Mark Esper

SecDef Esper is calling on rank-and-file troops to speak up if their units are doing something potentially unsafe.

He is also putting the Pentagon and its grounds on "Health Protection Condition C."

Esper said the Military Health System, or MHS, currently has enough equipment, such as masks, gowns and ventilators.

Esper did not say how the woman was brought out safely from Honduras, which has closed its borders during the pandemic.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper is pledging to improve the way troops are treated while in coronavirus quarantine.

"Over the years, we have stacked up crisis response forces and ... we never actually use them," Esper said.

It will take more than a pandemic to take down the DoD's nerve center.

"The situation is quite serious," U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said.

The possible furlough of 9,000 civilian workers could impact U.S. troops and families in South Korea.

"I think peace deserves a chance," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said.