Weeks after putting a hold on permanent change-of-station moves and non-essential travel both abroad and in the United States for the next two to three months, the Pentagon has issued a stop-movement order that will affect all personnel and Defense Department civilians.
The order affects travel for exercises, as well as deployments from combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus, the Pentagon announced Wednesday
“Approximately 90,000 service members slated to deploy or redeploy over the next 60 days will likely be impacted by this stop movement order,” the release said.
Exceptions include:
- Travel for military medical patients or providers.
- Movements of Navy ships, as long as they observe 14-day quarantine periods.
- Those who are already in the process of traveling.
- Those who are away on temporary duty.
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A combatant commander, military service secretary or the chairman of the joint chiefs, Army Gen. Mark Milley can also grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis, if the travel is mission essential, a humanitarian issue or due to another extreme hardship.
" Currently, this order is not expected to impact the continued drawdown of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, which is scheduled to be complete within 135 days following the signed agreement," the release said.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.