
COVID-19 Impact on Schooling & SOI/MOS Graduations
Please be aware, the Marine Corps doesn't have a road-map for the COVID-19 pandemic either, but they have to keep our troops safe. When the USMC provides answers and additional information, we will publish it on these pages of our website. Our take on this will be that the military will exercise more caution and keep civilians off the bases longer than what other populations and communities do in our country.
COVID-19 Impact on USMC, Marines, and Family Members
INFORMATION IS UPDATED DAILY. BE SURE TO CHECK EACH DAY FOR NEW UPDATES.
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Information by Marine Corps Career Stage
Additional Information and Help
Travel Restrictions
The purpose of the DOD imposed travel restrictions is to protect our fighting forces from contracting the Coronavirus during these uncertain times. Travel restrictions from the DOD are changing continually during the pandemic. These travel restrictions have been extended through June 30. Please see the red bar above with a PDF file for travel FAQ from the DOD.
Additionally, see this page for press releases from the DOD on travel. We are updating this as often as the DOD sends out press releases.
Currently, there are some military bases that are closed to visitors. If you need to get on a military base, we recommend calling the visitor's office first to gain more clarity.
Marines in SOI/MCT or MOS Schooling
For Marines currently in schools such as SOI or MOS, plans are being formulated by the USMC now and decisions by the Marine Corps will be made in accordance with the current restricted travel regulations. Marines can likely expect some holding periods and wait times upon completion of SOI and MOS while the travel restrictions are in place.
ALL Graduations
Effective March 13, 2020, the Secretary of Defense has provided direction that public attendance at graduation ceremonies and related activities is prohibited, with no exceptions. This is across the board, and includes all graduations: Recruit Training (boot camp), SOI, MCT, WAB, and OCS.
Graduations Videos on Facebook
Graduation videos are being made available on Facebook and the marines.mil website shortly after the ceremony has ended. We will also add the graduation videos to our website, here. The links for Parris Island and San Diego are the following:
Pentagon Orders Bases to Not Release Specific Covid-19 Numbers
Due to OPSEC concerns, the Pentagon has ordered military bases to stop releasing specific Covid-19 numbers.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said last week, "What we want to do is give you aggregated numbers. But we're not going to disaggregate numbers because it could reveal information about where we may be affected at a higher rate than maybe some other places." As of Monday March 30, 569 active-duty service members, 220 civilian personnel, 190 family members, and 64 contractors have tested positive for Covid-19. For more information on the order from the Pentagon, click here.
From US Marine Corps
- UPDATE #5: U.S MARINE CORPS DISEASE CONTAINMENT PREPAREDNESS PLANNING GUIDANCE FOR 2019 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): MARINE CORPS GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF CLOTH FACE COVERINGS
Date Signed: 4/6/2020 | MARADMINS Number: 218/20 - UPDATE #4: U.S MARINE CORPS DISEASE CONTAINMENT PREPAREDNESS PLANNING GUIDANCE FOR 2019 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): DOD OCONUS STOP MOVEMENT
Date Signed: 3/26/2020 | MARADMINS Number: 193/20
From Defense.gov Website
DOD Press Releases COVID-19
- MARCH 22, 2021:
Force Health Protection Guidance (Supplement 18) - Department of Defense Guidance for Protecting All Personnel in Department of Defense Workplaces During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic - MARCH 16, 2021:
Update to Conditions-Based Approach to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Personnel Movement and Travel Restrictions - FEBRUARY 4, 2021:
DOD Announces Use of Masks and Other Public Health Measures - MAY 26, 2020:
Update to Personnel Movement and Travel Restrictions - MAY 26, 2020:
Force Health Protection Guidance - Supplement 9 - MAY 26, 2020:
Pentagon Reservation Plan for Resilience and 'Aligning With National Guidelines for Opening Up America Again' - MAY 20, 2020:
Changing of Health Protection Condition Levels During COVID-19 - APRIL 20, 2020:
Update to Travel Restrictions - APRIL 16, 2020:
Special Leave Accrual for Service Members - APRIL 9, 2020:
Additional Guidance on Military Pay and Personnel Benefits: COVID-19 - APRIL 6, 2020:
DOD Guidance on the Use of Cloth Face Coverings - APRIL 6, 2020:
DOD Coronavirus Response Webpage - MARCH 25, 2020:
Overseas Stop Movement Order in Response to COVID-19 - MARCH 14, 2020:
Statement by the DOD on COVID-19 Response Measures on the Pentagon Reservation - MARCH 13, 2020:
Statement by the Department of Defense on Domestic Travel Restrictions - MARCH 11, 2020:
Update on DOD COVID-19 Measures - MARCH 10, 2020:
Transcript: Defense Department Press Briefing - MARCH 7, 2020:
Marine in Virginia Tests Positive - MARCH 3, 2020:
Statement Regarding New York Times Article - JAN. 31, 2020:
DOD Issues Guidelines to Personnel on Coronavirus
Publications
- April 7, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - March 24, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - March 17, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - March 10, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - March 3, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - February 24, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - February 4, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - January 27, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - January 21, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - January 6, 2021:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - December 30, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - December 23, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - December 16, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - December 9, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - December 2, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - OCTOBER 30, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - OCTOBER 21, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - SEPTEMBER 23, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - SEPTEMBER 2, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - AUGUST 12, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - AUGUST 5, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - JULY 29, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - JULY 15, 2020:
COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update - APRIL 23, 2020:
Impact of Travel Restrictions on Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) Entitlements - APRIL 23, 2020:
Hardship Duty Pay: Restriction of Movement - APRIL 23, 2020:
Special and Incentive Pays
USO Airport Operations
Per the Department of Defense: Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all USO Airport locations in the United States will temporarily suspend operations until further notice in order to maintain safe environments and avoid unnecessary risks of exposure.
Financial Assistance
Service members may be financially impacted by the travel restrictions and closures due to coronavirus. Any service members affected should check with their service relief organization to see if emergency help is available to them. These relief organizations are:
OPSEC AND COVID-19:
Reporting COVID-19 Testing and Results Among Military
As part of our POSTING RULE 2: OPSEC and PERSEC, discussion or speculation on the numbers of troops or location of troops being tested or having tested for COVID-19 will not be permitted. Posting COVID-19 testing results of military members will not be permitted. There are no exceptions to this rule.
For obvious reasons, specific information about the health of our military forces is a direct violation of OPSEC.
Stating information about any Marine or recruit, your own or otherwise, testing for COVID-19 as it relates to their job duties as a military member (whether the results are positive or negative) is a violation of PERSEC and will not be permitted. Discussions of COVID-19 within your family are permitted as long as you do not identify the individual and do not state military affiliation.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Monday, March 30, 2020: Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said in a statement on Monday "As we continue to grapple with the novel nature of COVID19, we are constantly assessing and adapting not only how we respond to combatting the virus, but also how we share critical public health information with our communities." Farah also said "We will not report the aggregate number of individual service member cases at individual unit, base or Combatant Commands. We will continue to do our best to balance transparency in this crisis with operational security."