The Marine Corps won’t ship new recruits to the Parris Island basic training base in South Carolina for a week because of the coronavirus that is continuing to disrupt military training and operations around the world.
Military officials on Monday said the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island was granted the week’s delay so they could expand their facilities to screen all arriving recruits and personnel.
“This aggressive posture is necessary to protect all of us,” Brig. Gen. James F. Glynn, commanding general at Parris Island, wrote in a letter to the base community.
Once the expansion is completed, all recruits coming to Parris Island will first go into a two week staging period. They will be medically screened, monitored and given classes to prepare them for their Marine Corps basic training, officials said.
“All of this will occur before they step onto our iconic yellow footprints and make that memorable move toward earning the title, ’Marine,’” Brig. Gen. Glynn wrote.
He said Parris Island officials were doing everything possible to “minimize the threat and mitigate the impact” of the coronavirus.
“COVID-19 is one threatening element in a world of uncertainty and our Marine Corps must remain ready to defend our nation against every uncertainty,” Brig. Gen. Glenn wrote.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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