Within hours of becoming aware that medical personnel at the site had been infected with COVID-19 the first of what became a team of 50 ADF doctors and nurses; a pharmacist and radiographer; an environmental health officer and other generalists (and another seven from an Australian Medical Assistance Team) were on their way.

The rapid deployment kept the hospital open and provided critical support to North-West Tasmania.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds beamed. "For more than two weeks they provided support to the people of North West Tasmania including enhanced infection control, primary care, acute resuscitation, minor procedures, and consulting care."

Health Minister Greg Hunt admired. "It's a reflection of just how well prepared we were for the coronavirus outbreak and the extraordinary medical expertise we are able to activate at a moment's notice."

Yes, we were well prepared and yes, we might have even done it - although it's still too soon to relax and the danger of a second wave is always there. R is not equal to zero, yet, and for as long as the virus is out there the risk remains. Thank goodness the ADF was ready, when needed, to plug the hole.

Lieutenant General John Frewen, a former officer, incidentally, of Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell's old battalion, was appointed to take charge of the military's response to the virus in early March, when nobody had any idea what would happen.

He acted quickly, dividing the forces into two teams ("green" and "gold") so that an infection wouldn't disable the force and identifying the key requirements.

The biggest challenge was, of course, just to keep the forces functioning normally and make sure they could continue to do their real job of protecting the country. Isolation worked. The ADF has only suffered the three cases contracted before the virulence of the disease became evident. That (vital) mission accomplished, Frewen then addressed his other critical task - supporting the community.

That's why the medical team was ready to be deployed. It was exactly the mission Defence was ready to accomplish and prepared for. It would have been just the same, of course, had it been another small hospital that was impacted.

Another medical team was also on standby, if it was needed. Other units were also ready, if necessary (as it was in Italy and Spain) to be used for other, far more gruesome tasks because, in those early days, we had no idea of exactly what might be required to 'defeat' this virus.

But that word, just like the general militarisation of language dealing with COVID-19, disguises the obvious fact: a virus is not a military threat. It won't be defeated by guns or ammunition.

Australia's been very lucky with the virus, but you make your own luck.

Sometimes one-off patches work; they certainly did in Burnie. Had it been a huge suburban hospital (like Sydney's Westmead or Canberra, however) the story might not have ended so positively.

It's also important to note that the ADF doesn't have a large, infectious diseases team ready to be deployed to deal with viral outbreaks. Australia was lucky.

Then again, you make your own luck and the Defence team certainly did.

The military has twice in the last six months been called on to help out - once for bushfires; now for COVID-19. Both times it's responded fantastically.

The sight of HMAS Canberra off the coast and whirring of helicopters overhead, coupled with reservists and engineers deploying on the ground, provided reassurance to a traumatised community.

It finally looked as if even Scott Morrison was taking the threat seriously. Similarly with the viral threat. Deploying the hospital team to Burnie was a triumph of messaging; so was using soldiers to back up overstretched police on the Queensland border.

The key point is, however, that on both occasions the ADF was operating our of its arc of responsibility.

While this is the sort of thing a resilient, dynamic force can do both efficiently and effectively, it's not the military's role. Each hour an army helicopter spends flying comes at more than ten times the cost of a civilian one.

Similarly it would be far cheaper to have civilian work teams clearing roads, rather than shifting hugely expensive equipment around the country and getting highly-trained combat engineers to do the work.

Morrison's used the forces' capacity to plug gaping holes in capability to good effect. It's something he's done right through his political life. As Immigration Minister he used the Navy to stop the boats and now he's mobilised the army to stop the virus.

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But it's important the ADF remains part of the back-up plan and doesn't get used to do these extra tasks just because it can.

Frewen was keen to stress that, despite the efforts to combat the viral threat, critical defence functions are still continuing.

There's a warship (HMAS Parramatta) exercising with the US Navy in the South China Sea while cyclone relief efforts continue in the Pacific.

These deployments provide critical assistance for tiny island nations and represent our enduring commitment. This is even more vital now the ABC's packed up its short-wave services that used to keep such communities linked to the world, but then again, that's a cost.

We can't expect Defence to keep filling in the holes. We're in a new world now, a world of existential threats whether viral or climate induced.

At some point we'll need to reconfigure the nation to effectively combat these dangers. We can't continue relying on Defence, just 'cos we can.