Troops on streets? Not so fast. US military sends hospital ships.
As political leaders across America call for more troops to fight the coronavirus, Pentagon officials are聽pushing聽for a U.S. military role that is decidedly, well, unmilitaristic.
This will be no small challenge, they privately allow, as all states and territories have declared emergencies, and governors have activated聽some 12,000 of their National Guardsmen. Last week,聽President Donald Trump separately announced the call-up of thousands of National Guard troops for New York, California, and Washington. And naval hospital ships are being deployed to take the pressure off coastal city hospitals.聽
These rapid developments have triggered a spate of social media posts聽speculating that聽these call-ups mark the beginning of martial law聽to tamp down civil unrest.聽Defense officials have been quick to shoot down聽these conjectures, with only a hint of exasperation.聽
Why We Wrote This
Conjecture over the military鈥檚 proper role in supporting the U.S. pandemic response obscures the reality on the ground, where National Guardsmen are already deploying to support civil authorities.
There has been no behind-the-scenes 鈥渃onspiring鈥� to use the National Guard 鈥渢o do some sort of military action to enforce shelter in place and quarantine,鈥� Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard, said聽in聽a briefing with reporters last week. Asked if U.S. troops would help carry out curfews, or take on other law enforcement roles, General Lengyel was unenthusiastic. National Guardsmen could, he allowed, but he didn鈥檛 see any great call for this.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall聽for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.
It is an illustration of a tension between public officials under pressure to 鈥渄o something鈥� during national upheaval and a military anxious to demonstrate its deference to civilian control. In times of crisis, many public officials want to call in the troops 鈥渁lmost as a symbolic act,鈥� a sign they鈥檙e taking things very seriously, says retired Col. Mark Cancian, senior analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies 鈥� even as the Pentagon is trying to stay far away from anything resembling military rule on the streets of America.
Martial law has been used rarely in U.S. history. In the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, for example, trial by jury was suspended and Hawaiians 鈥� more than one-third of whom were of Japanese descent 鈥� were issued identity papers they had to produce on demand. The National Guard, on the other hand, is frequently called out by state governors, mostly during national disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the California wildfires of 2019.聽聽
Complicating matters, public officials 鈥渄on鈥檛 always fully appreciate what the military legally can and cannot do,鈥� notes Colonel Cancian.聽
For starters,聽the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) of 1878 bars聽active-duty troops聽from policing聽fellow citizens聽鈥� including seemingly innocuous jobs like dispersing crowds 鈥� unless there鈥檚 an invasion of foreign troops or an 鈥渋nsurrection.鈥� The mass looting of grocery stores for toilet paper likely wouldn鈥檛 qualify here, Colonel Cancian says.
A presidential declaration or a congressional statute can聽override聽the PCA, a move that Kori Schake, director of defense policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute,聽sees as a possibility to protect medical workers and deliver supplies to hospitals, for example, if the pandemic continues to worsen.聽That said, 鈥渋t ought to be a last resort,鈥� she says.
鈥淟ousy policemen鈥�
Barring such a move, the National Guard can legally take on law enforcement duties 鈥� though it鈥檚 not聽at the top of its to-do list.聽
鈥淭he reason is that soldiers make lousy policemen鈥� 鈥� and they know it, says Colonel Cancian. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nothing wrong with them personally, but the way they鈥檙e trained. Policemen are [ideally] trained to look at people and say, 鈥楾hese are citizens that need to be protected.鈥� Soldiers are trained to look at people and say, 鈥楾hese are threats that need to be neutralized.鈥欌��
For this reason, when U.S. troops deploy to the U.S.-Mexico border,聽as they have in successive administrations, they support law enforcement chiefly through 鈥渁dministrative, logistical, and operational support,鈥� a Defense Department report last year noted.聽
As the old Army saying goes, 鈥淎mateurs talk strategy, experts talk logistics.鈥� It is keeping the supply chain running during times of crisis that is the U.S. military鈥檚 secret weapon for winning wars of all sorts.聽
Many of these logistics in the coming weeks will involve moving medical supplies into place and providing hospital beds, defense officials say. President Trump has dispatched the Pentagon鈥檚 two hospital ships to try to relieve city emergency services. The USNS Mercy arrived Friday in Los Angeles, while the聽USNS Comfort should dock in Manhattan early this week.聽
These ships are more helpful for treating trauma than dealing with infectious disease, since the bunk-style beds don鈥檛 have segregated recovery areas. They can, however, along with temporary treatment tents set up by the military, be used to free up space聽at hospitals聽to treat COVID-19聽patients.
鈥淎s trauma patients come in, instead of going into the hospital, they would go into the field hospital, where we could treat the broken legs, the lacerations, the falling-down-hit-your-head type of stuff. We can handle them in our big open bays,鈥� Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said at a recent press briefing.聽
Distraction and war games
The U.S. military can also help provide vital transportation links. But even as all this is happening, military strategists will be keeping an eye trained outward, says Dr. Schake. 鈥淥ur military are聽good strategists, and good strategists worry in this time of national crisis that our (foreign)聽enemies might try and take advantage and do something damaging to our national interests.鈥�
This may include disinformation campaigns on social media that stir up fears of martial law, Secretary Esper said Tuesday. 鈥淲e probably have external actors, countries that want to sow chaos in the United States and are injecting some of this into the ecosystem.鈥�
Against this backdrop, one recurring theme in military war games 鈥渋s the temptation to overcommit 鈥� then you don鈥檛 have resources for subsequent challenges,鈥� Dr. Schake adds. For this reason, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a tendency for the military to always want to keep something in reserve.鈥澛�
This might come in handy for America鈥檚 allies as well, Mr. Esper added. 鈥淎s the coronavirus hits different countries differently, and as they react differently over time, it may present [national security] challenges for us,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith allies, it may be incumbent upon us to help them.鈥澛�
Editor鈥檚 note: This story was updated on Monday, March 30.聽As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall聽for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.
