{"id":25645,"date":"2020-08-27T10:50:09","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T10:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/27\/social-distancing-at-sea-during-the-worlds-largest-naval-exercise\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:45:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:45:05","slug":"social-distancing-at-sea-during-the-worlds-largest-naval-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/08\/27\/social-distancing-at-sea-during-the-worlds-largest-naval-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"Social distancing at sea, during the world\u2019s largest naval exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Honolulu \u2015 This year\u2019s Rim of the Pacific exercise<\/a> looks quite a bit different, thanks to COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s still the world\u2019s largest maritime exercise<\/a>, but there\u2019s a lot less international face time this year, as social distancing has replaced the time that troops might have spent visiting each other\u2019s ships or simulating missions together on land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough we\u2019re not physically together and intermingled with each other doing joint operations, we\u2019re still conducting operations together,\u201d a chief assigned to the amphibious assault ship Essex<\/a>, who was not authorized to speak on the record, told Military Times on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An alumnus of RIMPAC 2018 \u2015 the exercise is held every other year \u2015 the chief said the crew is still getting the experience of working with partner countries, if only over the radio, while senior leaders are \u201cmeeting\u201d over secure video calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only is the Essex social-distancing from the roughly two dozen other countries participating in RIMPAC, they are religiously living their own infectious-disease mitigation protocol on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sailors assemble in the hangar bay of the amphibious assault ship Essex for an all-hands call hosted by Defense Secretary Mark Esper during the 2020 Rim of the Pacific exercise on Aug. 27, 2020. (Meghann Myers\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two ships, the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and the destroyer Kidd, have had outbreaks since the beginning of the pandemic, forcing the Navy to implement strict rules for ships underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start, the entire Essex crew moved on board two weeks ahead of their early August departure from Naval Base San Diego, weeding out anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At sea, sailors are wearing masks consistently, as well as carving out as much distance as they can on an unavoidably cramped ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs of right now, we try to stagger the racks,\u201d the chief said, keeping berthing areas half full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At meal times, every other seat is left open, and sailors rotate in and out during meal times, to avoid everyone trying to get chow all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\t