Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. -- Air University’s Officer Training School has suspended guest presence at the awards ceremony and graduation parade this week out of caution to minimize potential spread of COVID-19.
The Department of Defense and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend implementing social distancing measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and minimizing large gatherings.
“While there are no cases in Alabama, we are taking necessary precautions and follow risk-based measures consistent with guidance from the DoD and CDC,” said Lt. Gen. James Hecker, Air University commander and president. “It is our responsibility to keep our Airmen, our families and our communities safe.”
While the awards ceremony and graduation parade are faculty-only events, they will be live streamed via the OTS Facebook page. The individual commissioning ceremonies are still open to guests, so those that have already traveled from out of town can still participate in this special event.
“We regret having to make this decision, but are interested in keeping our Airmen and their families safe,” said Col. Peter Bailey, OTS commandant. “We are allowing guests at individual commissioning ceremonies as those are smaller events, in line with CDC guidelines.”
Maxwell Air Force Base has a dedicated webpage for COVID-19 updates that includes live content from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.