who had become infected with the Ebola virus while treating patients. Following extensive training at
the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Center for Domestic Pre- paredness in Anniston, Ala., the first of four teams of Commissioned Corps officers arrived in Monrovia Oct. 26 to join the fight. In total, 70 officers participated in the response effort, rotating approximately every 60 days. The Commissioned Corps spent nearly six months in the region, work-
ing with local health care providers and international relief organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the International Medical Corps to treat infected patients, raise aware- ness, and keep the disease from spreading by stopping it at its source.
First response “In the beginning, our mission was fo- cused on direct patient care,” reports Rear Adm. Scott Giberson, director of the Division of Commissioned Corps
Personnel and Readiness and com- mander of the Commissioned Corps’ Ebola Response. “As the epidemi- ology changed, we expanded and evolved our roles to include some capacity building, Ebola training, and health education.”
When the Ebola epidemic first
Donning protec- tive suits (left), Commissioned Corps officers at the Monrovia Medi- cal Unit (MMU) in Liberia prepare to simulate treating a patient. (below) Dawn breaks and shifts change at the MMU, a 25-bed hospital serving health care workers infected with Ebola.
broke, the Commissioned Corps held a number of responsibilities throughout the affected regions. “This included the MMU mission in Liberia, which was arguably our most visible responsibility,” Giberson says. “However, we also had multiple smaller missions in support of [the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention (CDC) and National Insti- tutes of Health (NIH)] in all three of the most infected countries.” Among the first wave of Commis- sioned Corps officers sent to West Africa was Lt. Michelle Holshue, BSN, RN, whose regular duty station is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md. When offered the opportunity to assist with the Ebola response, Holshue didn’t hesitate to volunteer. She worked at the MMU in Liberia for almost two months, from October
58 MILITARY OFFICER MAY 2016
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