OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:15 PM PT — Thursday, March 19, 2020
The National Guard is mobilizing to fight the spread of COVID-19 in
the United States. On Thursday, the head of the National Guard announced
that “tens of thousands of troops” could be activated in various states
in the coming weeks.Governors in 27 states have activated over 2,000 troops so far in the wake of the worsening outbreak.
General Joseph Lengyel has said this new deployment will be similar to a hurricane response, but with one key difference.
“With COVID-19, it’s like we have 54
separate hurricanes in every state, territory and the District of
Columbia. Unlike a hurricane, we don’t know when this thing is going to
dissipate or move out to sea. But an historic event demands an historic
response, and that’s what the National Guard is prepared to do as
America’s principal domestic military response force.”
– General Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau
The guard is currently providing medical testing and ground
transportation to the areas most affected by the outbreak. The general
also confirmed six guardsmen are being monitored after testing positive
for coronavirus.