{"id":37629,"date":"2018-11-24T02:56:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T02:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/24\/not-your-daddys-boot-camp-why-great-lakes-got-tougher-2\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:12:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:12:53","slug":"not-your-daddys-boot-camp-why-great-lakes-got-tougher-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/11\/24\/not-your-daddys-boot-camp-why-great-lakes-got-tougher-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Not your daddy\u2019s boot camp \u2014 why Great Lakes got tougher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">RECRUIT TRAINING COMMAND, Ill. \u2014 When Seaman Recruit Donald Vosburgh left the Texas city of Beaumont for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bootcamp.navy.mil\/\" target=_blank>Great Lakes<\/a>, he thought he was prepped for boot camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGetting through here was a big challenge,\u201d said Vosburgh, who\u2019s now training to become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.public.navy.mil\/seabee\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=_blank>Seabee<\/a>. &#8220;My dad is a retired boatswain\u2019s mate and I\u2019ve heard about the Navy my whole life, so I thought I was ready for this. But I was surprised just how tough this was, day in and day out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA real challenge is the only way I can describe it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 39,000 recruits probably reach the same conclusion annually at Great Lakes, the only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/23\/new-boot-camp-ribbon-prompts-disbelief-jokes\/\" target=_blank>enlisted boot camp<\/a> left in the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/11\/15\/new-navy-recruits-will-have-to-pass-a-run-test-starting-in-january\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"272\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95.jpg_179ab2.jpg?w=272\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy recruits will have to pass a run test prior to boot camp starting in January<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">If new Navy recruits cannot pass the new run test, they&#039;ll have to go home.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past 14 months, Navy leaders have made recruit training tougher. Senior leaders told Navy Times that they\u2019ve revamped more than 60 percent of the eight-week curriculum to return the enlisted rite of passage to the gritty fundamentals of physical fitness, standing watch and waging war at sea: fighting fires, damage control and force protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s more time hands on and less computer-based training \u2014 reps and sets doing things they\u2019ll need to know when they get to the fleet,\u201d said<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bootcamp.navy.mil\/CO.html\" target=_blank> Capt. Erik Thors<\/a>, Recruit Training Command\u2019s skipper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"685\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes1.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41641\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes1.jpg.jpg 940w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes1.jpg.jpg?resize=300,219 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes1.jpg.jpg?resize=768,560 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Construction Mechanic 1st Class (SCW) Jeremy Pratt greets recruits as they get off the bus from Chicago O\u2019Hare International Airport during a \u201cNight of Arrival.\u201d (Mark D. Faram\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The man who oversees all of the Navy\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.public.navy.mil\/netc\/nstc\/training.aspx\" target=_blank>accessions training programs<\/a> except at the U.S. Naval Academy \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navy.mil\/navydata\/bios\/bio.asp?bioID=987\" target=_blank>Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi <\/a>\u2014 said sailors must come ready to train, or they won\u2019t train at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the fifth day of boot camp, all recruits must meet the \u201cforming standard\u201d for physical fitness. For men, that means completing a 1.5-mile run in 16 minutes and 10 seconds. Women must do it in 18 minutes and 37. If they fail, they retake the test within 48 hours. If they don\u2019t beat the stopwatch, they could be discharged if efforts at remediation to get them up to snuff fail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If they want to come back to Great Lakes they need a waiver from Navy Recruiting Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bernacchi, Thors and other senior officers understand that tougher standards like this will weed out more recruits. Since instituting the \u201cforming standard,\u201d 2 percent more recruits were shown the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m OK with that,\u201d said Bernacchi. \u201cNot everybody can be a sailor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/10\/26\/navy-fires-commanding-officer-of-training-support-center-great-lakes\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"181\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mesk2.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy fires commanding officer of Training Support Center Great Lakes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Rear Adm. Kyle Cozad, the commander of Naval Education and Training Command, relieved Capt. Mark Meskimen.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Making boot camp tougher, especially at the beginning of the training cycle, dramatically shifted the \u201cattrition profile\u201d at Great Lakes, Bernacchi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the reforms, most recruits who failed dropped out around the sixth week of entry-level training, not during the initial two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOnce you get through the first couple of weeks your chances of graduating are now higher and we\u2019re wasting less time on people who fall out later in training,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rate of recruits failing boot camp in the last stages of training has fallen from 7 percent to 2 percent since the reforms took effect, officials say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What hasn\u2019t changed is the fact that about 70 percent of those who get sent home were found to have some kind of pre-existing medical condition that went undetected before they arrived at Great Lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bermacchi and other Navy officials are working with the joint Military Entrance and Processing Command to fix that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1028\" height=\"685\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes2.