Recruits call home during their scheduled divisional phone calls at Recruit Training Command. Boot camp is approximately 10 weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. (Navy photo by Mass Communication 2nd Class Stuart Posada)
By: FEDweek StaffNavy recruits now are allowed to use their personal cell phones to contact family and friends while in basic training. The change began March 29, Recruit Training Command (RTC) at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, announced.
Recruits still are limited to five standard phone calls while they are undergoing training, but are no longer required to use Navy-owned devices to make them. The change comes after RTC assessed the successful results of a related test.
“In the post-Covid pandemic culture, digital identities have proven increasingly critical in helping deal with day-to-day stress,” said Capt. Ken Froberg, the RTC commanding officer. “When we surveyed psychological research in this area, in consultation with our Council on Recruit Basic Training Partners [CORBT], we decided it is time for recruits to connect with their loved ones and friends in a more modern way. Simply, I used a pay phone card calling home from overseas in 1994. We can do better in 2024.”
The service would like to see the change as having a positive effect on attrition during training, which typically is at its highest during the first two weeks at RTC.
“We are hopeful that allowing recruits continued but limited access to their cell phones and digital identities may help reduce this attrition,” said Lt. Eren Roubal, the command’s clinical psychologist. “As digital natives, new recruits can potentially experience psychological stress from being abruptly disconnected from their digital identities.”
The Navy believes the change would in no way compromise the standards recruits must meet.
“It is still important that we train sailors to be resilient,” Froberg said. “We have to do better in this space to prepare our sailors for a digitally austere operating environment at sea.”
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