The Department of Defense plans to be able to test 60,000 service members a day for COVID-19 come June — but it's certainly not there yet. In the meantime, the DoD has a four-tiered testing strategy. And the top priority tier includes exactly who you would expect it to.
Those involved in critical national capabilities make up the top tier of the DoD's testing hierarchy. This means the DoD is far more concerned with testing service members directly involved in counter-terrorism and nuclear deterrence efforts. According to vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten, testing of this tier is already ongoing.
After Tier 1 comes Tier 2 — service members stationed outside of the United States in places like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Tier 3 includes those forward deployed in non-combat zones such as Europe or those returning from deployments. And, finally, Tier 4 is the rest of the force.
Naturally, those service members currently working in healthcare capacities in field hospitals, aboard the Navy's hospital ships, or elsewhere on the frontlines of the pandemic supersede the tiered system. Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist referred to these individuals as Tier 0.
While Tier 1 testing is ongoing, the DoD anticipates being able to quickly increase its testing capabilities — again, with the hope that by June 60,000 tests can be administered daily. Currently, the DoD is able to perform around 7,000 tests per day.
The DoD acknowledged that supply concerns are a factor in implementing the tiered approach — the DoD does not want to unnecessarily use test kits on its own population, which have proved to hold up relatively well against the virus, that would otherwise have been used in nursing homes or in higher-risk areas.
“One of the top priorities right now across the nation is nursing homes,” Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David Goldfein said last week. “I would not want to take tests away from that top national priority for my younger and healthier force. As tests become available, we've tiered them out and we know where we need to put them.”
As of Friday, the DoD had almost 4,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases among its active-duty personnel.
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Reach Elizabeth Howe on Twitter @ECBHowe.
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