A group of 10 Democratic senators on Monday penned a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper accusing the Pentagon of responding slowly to the coronavirus outbreak and prioritizing military readiness over the health of service members and their families.
The letter comes as the number of new COVID-19 cases surge among military branches, including 955 confirmed cases on the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt. At least 47 crew members aboard the USS Kidd have tested positive and two have been medically evacuated due to coronavirus symptoms.
“Your inability or unwillingness to issue clear, department-wide guidance has forced the services and local commanders to make their own decisions on a case-by-case basis,” the senators wrote. “Due to the lack of resources and the lack of guidance, the department’s response has been disjointed and slow, risking the health of service members and their families.”
The letter was signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Kamala Harris of California, Patty Murray of Washington state, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.
The lawmakers called on Mr. Esper to provide information on the department’s plan to address the pandemic, the number of asymptomatic service members, lessons learned, and long term mitigation tools as well as additional data of coronavirus cases among service members.
A total of 6,568 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, have been reported among active-duty, civilian, contractors and military dependents. At least 4,213 active-duty troops have tested positive, according to data issued by the Pentagon Monday.
There have been 27 deaths reported among the military population with two deaths among active-duty troops and 14 among civilian service members.
“The Department’s civilian leadership can and must do more to ensure the health of service members and their families,” the senators wrote. “Immediate and aggressive guidance — from the top — is necessary to protect the health, morale, and readiness of service members and their families.”
The letter’s release coincided with remarks from Gen. Joseph Votel, retired chief of U.S. Central Command, who cautioned that while the military is a “learning organization,” having a healthy force is a priority.
“I think, for the most part, [the pandemic] really does impact how we’re doing operations,” the four-star general said during a web conference hosted by the Middle East Institute.
“The first factor of readiness is making sure we have a healthy force,” Gen. Votel said. “None of our interests can be protected or preserved if we don’t have a healthy force to do that.”
• Madison Hirneisen contributed to this story.
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