Recruit Training Command appreciative of U.S. Army Fort McCoy support

GREAT LAKES, IL, UNITED STATES

04.15.2021

Story by Alan Nunn      

U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command

GREAT LAKES (NNS) — When U.S. Navy leadership asked, U.S. Army leadership answered.

Where Recruit Training Command (RTC) had a need, Fort McCoy, an Army training center in western Wisconsin, had a solution.

Seeking to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, RTC and Army leadership formed a joint operations partnership to allow the post to serve as a restriction-of-movement (ROM) site for Navy recruits prior to entering basic training.

“We are grateful to the Fort McCoy Army leadership for their outstanding support that allowed us to achieve our mission,” said Capt. Erik Thors, commanding officer, RTC. “We could not have achieved the same level of success we did without this joint-service approach. I am in awe about everything both our Sailors as well as Fort McCoy staff have achieved during this time not only with what they have done but in how they did it. Their attitude was most impressive and I am proud to have led them during this joint effort.”

After initially using local-area hotels for ROM, RTC directed incoming recruits to Fort McCoy. Since August 2020, nearly 25,000 recruits have begun their Navy career with an initial 14-day COVID ROM at Fort McCoy. The last recruits are set to leave Fort McCoy on April 29 and RTC plans to complete turning over facilities May 17.

RTC will now host recruits during their initial 14-day COVID ROM.

Safe completion of ROM is important to the continued flow of personnel through the training pipeline safely and uninterrupted. Shutting down training creates gaps out in the fleet, preventing personnel from transferring from their commands.

Chief on Naval Personnel, Vice Admiral John Nowell, Jr. toured RTC and Fort McCoy in December.

“I cannot give enough thanks to the Army for sharing their space with us to continue our mission,” said Nowell. “Without their support, the mission of RTC, of the accessions pipeline, and the overall mission of continuing to provide manning the Fleet would not have been possible.”

Supporting Sailors came from commands including the Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel, Navy Personnel Command, Navy Recruiting Command, Naval Service Training Command, Navy Band Great Lakes, Center for Surface Combat Systems Unit, and Training Support Center Great Lakes. In addition to the short-term support, previous recruit division commanders (RDC) assisted for longer periods in between commands, as well as on individual augmentee orders. Additional support came from medical personnel from Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) and Navy medicine reservists.
The initial efforts to prepare Fort McCoy for the recruits entailed many logistical challenges.

“A major obstacle to completion of ROM at Fort McCoy was applying Center for Disease Control and Prevention social distancing guidelines in open bay barracks,” said Lt. Antoine Washington, RTC’s officer-in-charge for Fort McCoy operations. “To overcome this hurdle, (RTC and FHCC Preventative Medicine personnel) created the ‘quad method’ of housing recruits. By creating clearly visible barriers of movement within the barracks, recruit supervisors could honestly say social distance was maintained in a facility not built with it in mind.”

In addition to providing housing and galley facilities for both staff and recruits, Fort McCoy delivered the RTC team with access to Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities, services and other base amenities.

“We were provided with 24-hour access to their base gym,” said Lt. Washington. “Also, the local MWR cabins were a welcome retreat for staff members during low operations periods.”

Boot camp is approximately eight weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Training includes physical fitness, seamanship, firearms, firefighting and shipboard damage control along with lessons in Navy heritage and core values, teamwork and discipline. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy’s only boot camp. For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/rtc

• Date Taken: 04.15.2021
• Date Posted: 12.20.2021 13:48
• Story ID: 411597
• Location: GREAT LAKES, IL, US