Goldfein: Time to ‘Dust Off’ the MOPP Gear Because COVID-19 Isn’t Going Away
By Brian W. Everstine
Current predictions show a COVID-19 vaccine is still 18 months away, so the Air Force must find ways to survive and operate in a world where the virus keeps coming back, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein wrote in an April 28 letter to commanders. “It’s time to dust off those Ability to Survive and Operate manuals,” Goldfein wrote. “Many of us grew up in the age of Apple Orchards, MOPP levels, operations with PPE, aircraft decontamination procedures, etc. While we have not required it in recent years given our focus on the Middle East, the ability to survive and operate in a CBRNE environment is in our DNA.” Goldfein said the pandemic is now the “defining moment” for Airmen, comparing it to Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks for previous generations. “The command characteristic of each defining moment is the world never returned to where it was before the event,” Goldfein wrote.
