Armynorth concludes coronavirus mission in Texas
U.S. Army North said Wednesday that the 740 medical and support personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force who deployed to Texas and California in July for the command’s coronavirus operations have returned home.
The redeployment occurred over the past three weeks as they were no longer required. The first to return to home station were 100 Air Force medical providers and support staff at five California hospitals. They redeployed Aug. 30.
Another 480 Army and U.S. Navy medical providers and support staffwho had been at 13 Texas
hospitals returned to their units from Sept. 8 through Sept. 10, the command reported.
About 100 Army and Navy personnel were the last to leave, redeploying Wednesday from three Texas hospitals.
The medical and support personnelwere called to Texas earlier in the summer as coronavirus cases began to rise and were dispatched to hospitals across the state from Houston and San Antonio to the lower Rio Grande Valley.
The decision to send those personnel home ends Army North’s role in the COVID-19 response in Texas, but a spokesman, Bruce Anderson, said they could be called back if needed.
Army North’s commander, Lt.
Gen. Laura J. Richardson, is overseeing the military’s response to wildfires in California and the Southwest border mission, as well as hurricane response preparedness. The command oversees the military’s role in homeland defense, defense support of civil authorities and security cooperation withmexico and Canada.
“Through our defense coordinating officers and defense coordinating elements, we remain in constant coordination with the Federal Emergencymanagement Agency, and have carefully monitored conditions as they relate to COVID-19 in both Texas and California,” Richardson said.