Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the military

Armed forces play a crucial role when responding to crises and emergencies. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, militaries were readily deployed in many countries to assist the civilian medical personnel and overwhelmed hospitals by creating additional hospitals and providing other additional resources.[1] Apart from the management of the health crises, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the military operations. The security and defence related aspects including the missions, operations and training were adversely affected with the Covid-19.[2] The broad spread of Covid can limit the defence forces' ability to carry out a mission. Many military training and exercises have been postponed or cancelled.[3]

  1. ^ Kalkman, J., 2021. Military crisis responses to COVID‐19. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 29(1), pp.99-103.
  2. ^ European Parliament, 2021. How the COVID-19 crisis has affected security and defence-related aspects of the EU. [online] Europarl.europa.eu. Available at: <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2021/653623/EXPO_IDA(2021)653623_EN.pdf> [Accessed 6 July 2022].
  3. ^ Hurt, Martin (2020-03-17). "The impact of COVID-19 on military exercises in Europe". icds.ee.