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes2.jpg.jpg 1028w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes2.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes2.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes2.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1028px) 100vw, 1028px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tears that build confidence. Recruits take part in a rite of passage that goes back decades at Great Lakes, learning to rely on their equipment to protect them from potentially deadly gases. (Mark D. Faram\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re not ready, you don\u2019t start boot camp,&#8221; said Thors. &#8221; If you don\u2019t meet the most basic standard, you don\u2019t get to enter. The standard is maintained and it\u2019s not dropped for anybody or anything. Period. If they don\u2019t meet the standard, we send that person home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past, lax standards allowed recruits to graduate if they passed the physical fitness test, a multiple-choice exam and the third-class swim evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They now must pass not only individual skill tests at multiple stages of training, but their team has to ace them, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf they don\u2019t pass, you don\u2019t get to go to the next phase,\u201d said Bernacchi. \u201cThink pre-deployment training in the fleet. It\u2019s the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/09\/02\/maritime-accidents-boost-interest-in-us-naval-academy-training\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/accidents.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Maritime accidents boost interest in US Naval Academy training<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The training is designed to make students put their classroom navigation knowledge to use at sea.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sparking some of the reforms was a directive by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis \u2014 a retired Marine general \u2014 to discard any training that failed to improve \u201clethality,\u201d the ability for sailors to fight, survive and win sea battles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A visit from the fleet master chiefs also sent the message that deckplate leaders were concerned they were getting sailors overburdened by extraneous administrative training and devoid of the basic skills they needed to use on warships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The innovations gathered speed after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/ship-collisions\/\" target=_blank>the collisions last year in the western Pacific that killed 17 sailors<\/a> onboard the guided-missile destroyers Fitzgerald and John S. McCain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t have to do with firefighting, damage control, seamanship, force protection or watch standing, we flushed it,\u201d Bernacchi said. \u201cWe flushed over two weeks of curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/11\/02\/navy-sees-recruiting-challenges-on-the-horizon\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"183\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Recruiting.jpg_9dd7df.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy sees recruiting challenges on the horizon<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Navy hopes more recruiters, beefier enlistment bonuses and a wider social media outreach will help bring in the next generation of sailors.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy officials reached out to university experts to bring the science of learning to boot camp. They launched pilot programs and charted what worked and what didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They found that rote memorization dolloped out during long lectures or paraded across computer screens had to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou need to give it to them in bite size chunks \u2014 30 minutes to an hour, max, and if you do that, you can improve their long-term retention up to 40 percent,\u201d said Bernacchi. \u201cAll of us do better with hands-on training, so we literally took computer labs we had, removed all the desks and turned them into labs for damage control, firefighting and seamanship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The idea now is to give recruits the core knowledge they must master before they join their commands. The fleet will refine and refresh those lessons throughout their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn these reworked labs, you will see these homemade trainers, built with lumber purchased out in town,\u201d Bernacchi said. &#8221; We went out in town and contracted with a metal shop to build the bollards and chocks. Yes, these are low fidelity props that do high-value training.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recruits can grab firefighting gear to practice how quickly they can don a self-contained breathing apparatus. There are hatches on wheels to practice the proper techniques for entering spaces filled with smoke or flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They can test their damage control skills on sections of pipe that need patches. Other rooms simulate a warship\u2019s weather deck or a nearby pier, helping to hone their seamanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve increased firefighting, damage control and seamanship hands-on time by at least 500 percent,\u201d Bernacchi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By making every barracks into a \u201cship,\u201d Navy instructors now expect sailors to man watch stations and protect their vessel around the clock, including roving patrols and duty on the quarterdeck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are fake gauges recruits have to monitor. Recruit division commanders set the needles and they expect them to log the settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf a recruit gundecks a reading, we\u2019ll take them to captain\u2019s mast, public mast and they\u2019ll get fined real money,&#8221; said