Fact Checked Source: US Department Of Defense, "Rumor Control" 

On April 15, 2020 the US Department of Defense shared information to stop the spread of misinformation that can affect military members and their families. https://www.defense.gov/explore/spotlight/coronavirus/rumor-control/

Five Facts Checked 

Myth One - Military medical facilities are not providing routine care and shuting down pharamcies. 

According to the DOD, prescriptions will continue to be provided at military facilities. Elective procedure have been postponed for 60 days, but there are exceptions. One if the procedure is needed to maintain deployability or the healthcare provider determines that postponing the procedure will cause harm. 

Myth Two - The US military has been slow to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak. 

On Janurary 30th the DOD issued the Force Protection Guidance for the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak, to protect servicemembers, families, civilians, and contract employees.  

Myth Three - U.S. service members visiting China were the source of the coronavirus outbreak.
 

Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper have denounce these reports made by the Chinese government. "For the Chinese government come out and make a statement like that’s completely ridiculous and it’s irresponsible, and it doesn’t get us to where we need to be," said Dr. Mark T. Esper, Secretary of Defense. 

Myth Four - Our Adversities will exploit the crisis. 
 

Right now, we are in a difficult time, and protecting people is the main goal of DOD. The DOD plans to continue to support the nation as a whole. 

Myth Five - The U.S. military is implementing martial law.
 

Secretary Esper stated the following,"... the president has approved mobilizing National Guard troops under Title 32 status, which provides them full access to federal resources, but still allows them to be managed by the state government. To be clear, this is not a move toward martial law, as some have erroneously claimed" (DOD, 2020). 

Analytical Essay 

Like many others affected by the disease so was my family. Dr. Michael Berneking is an occupational medical doctor, father, and he is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the US army. Currently, he is working in the temporary hospital, in Detroit Michigan. Most people can come home to their families when the working day is over, but because my dad is deployed in an emergency hospital, he is away from his family until further notice.  Surrounded by the Covid-19 patients, in the emergency hospital everyday gives him a unique perspective.

As Dr. Berneking walks through the cold hospital, walls are nonexistent, doors are replaced by sheets and no loved ones are in sight. The hospital is based out of a warehouse, cubicles make up the rooms, no TVs, no visitors, and no phones.  Seeing the effects of the disease, besides the physical aspect he feels that people need to be more united. One of the worst parts of the disease is watching people drift away without saying goodbye to loved ones. He cares about the health of his patients, family, and colleagues, this is a prime example of why we need to be more united. Everyone has someone they care about and that where unity comes in. People need to follow the restrictions put in place by the government because it will save lives. Since, Dr. Berneking is surrounded by infected patients, he has gained an appreciation for his colleagues that come from many different backgrounds, relearning and reusing skills that he does not ordinarily use in his everyday practice.  He also appreciates the dedication that people have put in, like building a hospital from scratch, and multiple organizations coming together to work as one. It is clear that the people working to fight the disease stand together, “Brig. Gen. Richard R. Neely, the adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard. ‘We value the longstanding, enduring friendships we’ve established with the Polish over more than 26 years. Illinois National Guard soldiers have fought side-by-side with Polish soldiers in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and now we fight a whole different type of enemy together’” (Altaman, 2020). The gratitude runs deep as people put their lives on the line to stop the pandemic.  Putting himself on the front line Dr. Berneking has lost time with his family, his civilian practice has suffered, and he has taken an economic loss. However, he is grateful for what he does have. 

In regard to the current situation meaning covid, Dr. Berneking values that he has a job, and that his family is safe and healthy. He values his colleagues, work ethic, time, and dedication. He is doing the best he can to help his patients. He appreciates that he can support Michigan's army mission, give good advice as a physician to military leaders, finish the mission, and come home to his family. Before he can come home to his family along with the other 43,700 troops mobilized, people have to start getting better and the disease has to stop spreading (Altman, 2020).  For this to happen the public needs to be informed.

There so many facts that are very important to him, how the disease spreads, how many people carry the disease but are asymptomatic, how good are the tests, what are false negative and positive rates, long term effects of the disease, can people get reinfected with the virus, and are people following doctor's recommendations. These facts are important to him because he wants people to realize that they could be hurting others if they are not informed. 

Training for the military gives Dr. Berneking unique skills that other doctors may not possess, such as leadership, organization, resilience, being adaptive, and working in a chaotic and unpredictable environment. Dr. Berneking clearly stated, “I can’t do this alone.” He needs many people to get the task done, colleagues who have critical care skills, case managers, mental health professionals, experts in infectious disease and epidemiology, research scientists making tests and vaccines, contact tracers, public health officials, without this team of professionals he couldn’t do it. This goes back again to unity and everyone working together to help. I found the theme of my dads interview to be unity, we all should work together so we can stop the pandemic and see loved ones again.

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