The military's top officers are recommending a sweeping rule imposing a 21-day quarantine on all troops returning from Ebola-stricken West Africa, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has made no final decision, defense officials said Tuesday.

The recommendation officially delivered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff raises new concerns about the safety of the nearly 4,000 troops expected to deploy to Liberia during the next several weeks. Military officials say those troops will not have direct contact with Ebola patients but instead will be providing logistical support and building new treatment facilities for civilian health care workers.

Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to offer details of the chiefs' recommendation, which runs counter to the current guidance from civilian health experts who say a quarantine is not necessary for people who show no symptoms of the often-deadly disease.

"The secretary shares the concerns by the chiefs about the safety and well-being not only of our troops, but also of their families, and he appreciates the thoughtfulness and the gravity of the recommendations," Kirby told reporters Tuesday.

"He's going to take the time that he feels that he needs to make that decision," Kirby said.

Controversy over quarantining troops arose Monday after the Army's top officer, Gen. Ray Odierno, issued a verbal order to isolate all soldiers returning from Liberia. A team of 12 soldiers, including a two-star general, was quarantined Monday at a U.S. military base in Vicenza, Italy.

The Army's quarantine runs counter to a Defense Department rule issued in early October that said troops would redeploy without any specific form of isolation. There are about 700 U.S. troops in West Africa and at least several troops have redeployed in recent weeks without facing a quarantine.

If Hagel opts to reject the chiefs' recommendation for a quarantine, that decision may supercede Odierno's order and result in no quarantine for the dozens of other soldiers expected to return from Liberia to Italy later this week.

President Obama and many civilian health care experts have sought to quell concern about Ebola by assuring the public that quarantines are not necessary unless individuals are showing symptoms of the disease. Hagel's final decision will inevitably affect the broader debate about the protocols for managing the risk related to Ebola.

Kirby acknowledged that Hagel is aware of his decision's "spillover effects on other agencies and the American people."

The top Army officer in Africa said in early October that U.S. troops deployed to Liberia are wearing gloves and a mask but not the full-body protective suits used by health care workers who come into direct contact with Ebola patients. Kirby said Tuesday he was unaware of any plan to change or upgrade the troops' personal protective gear.

In Italy, the soldiers in quarantine include Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, commander of U.S. Army Africa. A total of about 75 soldiers are due to arrive in Italy from Africa later this week and Army officials say all of them will be placed in similar isolation.

The soldiers are restricted to a military facility at Caserma Del Din, where they will be monitored by health care officials and will have meals delivered to them. They will have access to TV, a gym and online communications and other morale, welfare and recreation services, according to one Army official.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Obama said it was "critical" that the Ebola epidemic be stopped at its source and noted that CDC guidelines recommending active monitoring — but not isolation — of returning health care workers is part of an effort to encourage them to continue volunteering for the dangerous job of treating patients in West Africa.

"We want to be sure they understand we know they are doing God's work over there. ... If they are successful, we're not going to have to worry about Ebola over here," Obama said.

The president urged Americans to examine the science of the disease and not be guided by fear, noting that seven Americans who have been treated for Ebola in the United States have all lived.

"This disease can be contained. It will be defeated. Progress is possible but we must remain vigilant," the president said.

When asked about the Army's decision to isolate the soldiers in Vicenza — a measure much stricter than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidelines for those who have been treating Ebola patients — he called that quarantine "a different situation."

"They are not treating patients ... and they are not there on a voluntary basis," Obama said.

The CDC's new guidelines call for daily monitoring of health care workers and travelers who may have been exposed to Ebola — through treating patients with the virus or possibly coming into contact with someone with Ebola.

Under the new guidance, state and local health departments will monitor all travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea for 21 days from the date of their departure for symptoms as well as health care workers who have treated Ebola patients and those who have visited treatment facilities.

Any decision to isolate individuals or restrict travel and other activities should be made on a case-by-case basis, according to the CDC. It did not recommend blanket restrictions because officials fear such a policy may discourage health care workers from volunteering to care for the sick and dying.

"Returning health care workers should be treated with dignity and respect. They, along with our civilian and military personnel in the region, are working tirelessly on the front lines against Ebola, and their success is what ultimately will enable us to eliminate the threat of additional domestic Ebola cases," CDC officials said in a press release.

The number of Ebola cases topped more than 10,000 as of Oct. 24, according to the World Health Organization; 4,922 people have died from the virus, with more than half those deaths occurring in Liberia.

About Andrew Tilghman and Patricia Kime

Andrew Tilghman is the executive editor for Military Times. He is a former Military Times Pentagon reporter and served as a Middle East correspondent for the Stars and Stripes. Before covering the military, he worked as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle in Texas, the Albany Times Union in New York and The Associated Press in Milwaukee.

Patricia Kime is a senior writer covering military and veterans health care, medicine and personnel issues.

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