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Fort Bliss Soldiers To Deploy For Ebola Mission

FORT BLISS, Texas (AP) — About 75 soldiers from a West Texas Army post are being deployed this weekend to West Africa as part of a U.S. military mission in areas affected by the Ebola outbreak.

The Fort Bliss soldiers will go on seven flights carrying heavy equipment such as generators, containers and helicopters. About 500 Fort Bliss soldiers are expected to eventually be deployed.

Fort Bliss spokesman Lt. Col. Lee Peters says the advance party of soldiers is being deployed to guarantee that conditions, facilities and logistics are set up for the arrival of additional troops.

The World Health Organization reports that more than 10,000 people have been infected with Ebola in this outbreak and nearly half of these individuals have died.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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