Local troops could be sent to West Africa in the fight against Ebola

Troops from Colorado Springs could be sent to West Africa to help with the fight against Ebola, as part of a new U.S. strategy.

It would take about two weeks to get 3,000 U.S. forces there, according to White House officials. That’s double the amount of U.S. troops currently in Iraq for the Isis threat

Those soldiers could include some from Fort Carson, where more than 100 soldiers reunited with their families at Tuesday morning, returning home after six months in Afghanistan.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world to be able to come back and get to be back with my family,” said Anthony Benson, a soldier returning home.

But Fort Carson soldiers and troops across the country could be packing up again soon, this time for West Africa for medical and logistical support.

“I don’t know if this is our fight to fight. We fight everything in every country. We have so much going on now in this country. Children that don’t have enough to eat, seniors who don’t have the care they need to get,” said Cherri Hayes in Colorado Springs.

Mark LeBlanc is an army veteran with a son training to be an Army medic.

“Next time, it could be him over there with his hands on those patients, so yes I’m concerned,” said LeBlanc.

He’s concerned for good reason. Ebola has killed nearly 2,500 people in West Africa.

“Even more concerning is those poor troops that maybe don’t have the medical training, but they are the ones on guard. They have been through so much already,” said LeBlanc.

But those soldiers may be getting ready to fight a new and different enemy.

The U.S also hopes to train health care workers, as many as 500 per week, to help deal with the outbreak.

Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of sick patients, making doctors and nurses especially vulnerable.