The Pentagon revealed on Friday that the 21-day quarantine for its staff returning from West Africa will only be mandatory for those in uniform, while civilian personnel can choose whether to isolate themselves under similar circumstances.
Civilian employees with the Department of Defense (DOD) have two options upon returning from countries where Ebola has spread rapidly, Pentagon Spokesperson Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.
The first option is "active monitoring and return to normal activities," where "DOD civilian employees will comply with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state and local public health authorities, unless otherwise directed," he explained. "This includes returning to normal work duties, routines and life activities consistent with that guidance. DOD components will comply with active monitoring and guidance in this memorandum, to include twice daily temperature checks." The other option, he continued, is "to voluntarily participate in military-controlled monitoring" where "DOD components will allow civilian employees to voluntarily participate in the same controlled procedures that military personnel will be undergoing.
"For all personnel, during the 21-day post-deployment active monitoring period, there will be no leave or temporary duty, or temporary additional duty that will be authorized outside the local area, to ensure continued face-to-face monitoring, except for civilian personnel participating voluntarily in the military-controlled monitoring program," Kirby affirmed.
The reason for the new directives is that the Pentagon "legally can't force [civilian employees] to undergo a controlled monitoring regime" as it would with uniformed troops, Kirby said.
He added that civilian personnel "are going to be down there in just far fewer numbers," and currently, there are 55 of them in Ebola-affected countries while personnel in uniform number some 1,200.