Keesler to remain temp BMT site

KEESLER AFB, Miss. - Air Force officials announced that beginning June 2, the service will continue to hold a secondary Basic Military Training (BMT) site at Keesler AFB, Miss., until the end of COVID-19 surge. The decision to stand up BMT's the secondary site in April at Keesler AFB under Detachment 5 of the 37th Training Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, comes after a successful proof-of-concept trial run at the Biloxi base. “This capability was a deliberately-developed option to disperse the delivery of BMT during contingencies to provide surge capacity and introduce agility in the training pipeline construct,” said Maj. Gen. Andrea Tullos, 2nd Air Force commander. “This move also helps ensure the health and safety of our trainees and instructors by allowing proper safety controls, like physical distancing and deep cleaning.” One of the reasons Keesler was chosen for BMT was that members of the 81st Training Wing and its detachments already conduct more than 160 career field specialty training courses. Keesler BMT is a contingency option and is not designed to be implemented longer than 180 days, but designed to be sustainable for longer periods if required, Tullos said. She also said there are no current plans to continue BMT at multiple locations following the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source: Air Education and Training Command 05/26/20) Lackland will also continue BMT training.