• The Navy will add two weeks of training to its boot camp program that focusing on suicide and sexual assault prevention, hazing and extremism
  • Navy Officials said it would tackle the problems the agency has faced involving the rise of suicides and sexual assaults, as well as fires and deadly ship collisions
  • It also includes the rise of extremism after several former and active military members took part in the January 6 Capitol riot
  • The changes were first suggested after the Navy found crew members were ill-prepared to stop a fire that destroyed a $1.2 billion ship in 2020 

The US Navy said it was expanding it’s eight-week boot camp program to include two more weeks of classes focusing on suicide prevention, sexual assault, hazing and racism.

The change, the first major overhaul in nearly 20 years, comes as the Navy grapples with major shipboard issues over the years that include failures to address sexual assaults, fires and deadly collisions and the rise of extremism within the ranks.

Rear Adm. Jennifer Couture, who heads the Naval Service Training Command, told the Associated Press that the two extra weeks of classes would reinforce the behavior desired in a US naval officer.

We’re telling our recruits … here are all of the things that we expect you to do, and here’s how we expect you to behave and act,’ she said, adding that it involves treating people with respect and holding peers accountable.

‘We believe very strongly that those types of behaviors are directly impacting our fighting readiness and the performance of our sailors.’