‘Don’t follow the tinfoil-hat club.’ Fort Benning general says COVID vaccines are way forward
Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe, the commanding general of Fort Benning and The Maneuver Center of Excellence, stressed the importance of COVID-19 vaccination as the post continues to ease restrictions.
It was one of several topics Donahoe addressed during his State of Fort Benning conversation alongside Greater Columbus GA Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Jerald Mitchell Friday morning.
Donahoe, who served as Benning’s chief of staff from 2014 to 2016, took command of the post in July 2020 following the promotion of Maj. Gen. Gary Brito to lieutenant general and assignment as the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel in Washington, D.C.
Donahoe arrived in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking immediate steps to tighten restrictions on both soldiers and civilian workers at one of the nation’s largest military training grounds. Nearly a third of the nation’s fighting force touches Fort Benning.
Earlier this month, post leadership relaxed some coronavirus restrictions on masks, ceremonies and official visits. But having soldiers and community members vaccinated remains key to the post’s operation, Donahoe said.
“We encourage everyone who is going to interact with a soldier to be vaccinated,” he said. “We still keep our soldiers that are going through our training pipeline. That’s the most vulnerable portion of our population — the folks we have living together in open bay barracks, 60 people in the same room every night. That’s a hot house for any kind of contagious disease. We’ve got to be focused on that. ...We are not done.”
COVID-19 at Fort Benning
COVID-19 remains a concern at Fort Benning, even as restrictions are eased.
The latest order from post leaders in mid-June allows fully vaccinated people to go maskless with the exception of certain gyms and all medical facilities. Those who are unvaccinated must wear a mask. Graduation ceremonies are open, but attendees must show proof they’ve tested negative for COVID-19 in the last 72 hours or that they’ve been fully vaccinated.
“I encourage every one of you to do the research,” Donahoe said. “Don’t follow the tinfoil-hat club that’s somewhere online. Do research. Go to CDC.org and read about. ...This is incredibly safe. It’s new technology.”
Donahoe said Columbus’ vaccination rates are too low. As of June 24, only 29% of the county’s residents are fully vaccinated. Georgia’s fully vaccinated rate is 33%, and 45.6% of U.S. residents are completely immunized, according to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“That’s not enough,” he said. “We need to get our population to about 70% vaccinated to give us the immunity we need as a community. ...There’s an economic impact to that because that’s one of the indicators we are looking at to allow our soldiers to go downtown during their cycle breaks from our training. ...That’s a shared responsibility between the community and the fort.”
Cases tied to Chattahoochee County, the area where post residents and soldiers in training are counted in the state’s public health data, are well down from the peaks. Yet, the county is reporting more cases than Columbus, its larger neighbor, partly due to the rigorous testing protocol utilized for new soldiers and trainees.
As of June 24, Chattahoochee County reported 124 COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks. Muscogee County reported 66 over the same period.
“At the height of the pandemic, we were seeing 18 to 20% of every soldier getting off the bus coming in from around the country was COVID positive,” he said. “The numbers we’re isolating and quarantining today pale in comparison. We’re seeing a rate of 2 to 4%.”
During the one-hour conversation, Donahoe also touched on several other issues regarding the post. The commander stressed the importance of robotics in modern warfare and praised the efforts of Columbus State University President Chris Markwood.
Ensuring spouses of soldiers are employed once they move to the area is also key, Donahoe added.
“The future is bright,” he said. “If you’re on Fort Benning, you’ve got to wear sunglasses. ... I don’t see imminent growth, and I don’t see any imminent constricting of what we do. Fort Benning is in a very very solid place.”
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 1:34 PM.