Bernacchi. &#8220;That\u2019s a lesson for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the middle of the night, the RDCs will yell that a man is overboard. When they start training, recruits must account for all shipmates withing 10 minutes. Before they graduate, they have five minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s no guarantee for eight hours sleep in boot camp anymore,&#8221; said Bernacchi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pilot programs proved to the Navy that getting tougher on recruits instead of coddling them led to higher graduation rates. The key now is to hike a recruit\u2019s \u201cresiliency\u201d \u2014 learning to take a hit and then get back into the fight without shutting down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To Thors, that\u2019s a lesson that works in battle or in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe do not want sailors to buckle,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen the ship takes a missile and shrapnel flies or maybe their shipmate doesn\u2019t make it and they find themselves in a compartment that\u2019s flooding. Are they clutch enough to make a decision on their own and be the one to close the hatch? And sailors know what that means \u2014 the difficult decision to save the ship, to keep fighting the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ladle on the Navy\u2019s core values of honor, courage and commitment and Bernacchi thinks the concept has been proven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAfter trying this in three pilots and almost 1,000 recruits, the attrition rates for the warrior toughness divisions were about half of the control divisions, who weren\u2019t getting the toughness training and were only given extra quiet time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bernacchi said that recruits with the tougher treatment scored higher on their fitness tests, personnel inspections and academic exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not a magic pill,\u201d Bernacchi said. \u201cBut we honestly believe if given the right tools to cope, that we are seeing a lot of success with this. It\u2019s combination of sports psychology and mindfulness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"986\" height=\"699\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes4.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes4.jpg.jpg 986w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes4.jpg.jpg?resize=300,213 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lakes4.jpg.jpg?resize=768,544 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 986px) 100vw, 986px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Great Lakes officials told Navy Times that boot camp got tougher and recruits responded with higher graduation rates and rising scores on academic exams, physical fitness tests and personnel inspections. (Mark D. Faram\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What hasn\u2019t changed is that all the stages in training culminate in \u201cBattleStations 21,&#8221; a voyage aboard the USS Trayer, a building at Recruiting Training Command that\u2019s named after the first chief petty officer to train and graduate recruits at Great Lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If they don\u2019t pass the overnight exercise onboard the mock-up of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, they don\u2019t graduate boot camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey can fail as a team and they can fail individually. And if you are wondering if we\u2019ve failed an entire division, that answer is yes,&#8221; said Bernacchi.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/05\/11\/navys-new-dress-white-uniforms-on-display-at-recruit-training-command\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/180406-N-IY633-1011.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy\u2019s new dress white uniforms put on display at Recruit Training Command<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">This may come as a shock, but the Navy is rolling out a new uniform.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next round of major reforms likely will follow plans to revamp the USS Trayer and other facilities at Great Lakes, probably after 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unveiled in 2007 as part of a 10-year, $763 million upgrade to the training facilities, the USS Trayer deploys a battery of video screens, odors and sound effects to simulate war at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe want put the Trayer in overhaul and update the scenarios,\u201d Bernacchi said. \u201cIt\u2019s great and we love it, but at 11 years she needs an overhaul. We want to be able to use McCain and Fitzgerald, to turn on a dime to make it relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The firefighting trainer at Great Lakes was built merely for familiarization, not the sort of inferno sailors might encounter in battle. But with the right tools and facilities, Navy leaders think they can graduate recruits with Level One firefighting and damage control capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe did a couple of pilots, taking some recruits and got them trained to Level One firefighting and they smoked it,\u201d Bernacchi said. \u201cWe just need the training facilities and we can give COs in the fleet the most precious gift in the world \u2014 time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past 14 months, Navy leaders have made recruit training tougher. Senior leaders told Navy Times that they\u2019ve revamped more than 60 percent of the eight-week curriculum to return the enlisted rite of passage to the gritty fundamentals of physical fitness, standing watch and waging war at sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":41636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":88,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[143,15,35,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3250],"class_list":["post-37629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-good-news-report","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZJTQ66CENJDJBFGDPDEH26P5UY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/11\/24\/not-your-daddys-boot-camp-why-great-lakes-got-tougher-2\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Not your daddy\u2019s boot camp \u2014 why Great Lakes got tougher - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the past 14 months, Navy leaders have made recruit training tougher. 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