Despite the latest surges in infections across a large swath of the country, there is very little sign that U.S. military medical assets are being deployed in support of civilian hospitals that are being overwhelmed with COVID patients as was done in certain parts of the country last spring and again in the summer. The only exception known so far is a request from El Paso, Texas city authorities and Texas members of Congress to send patients to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center on Fort Bliss. On Oct. 26, the hospital began accepting transfers of eligible Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs patients from community hospitals, including those with coronavirus, to free space in local facilities, according to a news release from the medical center, reported Stars & Stripes. Otherwise, Fort Bliss itself is going into a semi-lockdown mode due to the surge in cases both on the base and in the El Paso region.
In Montana, 67 National Guard troops have been mobilized to deploy into the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge over the next two weeks with duties such as distributing mail and meals, laundry and inmate counts starting Oct. 27 to free up prison staff for other duties. The Associated Press reported on Oct. 26 that the Department of Corrections requested assistance after an outbreak that began at the prison in early October. The department reported 203 cases among inmates and 75 involving staff on Oct. 26. The facility has a total of 701 staff members and just over 1,400 inmates. The team is expected to work at the prison through Nov. 8.
