{"id":46261,"date":"2020-03-30T17:03:51","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T17:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/30\/responses-to-armys-volunteer-recall-now-top-17000\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:45:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:45:51","slug":"responses-to-armys-volunteer-recall-now-top-17000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/03\/30\/responses-to-armys-volunteer-recall-now-top-17000\/","title":{"rendered":"Responses to Army\u2019s COVID-19 volunteer recall now top 17,000"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More than 17,000 people responded to the Army\u2019s call for medical personnel<\/a> last week, service officials said, and human resources professionals are now sifting through those responses as they vet volunteers to help with the coronavirus pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army surgeon general said Thursday that the volunteers could be used to fill the roles of current medical personnel normally assigned to installation treatment facilities who may be called upon to deploy elsewhere in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respondents were not just retired soldiers from prior medical specialities in the Army, however. They included retirees from a wide array of backgrounds, to include retired personnel from other service branches. The responses also come at a time when unemployment is rising across the country due to the drop in economic activity under the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Army Human Resources Command sent the numbers to the office of the Army\u2019s deputy chief of staff for manpower. Personnel at the command will continue vetting and reaching out to respondents over the next week. The large number of responses will take some time to assess, service officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some respondents, for instance, were former soldiers who did not serve in a medical specialty, but did earn nursing licenses or other certifications after they left the Army. Vetting those people\u2019s qualifications is an ongoing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\t