US government bought 160,000 Ebola hazmat suits; not a single one will go to soldiers sent to West Africa

(NaturalNews) U.S. troops ordered by the President to Ebola-stricken West Africa are going to be sent with the best protective equipment available, right? That might be what you'd expect from the most powerful, best-equipped fighting force that the world has ever seen, but you'd be wrong.

In fact, according to reports, troops from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division who are being sent to the Ebola zone won't be getting full protective hazmat clothing and suits for their mission. As Britain's Daily Mail reported:

Instead, the troops will be given only masks and gloves to protect them from the potentially fatal virus, General David Rodriguez said at a Pentagon briefing.

The Kentucky-based Army division is being sent to Liberia to help coordinate the response to the epidemic, and will primarily be building hospitals and treatment and training centers.

Troops trained in donning hazmat suits but won't get them in-country

Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of AFRICOM, the U.S. Army command in charge of the operation, said that troops will not need full protective clothing and gear because they would not be coming into direct contact with anyone who has already been infected with Ebola.

"They don't need the whole suit -- as such -- because they're not going to be in contact with any of the people," he said, according to Nashville Public Radio.

But as seasoned Army generals, surely Rodriguez and his Africa mission ground commander, Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, know that missions change -- and that the dynamic of the battlefield can change quickly, as can the dynamic of a relief mission. Perhaps that's why, as the Daily Mail pointed out, 101st Airborne Division troops being sent on the mission trained in the donning and wearing of full protective hazmat gear a week ago. Earlier reports also said troops were only getting a maximum of four hours' worth of training on the virus, how to handle it and what it can do.

And it is not as if troops won't be deployed in a potentially dangerous area. Many of them are to be housed in tent cities or at military airfields in Liberia, as well as in Liberian Ministry of Defense facilities. It should be noted that http://www.deccanchronicle.com to enforce a government-imposed quarantine.

But Rodriguez maintained that troops won't be in any danger, and that they will be continually monitored for any signs or symptoms of the disease. For one, he said, their temperatures will be taken as they move into and out of their camps.

Yet, Uncle Sam is buying tens of thousands of hazmat suits for its diplomatic personnel at the State Department

The Daily Mail further reported that the U.S. military had already established a headquarters in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, and that troops were working to set up a 25-bed field hospital by mid-to-late October. Also, the U.S. military contingent will be charged with setting up 17 more field treatment facilities for patients with Ebola.

Meanwhile, as Natural News editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, has reported, the U.S. government is planning to buy 160,000 hazmat suits in anticipation of some personnel having to deal with the outbreak or, at least, be in the vicinity of it.

"The U.S. State Department has just put out a bid for 160,000 Ebola hazmat suits, announced a U.S. manufacturer called 'Lakeland Industries,'" he reported. "The company's press release, published at Yahoo Finance, reads:

"With the U.S. State Department alone putting out a bid for 160,000 suits, we encourage all protective apparel companies to increase their manufacturing capacity for sealed seam garments so that our industry can do its part in addressing this threat to global health."

Adams explains more about the virus outbreak and how Americans can prepare for it at BioDefense.com.

Sources:

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

http://nashvillepublicradio.org

http://www.deccanchronicle.com

http://www.thedailybeast.com

http://science.naturalnews.com