Pandemic Dilemma: The Department of Defense Must Develop New Doctrine and Training to Prepare for Future Humanitarian Pandemic Crises
Abstract
As proved in 2014, when the DoD assisted in stopping the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, DoD is the only U.S. organization capable of interceding rapidly to keep pandemics from spreading globally. Despite lacking doctrine, training, and tailored equipment to respond and protect against Ebola, a 2016 Joint Staff report highlighted DoD elements performed well in the "first U.S. military operation to support a disease driven foreign humanitarian assistance mission," including completing the mission with no DoD members infected with Ebola. Since then and in the face of the current 2020 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), however, DoD has not addressed the documented lessons learned and failed to prepare organizations for the next potential pandemic event. Analysis of pandemic guidance and resources in terms of the Doctrine, Organization, Training, Leadership and Education, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy (DOTMLPF-P) elements identifies gaps in DoD's ability to prepare and respond to pandemics. For example, within doctrine, DoD should not only mention that pandemics exist, but "accept" that pandemics are a potentially more frequent issue in the future environment and include a more in-depth treatment in future strategies and doctrine. A more in-depth narrative in doctrine will enable the military services to develop service-specific doctrine, training, and equipping strategies to support national-level goals in responding to pandemics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 15, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1124027
Entities
People
- Brian M. Cozine
Organizations
- National Defense University