FRIDAY FOTO (April 10, 2020)

Change of Plans.

(U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Adam Armstrong)

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, these Army parachute riggers have turned into mask makers.

Parachute riggers assigned to the Group Support Battalion of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) sew protective masks for patients at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington on  April 1, 2020.

The 1st Special Forces Group (A) riggers repurposed their sewing machines — typically used to repair parachutes — to assemble surgical masks.  “The Aerial Delivery Platoon will be able to produce 200 [masks] per day initially, with only five lightweight sewing machines,” said the battalion’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Jones.

On April 8, the Defense Department issued guidance for all military commanders and managers on cloth face mask protection. It directed that “to the extent practical, all individuals on Department of Defense property. installations and facilities are required to wear cloth  face coverings when they cannot maintain six feet of social distance in public areas or work centers” like a submarine or airplane cockpit.