Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      U.S. Air Force basic training trainees that will be placed in a 14-day restriction of movement period arrive at the 737th Training Support Squadron March 24, 2020, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.200324-F-GY993-126
                        
                        
                        Trainees who will be placed in a 14-day restriction of movement period arrive for Air Force basic military training March 24, 2020, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The new recruits are the second group of trainees placed into the 14-day restriction of movement period. During this period trainees exercise social distancing, which means maintaining a distance of approximately 6 feet, or 2 meters, from all others when possible to lessen chances of catching COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarayuth Pinthong)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        U.S. Air Force basic training trainees that will be placed in a 14-day restriction of movement period arrive at the 737th Training Support Squadron March 24, 2020, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.200324-F-GY993-158
                        
                        
                        Trainees who will be placed in a 14-day restriction of movement period arrive for Air Force basic military training March 24, 2020, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The new recruits are the second group of trainees placed into the 14-day restriction of movement period. During this period trainees exercise social distancing, which means maintaining a distance of approximately 6 feet, or 2 meters, from all others when possible to lessen chances of catching COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarayuth Pinthong)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        U.S. Air Force basic training trainees that will be placed in a 14-day restriction of movement period arrive at the 737th Training Support Squadron March 24, 2020, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.200324-F-GY993-044
                        
                        
                        Trainees at Air Force basic military training receive their lunch in the 324th Training Squadron’s dining facility March 24, 2020, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The recruits were the first group of trainees placed into the 14-day restriction of movement period. During this period trainees exercise social distancing, which means maintaining a distance of approximately 6 feet, or 2 meters, from all others when possible to lessen chances of catching COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarayuth Pinthong)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

BMT safety efforts protect trainers, pipelinePublished March 30, 2020
                    
                    By 37th Training Wing
                    
                    
                    737th Training Group
            **JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) --**To help slow the spread of **COVID-19** while accomplishing the mission of turning civilians into mission-ready Airmen, Air Force basic military training has implemented layers of protective measures to mitigate transmission risk of the virus within the BMT pipeline.
Specific mitigation measures that have been implemented across BMT include implementation of a 14-day restriction of movement upon arrival, as well as social distancing, symptom monitoring and increased sanitation.
“We must balance the need to fuel the greatest Air and Space Force in the world with ready and able Airmen while caring for our trainees, military training instructors and their families,” said Chief Master Sgt. Stefan Blazier, 37th Training Wing command chief. “This is a dynamic and constantly evolving situation, but what we won’t do is watch from the sidelines. Our BMT team and leaders across the Gateway Wing will continue to implement protective measures to ensure the safety of our number one priority – America’s sons and daughters — our Airmen — our team!”
The first positive case of COVID-19 was reported at BMT March 25. With proactive planning and protective measures already in place, the necessary firewalls were in place to safely address the situation and isolate the affected Airman from their flight, enabling specific training objectives to continue and protecting the BMT pipeline and team.
“The first phase of mitigation was placing newly arriving recruits in ROM status, which began the week of March 16,” said Lt. Col. Gary Moore, 737th Training Group deputy commander. “All inbound BMT recruits are now placed in ROM for 14 days to better protect the health and safety of the trainees and military training instructors. The ROM squadron(s) are strategically located in facilities that have the majority of the supporting elements such as laundry, dining facility and classrooms on location to ensure the trainees are separated from the larger BMT population.”
Social distancing, which has been identified by the CDC as a major factor in slowing the spread of the virus, has also been implemented across BMT. The distance between trainee beds has been increased and the number of trainees in each bay decreased from roughly 60 to 40 trainees. Additionally, classroom and indoor training has been adjusted to allow more space between trainees and trainees are only sitting two per table in the dining facility as opposed to the typical four. Finally, trainees are maintaining appropriate spacing while waiting to receive meals. Overall sanitation has been implemented across the BMT campus to ensure necessary cleaning practices for day-to-day operations.
Additionally, mission-essential instructors and support staff have been offered the option to stay on base to help provide added protection to their families at no personal cost.
“The safety and well-being of our permanent party personnel is equally as important as that of our trainees,” Blazier said. “We recognize the significant stress this puts on our team, and we are completely committed to ensuring our people feel safe to the fullest extent possible while we deal with this threat.”
In addition, an enhanced medical screening and response capability has been put in place to ensure immediate treatment for COVID-19 is available to trainees through the efforts of the 59th Medical Wing and Brooke Army Medical Center.
In the event a trainee experiences any of the published COVID-19 symptoms, the member is immediately transferred to a medical facility, examined, tested and placed into quarantine as a “person under investigation” until cleared of the virus through a test. The member will receive treatment and will remain isolated until test results are returned.
If testing is negative, the trainee is returned to training. Should a trainee test positive for COVID-19, the trainee will continue to receive necessary medical attention and go into isolation status.
As a precaution following a trainee’s positive test, the trainees in close contact with the individual who tested positive will restart their 14-day ROM period.
Within the military training staff, BMT continues to actively review all personnel that have been impacted by COVID-19 events. All personnel are directed to strictly adhere to medical guidance and CDC directives while being monitored for any COVID-19 symptoms.
“U.S. Air Force senior leaders have deemed BMT, technical training and flying training as mission essential because it creates the world’s greatest Airmen,” Blazier said. “These are unprecedented times, with the situation evolving rapidly, but the great men and women of the Gateway Wing will continue to hold strong. We won’t make exceptions to keep them safe and leaders at every level will continually validate the protection, health and safety of our Air Force team.”
For more information on BMT operations during COVID-19, please visit the **BMT frequently asked questions page**.
For the most up-to-date announcements, go to the **37th Training Wing** and **USAF Basic Military Training Facebook** pages, which is also the location of the weekly BMT graduation live stream, Thursdays starting at 9 a.m. CST.LR 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



COVID-19 



BMT 



basic military training 



trainees 



recruits 



MTI 



military training 



military training instructor 



ROM 



restriction of movement 



Air Education and Training Command 



AETC Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF Kendall visits Bangor ANG Base
                    
                    Vice President Harris congratulates USAFA Class of ‘24
                    
                    Senate confirms Melissa Dalton as next Under Secretary of the Air Force
                    
                    ‘One Team, One Fight’: SecAF visits Keesler AFB
                    
                    SecAF Kendall experiences VISTA of future flight test at Edwards AFBInnovation
                AFSFC reaches final phase of fielding Model Defender gear
                    
                    Around the Air Force: PCS Allowances, Air Task Forces, All-Volunteer Force
                    
                    AFIMSC focuses I-WEPTAC topics on GPC solutions
                    
                    Optimizing AI, Air University hosts Artificial Intelligence Symposium
                    
                    AFIMSC tools deliver data-driven solutions across DAFMAJCOM News
                AFMC to expand AcqDemo workforce
                    
                    AFMC empowers small businesses for Air Force reoptimization
                    
                    Acquisition Instructor Course Class 25A open for nominations
                    
                    Air Guard leaders host 2024 Wing Leader Conference
                    
                    Referral bonuses aim to help fill mission-critical vacancies
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil