Coronavirus Quarantine at Lackland Air Force Base

There has been much speculation, news and information being broadcast across the internet and news media regarding the Coronavirus situation.  It is public information that a second plane load of citizens were evacuated back to Lackland AFB after spending time in quarantine on a cruise ship. I was at the base today and was able to see the quarantine area for myself; it is quite impressive how the Air Force is handling this situation.  This is not a story about what Coronavirus is, how it started, where it came from or what the statistics are surround this issue. This is a story about how well the military is handling the quarantine in a very professional and logical manner. There is much debate as to why or how the decision was made to return these people to a military installation; however, this is a great idea in my opinion.  I have much experience in the area of disaster assistance and from what I can see externally, it appears that the quarantine is being managed appropriately. I am certainly not a high-level expert, but I have been a part of many exercises resembling this operation. The bottom line is that the military is extremely good at managing this kind of operation.

An entire hotel on the Air Force Base was chosen to house those who are quarantined.  A fence was erected around the entire building and access appears to be strictly monitored.  I am not certain what organization all the guards are part of, but all the guards I saw appeared to be from civilian organizations.  There is a U.S. Marshall command vehicle posted towards the back of the hotel outside the compound, so I am assuming that the armed guards are primarily part of that organization.  I can see disaster assistance team vehicles and tents outside the fence as well, along with personnel moving about inside the fence with hazmat type suits and masks on.  

What I am trying to state, is that regardless of how or why the decision was made to quarantine these folks at Lackland AFB, it appears that the operation is being conducted professionally.  I want to give props to the base command and the personnel involved for taking on this mission and maintaining a great operation. I do not have much information about the inner workings or operation, however, one of our local news channels did a short story on one of the couples that are staying in this quarantine center.  You can view that story here.

Everyone can take a breath now, knowing that the military knows what they are doing in situations like this.