They will if needed I would bet. nt

[MerryBlooms]

4. Seems like areas of NY, CA, WA are needed now.

They could also be set up for testing in other states.

I feel like there's so much more that could be done, but government is sitting on their hands. Senate not moving on the relief bill right away, not ordering tests until ours are ready... Purposely delaying help to our citizens is criminal.

[bluedigger]

5. I'm sure they are training up for that eventuality right now.

They won't deploy until local authorities are overwhelmed.

[MerryBlooms]

8. When they're overwhelmed it's too late, we need to get in front of this at some point.

[bluedigger]

12. I'm not sure what you expect of them beyond medical support.

Our Governor (CO) has already activated some National Guard units, but that should be enough until hospitals run out of beds.

[procon]

6. I've been wondering why they haven't been mobilized

already. Or why military medical personnel aren't being brought in to bolster hospital staff. Why aren't we requisitioning needed medical equipment and supplies from military storage?


The military also has a couple of fully equipped and staffed hospital ships that should have been called up and sent to take up station at ports in the hardest hit cities like NY and LA.

But as usual, Trump is probably clueless about what to do, and his crackerjack team of TV personalities and industry lobbyists is still queued up in makeup.

[MerryBlooms]

9. Where is the Pentagon in all this? Are they involved in any of the meetings?

[TomSlick]

7. Not a lame question but a problematic response to the problem.

While the military has the physical assets to set up combat support hospitals (what MASH units are called now), the problem is personnel. You can set up CSHs all over the country but without medical personnel to staff them, they will be of little use.

There is not a lot of slack in the staffing levels for active duty medical units. The bulk of the medical personnel in the active force will be needed to care for service members and family members.

The majority of the military medical personnel are in the Guard and Reserves. The problem in mobilizing them is that they would be pulled away from their civilian jobs - staffing civilian hospitals.

[MerryBlooms]

10. So, not even to aid in testing?

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

13. Ramping up testing does nothing

If the tests can't be processed. That's another bottleneck.

[TomSlick]

14. The military medical units would go where ever the President ordered

to accomplish whatever mission assigned.

However, it is a zero-sum game. Every active duty doctor, nurse or medic pulled from a military hospital for testing or treating the civilian population is not available to treat active duty soldiers and family members. Every Guard or Reserve doctor, nurse or medical mobilized to staff a CSH set up in a parking lot somewhere, is going to pulled away from their civilian job in a hospital.

[backtoblue]

11. If IMF45 did call the military

...he'd fuck that up too, probably sending out the Space Force.

[Hoyt]

15. I hope someone like General Honore is in command.

[Golden Raisin]

16. Governor Cuomo (NY) has been calling for several days now

for the Army Corps of Engineers to immediately be called up to build temporary medical facilities to both handle the projected numbers of ill and free up the limited amount of existing ICU beds for the worst effected patients.

[sarisataka]

17. It always amazes me

how quickly attitudes change.

To address the question- the last MASH unit was deactivated in 2006. The replacement in the Combat Support Hospital.There are about 8 of these in the active army and about 14 in the Guard. Each can support about 96 beds but can expand to a bit over 200.

On the negative side they are not kept fully staffed. About 60% of the personnel (250 doctors, nurses, technicians and other staff for each unit) would have to be pulled from other duties. For the active units they would come from military hospitals and clinics. Guard units would call on people who would in civilian facilities.