Defense Department Senior Leaders Brief Reporters on DOD Efforts Regarding COVID-19

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MARK T. ESPER: Good afternoon, everyone. Yeah, the seats are starting to fill up. Good. Well good afternoon, everyone. I want to begin by expressing my gratitude to the more than 62,000 service members on the front lines in the fight against the coronavirus, including over 3,500 medical personnel staffing civilian medical facilities and embedded operations nationwide. Tomorrow marks the start of National Nurses Week and we salute all nurses, both military and civilian, who have served and are currently serving our nation and our people. Thanks to many of their efforts, we are encouraged to see the situation improving in several of the most impacted areas of the country. ...