The Department of Defense announced plans to extend its stop movement order to June 30.
Last week, the active-duty component saw its single highest one-day jump in COVID-19 cases with more than 400 new confirmed cases.
On March 16 a DoD stop movement went into effect placing travel restrictions on all DoD personnel through May 11 in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Travel restrictions included permanent changes of station, temporary duty assignments and personal leave. It did provide certain exceptions — and with the June 30 extension, those exceptions should be allowed more liberally.
The extension is still awaiting final approval from Secretary of Defense Mark Esper but is expected to be released sometime Monday. Until the official release, senior military personnel were only able to provide vague information on what exceptions will be made and what "liberally" really means.
According to the Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness Matthew Donovan, deployments and redeployments will resume under the extended stop movement order. Some PCS moves will be allowed to continue. Those in the middle of a TDY will be allowed to return home.
Waivers will also be granted for travel deemed necessary because of personal hardship, humanitarian and mission-related reasons on a case-by-case basis. Those who are pending retirement or military separation will largely be allowed to travel.
Donovan was unable to provide specifics on how many waivers have been submitted and how many have been granted. He also said that personal leave would continue to be largely restricted.
The undersecretary also said that the June 30 date is not set in stone. Esper will be officially reviewing the situation every two weeks and adjusting the length of the stop movement based on that review. Restrictions could be lifted earlier. They could also extend beyond June 30.
"I never say never," Donovan said when pushed on his prognosis of the situation.
However, if reports of COVID-19 cases within the DoD are any indicator, the department still has a ways to go before the situation begins to improve. While Esper has said on numerous occasions that he can see a "light at the end of the tunnel," the DoD just last week saw its largest single-day jump in active duty COVID-19 cases with more than 400 additional service members diagnosed overnight Wednesday.
Click here for additional data.
As of last Friday, the Department of Defense reported a total of 4,849 COVID-19 cases across the force with 2,986 in the active-duty component. This includes 19 deaths.
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Reach Elizabeth Howe on Twitter @ECBHowe.
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