New Navy and Marine Corps recruits are still required to quarantine for two weeks before starting their training, and training commands have said that system may continue well into next year, along with other coronavirus mitigation efforts, USNI News reported.
Despite early pauses in the number of recruits, the pace of training hasn’t been negatively impacted, they said.
“We have all the recruits we need in our pool,” Marine Corps Training and Education Command Maj. Gen. William Mullen told reporters this week. “It’s just a case of putting them through the squad bays.”
The Navy is still on pace to add 40,800 new sailors for the current fiscal year, according to Rear Adm. Milton Sands, commander of Naval Service Training Command.
“We’ve been able to make this increase and continue training throughout the pandemic using a combination of risk-mitigation procedures to protect our force and continue our mission,” Sands said.
Training has changed for Coast Guard cadets, too, as ADC’s On Base reported.
Navy photo by Seaman Apprentice Mikal Chapman