Face masks are now part of military uniform according to guidance issued by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper over the weekend.
"Effective immediately, all individuals on DoD property, installations, and facilities will wear cloth face coverings when they cannot maintain six feet of social distance in public areas or work centers," the Department of Defense memo read. "This guidance applies to all service members, DOD civilians, contractors, families (apart from residences on installations) and all other individuals on DOD property."
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As for where the Defense Department community is to obtain these face coverings — the memo instructed that they "fashion."
"All individuals are encouraged to fashion face coverings from household items or common materials, such as clean T-shirts or other clean cloths that can cover the nose and mouth area," the memo read.
Medical-grade personal protective equipment like N95 or surgical masks will not be issued, Esper's directive said, leaving that equipment available for professional medical personnel amid the nation's shortage.
There is a range of exceptions to this new policy. While face coverings are encouraged in all public spaces, they are only required when individuals must be within six feet of each other. The memo also included the catch-all caveat of "to the extent practical."
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"Exceptions to this requirement may be approved by local commanders or supervisors, and then submitted up the chain of command for situational awareness," the memo reads. "Security checkpoints may require the lowering of face covers to verify identification."
The directive comes days after similar guidance was communicated from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control that instructed all individuals wear masks in public — even if these are non-surgical, cloth masks only.
The Department of Defense has faced significant criticism recently regarding its lack of mitigation efforts among service members — notably including the quickly escalating the coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt that resulted in the removal of her captain, Brett Crozier.
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"DoD supports, and will continue to implement, all measures necessary to mitigate risks to the spread of the disease, consistent with the Department's priorities to protect our people, safeguard our national security capabilities, and support the government's whole-of-nation response," Esper's statement reads.
As of Monday morning, the DoD had 2,528 confirmed COVID-19 cases across the force. This includes 1,435 active duty service members.
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