(CNN) President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday afternoon that could potentially lead to former active duty military members being recalled into service to help with the government's coronavirus response.

"This will allow to us mobilize medical disaster and emergency response personnel to help wage our battle against the virus by activating thousands of experienced service members including retirees," Trump told reporters Friday.

The order grants the Defense secretary the authority to order up members, but as of now there is no indication of that happening. Such a call is usually used when the military is in need of specific skill sets.

"Decisions about which individuals may be activated are still being reviewed. Generally, these members will be persons in Headquarters units and persons with high demand medical capabilities whose call-up would not adversely affect their civilian communities," Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said in a statement late Friday.

"This is a dynamic situation, we do not currently have a projected number of expected activations, but the Department is now fully authorized to make activations as needed," Hoffman said.

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