Fort Campbell Soldiers In Liberia Knew 21-Day Isolation Was Likely

Soldiers at Fort Campbell listen to briefings before leaving for Liberia. Soldiers have been told they won’t be in contact with the local population, but they are learning how to wear protective gear just in case. Credit: Blake Farmer / WPLN

It looks like Army soldiers from Fort Campbell and elsewhere will end up being isolated for 21 days before returning from West Africa. The Pentagon says a dozen soldiers – including a two-star general – are being held on a base in Italy before being allowed to come home. The Department of Defense says this will be the policy for the time being, though it’s not required by Pentagon guidelines.

The quarantine will be no surprise to the 101^st Airborne soldiers who are building Ebola treatment units in Liberia. Captain Tyler Mark warned them before leaving they’d likely have a period of monitoring on the back-end of their six-month tour.

“I got it. It sucks,” Mark said at a briefing earlier this month. “I’m going to want to be seeing the family just as much. But at the end of that 21-day period, we should be able guarantee that no one in this formation has any sort of gunk from Africa and is bringing it back.”

The Pentagon has said most soldiers will not come in contact with Ebola patients while in West Africa. A statement says the 21-day quarantine is “out of caution” to give communities and family members “confidence.”