U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday ordered all soldiers returning to the U.S. from Ebola-stricken countries to undergo a 21-day "controlled monitoring regimen."

"The secretary believes these initial steps are prudent given the large number of military personnel transiting from their home base and West Africa and the unique logistical demands and impact this deployment has on the force," said Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby in a statement.

"The secretary's highest priority is the safety and security of our men and women in uniform and their families," Kirby added.

Defense officials said the policy falls short of being described as a quarantine but soldiers are not allowed to leave the facility or have contact with their family members.

Hagel directed the Joint Chiefs of Staff to create a plan in 15 days of how the monitoring will be applied across the force, and then review the regime in 45 days.

Hagel's order comes a day after the Joint Chiefs recommended what the Pentagon has described as a "quarantine-like" policy, according to the Hill.

Earlier this week, the Army already implemented a policy for all soldiers. Several dozen are being isolated and monitored at their home station in Vicenza, Italy.

The Governor of the region that houses an American army base, however, said on Wednesday that Italy should not allow U.S. soldiers returning from Liberia to be quarantined there.

"I am stunned ... Why should we be stuck with these soldiers who are at risk," Veneto President Luca Zaia said in La Repubblica newspaper.

"They should pack their bags and go home. There is no way we can become a leper hospital," Zaia added, arguing that "Italy has once again shown itself as spineless" by allowing the U.S. soldiers into its territory.

There are about 880 U.S. solders in West Africa, mostly in Liberia, and as many as 4,000 may deploy in the coming months to train healthcare workers, build Ebola treatment units and mobile labs, and help with logistical efforts such as transporting medical supplies.

While Hagel insists this quarantine is not a quarantine, there is still concern by military families.

"I have two kids ... Of course they're worrying about their dad," Lieutenant Colonel Scott Sendmeyer, the chief engineer now in Monrovia, told Reuters by phone earlier this month.

"At the same time, I've shared the training that I've received with my family ... That's the way I (relieve) them of their fears."

Ebola, the hemorrhagic fever which has no proven cure, has killed more than 5,000 people in West Africa since an outbreak that began in March, according to the World Health organization, from a total of over 13,700 cases. More than half the dead have been in Liberia, where the healthcare system is still reeling from a devastating 1989-2003 civil war.