CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan -- The Department of Defense recently published guidance regarding how COVID-19 positive cases in the U.S. military will be publicly reported. In order to maintain operational security, only the Office of the Secretary of Defense or Headquarters Marine Corps will release aggregate numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Those numbers will be consolidated at the DoD/Service levels.
Numbers of people in isolation, quarantine, or possibly infected will not be released.
That said, to strike a balance with protecting operational security while maintaining transparency regarding the spread of the virus, we will announce on Facebook when an individual* on Marine Corps Base Camp Butler** or Combined Arms Training Center Fuji, has tested positive for COVID-19. If known, we will share how the individual became infected. No further details will be released about positive cases, for example: the employment/duty/SOFA status, age, or gender of the individual. We will not provide a running tally.
However, we continue to abide by the bilateral agreement to coordinate and share information with local medical authorities in order to effectively prevent the spread of this virus.
* “Individual” comprises service members, employees, contractors, and family members.
** For the purposes of this reporting, MCB Camp Butler encompasses all Marine Corps installations on Okinawa to include MCAS Futenma.