Trump says the US is 'at war' with the coronavirus - here's what the military is bringing to the fight

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Trump says the US is 'at war' with the coronavirus - here's what the military is bringing to the fight
The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19)
  • "We are at war with an invisible enemy," President Donald Trump has said repeatedly, most recently in a tweet Wednesday, in reference to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
  • The US military is being mobilized to support ongoing response efforts to the coronavirus, which is rapidly spreading across the US.
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The president says the US is at war with the coronavirus, and the US military is being mobilized to help combat it at home.

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"We are at war with an invisible enemy," Trump tweeted Wednesday, adding that the coronavirus "is no match for the spirit and resolve of the American people."

The Department of Defense is focused on protecting military and civilian personnel and their families. As of Wednesday, 49 service members, 14 civilian employees, 19 dependents, and seven contractors had tested positive for COVID-19.

But the Pentagon is also taking steps to support the Trump administration's whole-of-government response to the coronavirus, a highly-contagious virus that has spread to more than 7,500 people and killed 115 people in the US.

Here's how the US military has been and is continuing to help at home.

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Supporting domestic quarantine operations.

Supporting domestic quarantine operations.

DoD's first move to support domestic efforts to combat the coronavirus was to approve several requests for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services, giving HHS permission to use US military bases for the quarantining and housing of individuals returning to the US from abroad.

Researching a coronavirus vaccine.

Researching a coronavirus vaccine.

US Army researchers at Army Medical Research and Development Command and Fort Detrick in Maryland and the Center for Infectious Disease Research at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have been involved in conducting research on a possible coronavirus vaccine.

"They are making great progress there," Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Wednesday.

Army medical research officials say it could take 12 to 18 months, if not longer, to develop a vaccine.

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Sending in the National Guard.

Sending in the National Guard.

As of Wednesday morning, there were roughly 2,000 National Guard personnel responding to COVID-19 in 23 states. They have been disinfecting public spaces, handing out food, and providing transportation and logistics support.

Freeing up respirator masks from its strategic stockpiles.

Freeing up respirator masks from its strategic stockpiles.

Esper said Tuesday that "the Department of Defense will make available up to 5 million N95 respirator masks and other personal protective equipment from our own strategic reserves to Health and Human Services for distribution."

The secretary added that "the first 1 million masks will be made available immediately."

Additionally, the department is providing up to 2,000 deployable ventilators.

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Mobilizing hospital ships.

Mobilizing hospital ships.

The Pentagon has also directed that the hospital ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort be prepared to deploy.

The two Military Sealift Command hospital ships will require a couple of weeks, possibly more, before they are ready to assist.

The Comfort is expected to support New York, while the Mercy will support a yet-to-be-determined location on the West Coast.

Preparing field and expeditionary hospitals.

Preparing field and expeditionary hospitals.

"We have also alerted a variety of field and expeditionary hospitals to deploy as needed," Esper said Wednesday.

The US military has a number of rapidly deployable medical units at its disposal, including the Air Force expeditionary medical system, Army combat support hospitals and field hospitals, and Navy expeditionary medical facilities.

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Setting up certified coronavirus testing labs.

Setting up certified coronavirus testing labs.

As of Wednesday, the Department of Defense has also made a total of 16 certified coronavirus testing labs available to test non-DoD personnel.

"We hope this will provide excess capacity to the civilian population," Esper said Tuesday.

Transporting critical supplies.

Transporting critical supplies.

The US military has also been involved with transporting supplies, the Pentagon revealed Wednesday.

The US Air Force transported 500,000 COVID-19 test swabs from Italy to Memphis, Tennessee this week in a C-17 cargo aircraft. In Memphis, the swabs were loaded onto FedEx aircraft for distribution.

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