The effectiveness of U.S. military intervention on Ebola depends on the government’s will and vision to direct vast military resources towards a public health response

Last month, the U.S, launched Operation United Assistance, consisting of 3,000 troops deployed to West Africa in order to tackle the spread of Ebola in that region. Sharon Abramowitz, Olga Rodriguez, and Greig Arendt look at whether or not U.S. military intervention is a good or a bad thing. They write that the U.S. military should learn from its mistakes in previous disaster response relief operations, such as in Haiti, and ensure that it operates an effective chain of command, communications, transport, and maintains food security in the region. They argue that a worst case scenario can still be avoided if the U.S. military pursues a population based strategy that diffuses resources and skills throughout the effected centres.