Marines deploy from Spain for Ebola fight

About 100 Marines based in Spain will deploy temporarily to West Africa to join the fight to contain the Ebola virus, a Pentagon official said.

The Marines, with the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response Africa based in Moron, Spain, will depart today, spend the night in Senegal and continue on to the Liberian capital of Monrovia on Thursday, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Defense Department spokesman.

Their mission will be to “provide interim resupply and transportation support” for a few weeks until an Army unit arrives later this month to assume the mission in the longer term, Kirby said.

The Marines will bring four MV-22 Ospreys and two KC-130 Hercules aircraft to support the mission.

About 350 U.S. military personnel are now in Liberia, but more than 3,000 soldiers are slated to deploy during the next several weeks and increase the total force to as many as 4,000 troops.

Pentagon officials emphasize that troops will not provide medical care to, or have direct contact with, individuals infected with Ebola. The U.S. military mission is to support civilian health care efforts through construction of new facilities, providing logistics support and training locals in prevention methods.

Protocols for ensuring U.S. personnel do not contract the potentially deadly disease will include wearing gloves and masks, but not complete full-body protective suits. They will wash their hands and feet multiple times a day.

The vast majority of troops deploying to Liberia will be soldiers from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and Fort Hood, Texas. In addition, at least 700 combat engineers from across the Army will be tapped for the mission.

More than 3,400 people have died in West Africa form the Ebola virus and an estimated 7,470 have been diagnosed as having the infection, although the numbers likely are higher since many victims don’t make it to treatment centers.