Liberia-bound Minnesota soldiers will have 21-day monitoring

For Minnesota National Guard troops being sent to help in Ebola-stricken Liberia, there may be as much concern when they come home as when they leave.

As an extraordinary precaution, members of the Guard who are scheduled to deploy to West Africa early next year will be subjected to a 21-day period of observation when they return stateside, with their temperatures taken twice a day and doctors monitoring them for symptoms.

Guard officials emphasize the soldiers will not be quarantined, but the soldiers, who will be mobilized to support humanitarian relief in West Africa, will likely be kept at a U.S. military base for "controlled monitoring" during the three-week period.

The Guard announced Sunday that nearly 700 members of the Minnesota-based 34th Red Bull Infantry Division will be deployed to Liberia for a six-month period. They are expected to arrive in April and depart in late fall.

In announcing the deployment, which they learned about Friday, the Guard appeared especially aware of the anxiety attached to sending troops to an area where Ebola has infected around 14,000 people and killed roughly 5,000. The mission is to support humanitarian relief, but soldiers will not be responsible for direct treatment of Ebola patients.

"My number one priority is protecting the safety and health of our soldiers," said Maj. Gen. Neal Loidolt, commanding general of the 34th Infantry Division. "Our equipment, our training, our procedures and, most of all, the discipline of our Red Bull soldiers will ensure that we are successful in this mission without putting our families, our forces, or communities at any unnecessary risk."

She goes, he stays

Sgt. 1st Class Katy Reed learned this weekend that she will be part of the deployment. She works in administrative functions, handling issues such as soldier pay and insurance.

Family waiting back home for her return will bring a rare perspective to her departure. Her husband, Chris, is also a sergeant in the Guard, but will be staying home. They previously deployed together in Kuwait.

"Any time you go into any foreign country there is always the unknown of different environments," Katy Reed said. "It's all about following your correct procedures, being sanitary, and ensuring proper hygiene and following your guidelines."

Chris Reed said as part of his duties with the Guard he has been monitoring West Africa and has been very aware of how the U.S. military operations are going.

"Is there anxiety? Yes. There is always anxiety when people leave," he said. "But I can't say enough, these soldiers in this state are prepared. We hold our own. In that aspect, I'm very confident in the people that can do this, including my wife."

Gov. Mark Dayton said Monday he recognized the mission represents a different threat from those on the battlefield.

"We will go to every length humanly possible to make sure they're protected while they're there, that they come back and they're protected and their families and everyone else are protected until they're given a clean bill of health to return," Dayton said.

A different kind of mission

The Red Bulls will assume command from the 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, Ky. The 101st has been overseeing construction of Ebola treatment centers, which the 34th will take over when it arrives.

Minnesota is home to one of the largest Liberian populations in the United States, and Loidolt said the Guard's experience will go toward helping understand the impact of Ebola upon return. But he said the state's Liberian population likely did not factor into the Pentagon's decision to send Minnesota troops to West Africa. The division, which actually includes troops from 13 states, was scheduled as part of a deployment rotation and had recently completed a large-scale training exercise that evaluated its readiness.

Soldiers who deploy will be given medical training and equipped with the standard gear for disease in any deployment, known as personal protective equipment: mask, goggles, glove and suit. Loidolt said more substantial gear may be provided if missions demand it.

"If there are additional personal protective measures required, we'll issue the additional equipment at that time and undergo the appropriate training," he said.

In all, about 2,100 soldiers from the National Guard and Army Reserve are expected to deploy to Liberia and Senegal to relieve troops who deployed to the region in September and October as part of Operation United Assistance, Army Times reported on Monday.

Star Tribune staff writer Patrick Condon contributed to this report. Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434