The Navy is expanding boot camp for new recruits from eight weeks to 10 weeks, the service announced Friday. Much of the two additional weeks will cover life skills training, addressing sexual harassment, sexual assault, hazing and suicide, AP reported.
Rear Adm. Jennifer Couture, head of Naval Service Training Command, told reporters there is already a focus on character-building and leadership but that the extra two weeks will help reinforce it.
“We’re telling our recruits… here are all of the things that we expect you to do, and here’s how we expect you to behave and act,” Couture said. “We believe very strongly that those types of behaviors are directly impacting our fighting readiness and the performance of our sailors.”
This will be the first major change in how recruits are trained in almost 20 years.
Navy photo by Seaman Shelby Robinson