{"id":16420,"date":"2020-06-30T22:21:39","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T22:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/30\/soldiers-in-fort-braggs-sere-course-experience-covid-19-outbreak\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:55:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:55:52","slug":"soldiers-in-fort-braggs-sere-course-experience-covid-19-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/06\/30\/soldiers-in-fort-braggs-sere-course-experience-covid-19-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Soldiers in Fort Bragg\u2019s SERE course experience COVID-19 outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Soldiers in attendance at the Army survival training course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina<\/a>, experienced an outbreak of coronavirus cases<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were 90 positive COVID-19 cases among 110 individuals. About 82 of the 90 cases were students, with the rest being cadre, said Janice Burton, a spokeswoman for the Army\u2019s John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School<\/a>, which runs the program, known as Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, or SERE training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The class was six hours from completion, said Burton. The entire SERE course lasts roughly three weeks. All 110 individuals were quarantined after the outbreak and the next class won\u2019t start again until July 13, Burton added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were already heading into a natural break with the 4th of July weekend, so we\u2019ve extended that out further,\u201d Burton told Army Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news was first reported<\/a> by the New York Times. A unit press release stated that individuals in the SERE course are \u201cnaturally isolated\u201d from other students in different training courses run by the Special Warfare Center and School, or SWCS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire SERE class was tested after a few individuals exhibited COVID-19 symptoms. So far, none of the cases have resulted in hospitalizations and most positive cases are not showing symptoms, said Burton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are roughly 2,400 students at SWCS at any given point in time. Command officials there have said they\u2019re testing all students when they arrive for training, and regularly screening them throughout the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe health and wellness of our students and staff is our top priority,\u201d said Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, SWCS commanding general and commandant of the school, in a statement on the outbreak. \u201cWe will do everything we can to protect our students and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n