FORT RUCKER, Ala. – As Alabama reports close to 400 active cases of COVID-19, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker commanding general said during a virtual town hall March 26 that the post still has no confirmed cases of the illness.
Maj. Gen David J. Francis also reaffirmed his priorities, defined the current situation and announced some upcoming additional measures to be put in place that will affect flight school, Fort Rucker Schools, Soldier travel and other facilities in the near future at Fort Rucker’s second town hall broadcast through Facebook.
He also added that he’s proud of the response of the Fort Rucker community as a whole during this crisis situation.
“I would like to tell everyone out there how incredibly proud we are of the response of Fort Rucker, the local community, and our Soldiers, civilians and family members out there who have cooperated with the control measures that we have put in place,” Francis said.
He complimented the staff, students and parents of Fort Rucker Schools, the medical professionals at Lyster Army Health Clinic, the flight students and instructor pilots of USAACE, and all the rest who are working to navigate Fort Rucker through the rough waters of this pandemic.
“Everyone’s been truly remarkable,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud of entire community and way we’ve pulled together to fight this crisis.”
The general explained the current situation by stating that 20 Fort Rucker people have been tested for COVID-19, with 15 negative results and five still pending.
Fort Rucker recently moved its Health Protection Condition from Bravo to Charlie at the direction of the Army, as well, although this was a smooth transition since the post had already been operating with most Charlie measures already implemented, Francis said.
“Over the last week, we have moved much of our classroom training to virtual training and those places where we’ve not been able to do that yet, we’re exercising social distancing practices as recommended by CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and regulating that very, very closely,” he said. “And we’ll continue to expand that virtual capability. In fact, our plan right now is to get 100% of our courses that are taught in a classroom to a virtual state.”
He said officials have also eliminated buses to airfields, “so we’re not packing flight school students onto buses, they’re driving individually, so we’ve eliminated that hazard.”
Francis then discussed future measures to be taken at Fort Rucker. “Priority No. 1 is protecting our Soldiers, families and civilians – and all of the measures I’m about to talk about are designed to do just that, and protect the mission at the same time.”
He said he’s extending all current control measures, including the school closures, to at least April 17.
“We will continue to assess that,” he said. “I’m aware that (Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama) just announced that Alabama schools will go to virtual learning the rest of the year – we’re not there yet, but we’ll continue to assess it – and if we make a different decision later on, we’ll have the flexibility to do that.”
Francis is also mandating Soldiers begin individual physical fitness training March 30, rather than in groups, a matter that Command Sgt. Maj. Brian N. Hauke, Aviation Branch command sergeant major, discussed further.
“I want to reinforce that this doesn’t alleviate the requirement for physical fitness training – the expectation out there is as professionals you get out there on a daily basis, and get after your physical fitness training and get it done,” Hauke said, adding that for advanced individual training and warrant officer candidate students that individual training “will be a little more structured – you’re going to be out there during a set time and doing physical fitness on your own.”
Francis also talked about flight training measures that will be in effect from April 6-17.
“We’re going to pause initial entry training, which will pause flight training for about 810 students for about two weeks,” the general said. “That may change a little bit and the duration may change a little bit. We will continue to train our critical Army mission sets, which include the instructor pilot course, the maintenance test pilot course and our fixed-wing training that occurs in Dothan. This will keep 154 students still training. This will significantly reduce the amount of flight training going on for a couple of weeks here as we continue to assess this situation.
“This is going to allow us to do several things,” he added. “It will allow us to address how we clean our aircraft and our simulators between flight periods, and between students and instructors, and it will allow us to get COVID-19 test kits on Fort Rucker, so we have an immediate way to test for COVID – we expect that capability well before that two-week suspension is complete.”
He said that this does not mean Fort Rucker is closing, as many critical missions will continue in the safest manner possible.
“Our maintenance of the largest helicopter and fixed-wing fleet in the Army will continue just like we’re doing it right now,” Francis said. “We have a large number of aircraft here that require maintenance, and we will continue to do that, and with our maintenance force we will continue to exercise social distancing, professional distancing and all of the measures that our contractors are putting in place out there, but we will continue the maintenance effort on the Army’s largest fleet of aircraft anywhere in the world.”
He said he’s also restricting local leave and travel to a 50-mile radius – a change from last week’s restriction of 100 miles – because more and more cases are being reported in Alabama and the Florida panhandle.
“These restrictions are in place to protect all of us from either getting it and bringing it back, or by limiting our exposure,” Francis said.
Hauke added that the post will begin temperature screenings at commissary and post exchange entrances March 28 and Bldg. 5700, the Soldier Service Center March 30, adding that wasn’t all of the changes coming.
“This next one is going to be tough,” he said. “For the health of everyone here, as well as your loved ones, do not invite loved ones – boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. – to Fort Rucker over the coming weeks. It is mission-essential that that does not happen.
“I can’t stress enough that if you are out there with questions, you’re immediate bellybutton for those questions is your chain of command – go directly to your chain of command and they will get you an answer,” Hauke continued. “And we’re stressing the fact that if you don’t feel well, if you’re sick or loved one is sick, stay at home. The first thing that you should do is call your chain of command and check in with them and they will give you guidance, but do not come to work.”
Col. Whitney B. Gardner, Fort Rucker garrison commander, asked for everyone to keep tuned into the Fort Rucker/USAACE Facebook page and Fort Rucker website for the latest news and notices of service changes, and noted that personnel were following the town hall, as well, and answering many questions as they showed up on the town hall live feed.
“If you’re on following us on Facebook, I assume you’ve seen our Fort Rucker services chart posted daily (showing open and closed facilities),” he said, adding that Army Community Service staff continues to provide essential services, including ensuring Soldiers have access to Army Emergency Relief, and the Directorate of Family, and Morale, Welfare and Recreation “has been incredibly creative and continues to provide top-notch goods and services through digital means and take-out options.
“You should expect no major changes at the commissary for now, and it’s open the first 30 minutes of the day to uniformed Soldiers, our senior population and those who are immune system-compromised,” Gardner added. “We will also continue purchase limits on certain items when stocks are low. I’ve noticed over past week that panicked purchasing and hoarding are not a major problem here.
“The commissary has fought through challenges with supply distribution on items like meat, but I’m happy with how well the staff is staying ahead of the problem and continuing to support everyone with smiles on their faces – be sure to tell them how much you appreciate them,” he said.
“We realize that this is a time with many inconveniences and limitations, so everyone’s pattern of life has changed, but this community acts with grace and patience, and I can’t thank you enough for that,” Gardner added. “Your positivity, encouragement and patience, even when a service does not meet your expectations, has a powerful effect on the community team. Our people are doing their very best under the same conditions as you. So, let’s continue to be mindful of our words, actions, and especially our social media posts and responses to others on official and informal community pages – thanks for being a great community.”
In closing, Francis said, “this is a fluid situation, and those dates we put out tonight, those are marks on the wall, and we are continually assessing the situation every day, multiple times a day, so there may be further adjustments to this as we see an emerging threat or changing condition that requires us to change something. If we make major changes, we’ll be back in this forum to let you know about it to make sure you are as informed as you can be. Watch the Fort Rucker Facebook page, talk to your chain of command, keep your Soldiers informed, keep yourself informed, and most importantly keep practicing that social distancing, restrict your travel, don’t invite people onto Fort Rucker and please be safe out there.”
The full version of the video is available at https://www.facebook.com/ftrucker/ and leadership highly encourages all Fort Rucker people to view the video to be fully informed.
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