Currently, enlisting military personnel are facing a great deal of trouble amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Military chiefs state changes due to COVID will be difficult for soldiers to recover from, as high contact boot camps present a challenge. 

   Our nation’s soldiers are learning to cope with these adverse conditions. Before COVID-19 became the new normal, all new recruits arrived at their designated base and sorted out their belongings. Following this, soldiers went straight into boot camp. Processes of boot camps vary depending on the military branch. The Marines practice hand-on-hand combat using pugil sticks, while the Army practices combatives. Both processes are extremely high contact, which makes this practice difficult following COVID-19 public safety protocol. 

   Johnny Jackson girls cross country coach and former Army soldier, gives his take on ways the military can tackle the virus. 

   “They’ll have to wear masks by themselves, of course,” Jackson said. 

   Jackson believes that members of the military will have to adhere to precautions within civilian life while wearing masks and social distancing. 

   As the military is one of the nation’s top priorities, COVID-19 supplies will be delivered to them in no time.

   “The military would be the first to get some of the masks,” Jackson said. 

   Some of the biggest issues include finding a way to maintain safe practices during recruitment and basic training.  

   “Basic training will be a little rougher. The best [solution] there would be is testing them. 

   “I think the military would be the easiest to return to normal, as the military’s self-enclosed. They are in their own bubble,” Jackson said. 

   The military is not expected to be exposed to any new people who may carry the virus, as they are within the parameters of their military base often. The military will be secluded from the civilian world, limiting the possibilities of new cases infecting soldiers.  

   Alexis Waruingi is a Westerville South graduate, and she is seeking a position in the air force.    

  “Because of COVID my recruitment process has definitely been pushed back with me doing my physicals and my ASVAB placement test,” Waruingi said.

   It doesn’t end there, the duration of boot camp is up in the air. 

   “It’s really a touch and go situation. Boot camp was about eight to eight and a half weeks long,” Waruingi said. 

   The idea of a “touch and go” form of operation is a crucial framework in the eyes of military decision-makers.

   However due to COVID-19, these timeframes for boot camp are getting smaller. Some boot camp training is estimated to be six or seven weeks long.. 

   Recruits are waiting for the greenlight for a starting date to be shipped to training. 

    Malcom McCown is a senior with a large interest in the military.    

   “Logically it would make sense that the military would have trouble signing new recruits. However, they’ve had very little trouble. 

      “The biggest change in the way military basic training is conducted would be the medical screening right after the recruits arrive,” McCown said.  

   Frequent testing is a necessity for the military to ensure the safety of their troops. 

   “As long as the military personnel are certainly healthy and COVID-negative, the path for training should be clear for the most part,” McCown said.

  The military’s troops are looking to be on the path to safety. Although basic training procedures, combatives and hand-to-hand combat boot camps seem intimidating to conquer during the COVID-19 pandemic, the military will surely combat this in the most efficient and effective way possible. Masks, social distancing, frequent testing, and seclusion to the civilian world is the recipe for success. The determination of our military decision-makers will not settle for any less than the best for their troops.