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    US Marines provide support to Ebola Response in West Africa

    MORóN AIR BASE, SPAIN

    10.09.2014

    Story by 1st Lt. Gerard Farao 

    U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa     

    MORÓN AIR BASE, Spain – U.S. Marines and sailors assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response Africa (SPMAGTF-CR-AF) arrived in Monrovia, Liberia, and are ready to provide support to Operation United Assistance, Oct. 9, 2014.

    On Oct. 8, 2014, an alert response force from SPMAGTF-CR-AF consisting of four MV-22 Ospreys, two KC-130J Super Hercules, and approximately 100 Marines and sailors took off from Moron, Spain. After spending the night in Dakar, Senegal, the alert force flew to Monrovia, Liberia, with the lead aircraft landing at approximately 4 p.m. local time. The Forward Resuscitative Surgical System (FRSS) team is expected to arrive on Oct. 10, to provide the Joint Force Commander with a surgical medical capability for U.S. personnel assigned Operation United Assistance.

    “This deployment of our response force in support of Operation United Assistance highlights the rapid, self-deploying, and scalable capability of SPMAGTF-CR-AF,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Robert C. Fulford, commanding officer of SPMAGTF-CR-AF. “Our task will be to provide logistical tilt-rotor airlift support to the Joint Force Commander and our interagency partners, specifically the U.S. Agency for International Development-led effort. At this time, there is no expectation that our Marines and Sailors will be working in high-risk areas or close to Ebola patients. However, we have deliberate preventative health measures in place to protect our Marines and Sailors. Every Marine and Sailor participating in this operation also received extensive training to prepare for the unique challenges associated with operating in this environment.”

    The SPMAGTF-CR-AF surgeon, U.S. Navy Lt. Robert J. Kerris, added that “We have been training the Marines and sailors on infectious disease prevention as well as distributing personal protective equipment, malaria pills, treating their clothes and bedding, among other things. We want to ensure that our Marines and sailors are safe, as they assist with the humanitarian effort in West Africa.”

    SPMAGTF-CR-AF is a rapid response force able to conduct missions ranging from U.S. Embassy reinforcement, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operations, and other missions as directed in order to protect U.S. personnel and interests throughout the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 10.09.2014
    Date Posted: 10.09.2014 13:33
    Story ID: 144752
    Location: MORóN AIR BASE, ES
    Hometown: MORóN AIR BASE, ES
    Hometown: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US

    Web Views: 1,135
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN