US military expected to announce halt to troop and family relocation moves in areas impacted by coronavirus US military expected to announce a halt to US troop and family relocation moves in areas imp

Washington CNN — The US military is expected to announce a 60-day pause on all previously scheduled moves for troops and their families in areas significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a defense official with direct knowledge of the discussions. That announcement comes as US military leaders announced a joint exercise in Africa would be scaled back to protect forces from potential coronavirus exposure. The directive would impact so-called ‘Permanent Change of Station’ moves that routinely occur for US troops and their families when they move to another part of the world on orders from the US military. If that happens the effects will be much more significant,” said Cancian, who also flagged the Pentagon discussions about pausing military exercises around the world. Also Tuesday, US military leaders announced that they would be scaling back the size and scope of the African Lion military exercise with Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal “to minimize exposure of US and partner nation service members to the novel coronavirus.” “The safety and protection of all of our forces – US and partner nation – is a priority,” Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of US Africa Command, said in a statement.