In a move to prevent an outbreak among recruits at Boot Camp, the staff is getting restricted to base for up to 90 days, according to an email obtained by Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will move all staff onboard Recruit Training Command] at 1800 Thursday night,\u201d the email from Command Master Chief David Twiford said. \u201cNo one will be allowed to leave the installation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The email detailed some limited exceptions to the order, such as single parents with no alternative child care, but that for the most part everyone was going to comply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want to take care of families but our families will have to be able to for the most part function without us for a bit, just like when we deploy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A mass restriction of active duty training staff on shore duty to the base is an extreme measure, one that points to the severity of the threat. It\u2019s a move that the Navy says is designed to protect a vital training pipeline as the service tries to push through the pandemic while limiting the impact to the fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an email to Navy Times, Naval Service Training Command spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Martin said the move, which affects all active duty service members assigned to RTC, was meant to \u201cminimize the chance of the virus infecting this vital accessions pipeline for the Navy and ensure our ability to man the Fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRTC recognizes this will place additional burden on its Sailors, who are already performing an arduous mission during their shore duty, and together with their families, trying to navigate this national crisis,\u201d Martin wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe understand and greatly appreciate the sacrifice these Sailors and their families are making, but given the extraordinary circumstances we are in, this action must be taken to ensure the ability to protect our recruits and staff while creating basically trained Sailors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his email, Twiford said pets would not be a reason to stay off base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martin, meanwhile, said the community was stepping up to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStaff members are being asked to exhaust all available options and make an effort to find suitable places for their pets,\u201d he said. \u201cThankfully there are shipmates, family, friends, and neighbors who are stepping up to help with animal care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Navy has instituted a 14-day restricted period for recruits entering boot camp where RTC is \u201cmaintaining strict hygiene policy, increased social distancing when possible, and adjustment of staff procedures to limit potential spread and contamination,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the restricted period, recruits sleep at least six feet apart but once they start normal training, recruits are still marching in close formation and sitting in classes together, while maintaining distance \u201cwhere applicable,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Navy has taken an extreme step to try to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak at boot camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":62956,"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":61,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"6":{"categories":["daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"daily-news-roundup"}}},"categories":[61,101,23,88,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3231],"class_list":["post-31749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coronavirus","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"VXGABFVFZRGDZL54NAFICPMMPE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/coronavirus\/2020\/03\/25\/the-navy-is-locking-down-the-staff-at-navy-boot-camp\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n