FORT HOOD, TX — Fort Hood said they will continue the use of face masks for soldiers performing official duties in their updated COVID-19 Pandemic Personal Conduct General Order.
Fort Hood also said there is no change to the restricted area list for service members.
Travis County (Austin), Harris County (Houston), Tarrant County (Fort Worth), Dallas County (Dallas) and Bexar County (San Antonio) will continue to remain off limits to all personnel, regardless of vaccination status.
Service members whose normal place of residence is located within once of these counties, and service members traveling to and from these counties on official duty are exempt from this restriction and should minimize non-essential activities and travel to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, according GO #1.
"For fully-vaccinated personnel, the first O-3 commander in the service member’s chain of command is the approval authority for requests to locations in the counties listed above," Fort Hood said in a Facebook post.
Any leave/pass requests for other areas will be processed in accordance with normal unit policies.
For unvaccinated personnel, the first O-5 commander in the service member’s chain of command is the approval authority for requests for leave/pass outside the local area (100 miles radius from Fort Hood), and to the counties listed above.
All individuals performing official duties will wear masks, Fort Hood said.
This includes individuals performing official duties off-post and in outdoor shared spaces.
The following exceptions will be made:
1. When an individual is alone in an office with floor to ceiling walls
2. For brief periods of time when eating and drinking while maintaining distancing in accordance with CDC guidelines and instructions from commanders and supervisors
3. When the masks is required to be lowered briefly for identification or security purposes
4. When necessary to reasonably accommodate an individual with a disability
5. When walking outside when social distancing of 6 feet can be maintained
6. While conducting physical training with social distancing of 6 feet can be maintained
7. While executing a graded event during the ACFT
8. For outdoor workers or when working with heavy machinery in situations where masks usage could increase heat related injury or safety concerns and social distancing can be maintained
"Our priority remains keeping Soldiers healthy and safe from COVID," Fort Hood's Facebook post said. "We want people to enjoy Texas safely. While the COVID vaccine remains optional for soldiers, we are confident in the effectiveness of the vaccine and are incrementally adjusting GO #1 accordingly."
View the updated COVID-19 Pandemic Personal Conduct below:
