PLEASE READ - A MESSAGE FROM THE COMMANDING OFFICER

Hello friends and family,
I wanted to let all of you know that we have had our first cases of H1N1 confirmed at Training Center Cape May. The two recruits who have been diagnosed were treated, and are back in training having received medical clearance to return to their companies.

A number of other recruits and staff are currently in isolation, mostly for preventative purposes, based on their initial symptoms. Although this virus is highly contagious, with the proper treatment and recuperation period, people can return to "normal operations" within a week or so.

Because of the close quarter nature of recruit training, the spread of germs among the recruits and staff is always a possibility. The infamous "Cape May crud" is legendary around the Training Center. The reality is that colds, flu, viruses and other contagious illnesses do affect our recruit population. Since March of this year, we have been working to reduce the spread of respiratory illness (Adenovirus 14, not H1N1) among the recruits. Some of the measures we have taken include spreading out the spacing of the racks in their squad bays, spacing out of the cardio equipment in the gym, increasing their immune systems by rescheduling events in training and instituting an evening snack, encouraging proper hygiene, and adding more sleep to their schedules. These measures have been taken in consult with our disease prevention experts in the Coast Guard as well as using lessons learned from similar outbreaks in other service recruit training environments.

We have partnered with MEPS to pre-screen our recruit population and prevent the arrival of H1N1; we have been fortunate to have prevented the illness for the past two and a half months. We will continue to aggressively prevent the spread of the infection as well as provide the finest health care with a staff of dedicated doctors, nurses and corpsman. If you or someone you know is inbound to Cape May, please consult your primary health care provider; we can work with the Recruiting Command to delay a report date until you are healthy enough to begin training.

Depending on the severity of your loved one's illness will determine whether or not they will be delayed in returning to their company or graduation. Please understand their health is our highest priority and they must be 100% well in order to return to training and to graduate/be ready for Coast Guard operations. If they call home, please encourage them to come in for evaluation if they feel ill; delaying reporting to our clinic could worsen their symptoms and spread the infection even further. Their natural inclination is to push through it because they are motivated to graduate and perform our many amazing Coast Guard missions. However, we are both in the prevention and response missions; the Coast Guard attempts to prevent accidents from happening but are always prepared to respond in the event they do. We must stay focused and balanced in both; thus, going into medical to prevent the spread of the illness is part of the way we do our missions in the service!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers... don't forget to wash your hands, and be assured we are doing everything we can to prevent the spread of the illness as well as provide individual assessments and treatment.

V/R
Captain Cari B. Thomas