California National Guard camp opened as COVID surged. Then, some cadets got sick
Despite its own board of directors recommending canceling this summer’s Grizzly Youth Academy amid surging statewide coronavirus cases, the California National Guard went ahead and sent dozens of cadets to San Luis Obispo last month — only to see several fall ill with COVID-19.
Two weeks after arriving, an unspecified number of cadets were sent home after testing positive for COVID-19, but California military officials say they plan on bringing them back to the boot camp once their symptoms subside.
Local and state officials aren’t releasing information about the COVID-19 outbreak at the youth program, which brings teens from around the state to Camp San Luis Obispo for a 4-month course that includes outdoor disciplinary drills and indoor classroom education.
In response to multiple requests for answers to specific questions over the past three weeks, a spokesman for the California Military Department, which oversees the state National Guard, would ultimately only confirm that “a group” of Grizzly Academy cadets tested positive at Camp San Luis Obispo and were sent home.
But the cadets are being monitored by program staff and “will be allowed to return to class,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Shiroma, director of public affairs for the Military Department in Sacramento, said by email last week.
The Tribune has been unsuccessful in getting on-the-record comments from people involved in the program who are concerned about the state’s decision to move forward with this year’s class because of strict rules prohibiting speaking to the media.
The newspaper has submitted public records requests to the state and County Office of Education, which partners in the program, for further information about anti-coronavirus efforts at the youth academy.
Meanwhile, the program is continuing with the remaining class members. It’s unclear whether they are being testing for COVID-19 or what safety measures the academy is taking to prevent the spread of illness.
‘No one’s returning phone calls’
Grizzly Youth Academy is a public charter boarding school that operates at Camp San Luis Obispo and employs a military style of discipline in a program to assist students who struggle to succeed at traditional schools.
Each graduating class consists of three to four platoons consisting of a few dozen cadets. The program is run by California National Guard staff as well as civilian teachers and support staff.
During the program, groups of cadets live together in barracks, gather together in classrooms and eat in a communal area.
The residential program had been closed since March due to coronavirus.
But George Galvan, a member of the three-person Board of Trustees for the youth program, told The Tribune that a week before the latest class of cadets were bused in from around Southern, Central and Northern California, the board voted unanimously on July 14 to recommend the program not go forward this year.
That non-binding recommendation was ignored, Galvan said, and the program began screening incoming cadets on July 20 and 21.
Program staff and county health officials have kept board members in the dark about safety among cadets and staff, he said.
“We’ve heard nothing official from them, and no one’s returning phone calls,” Galvan said by phone last week. “We’re concerned we’re not getting official information in a timely manner.”
James Brescia, superintendent of the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education, declined to comment on the issue when contacted by The Tribune on July 16, and referred all questions to the National Guard’s local program director at Camp San Luis Obispo, Lt. Col. Francisco Flores.
“The Guard is working with public health and our office regarding the next steps,” Brescia wrote. “The authority to have residential on Camp San Luis Obispo for Grizzly is the that of the National Guard.”
A spokeswoman for the county Public Health Department also declined to comment on COVID-19 cases at the program and said the department has “not been releasing case information related to specific facilities or businesses except on occasions when the County Health Officer feels there is an imminent public health threat.”
“It is up to each facility, business, or organization to set policy on the release of COVID-19 information,” Michelle Shoresman wrote in an email Aug. 5 in response to questions about outbreaks at Grizzly Youth Academy and Atascadero State Hospital.
A request for comment to the program’s local director, Lt. Col. Flores, was directed to the California Military Department’s public affairs office in Sacramento.
After a weeks-long back-and-forth with that agency, Lt. Col. Shiroma, the director of public affairs, would not answer any specific questions about the Grizzly Youth Academy outbreak — or even how many cadets are participating this year and how the program is keeping them safe.
“A group of California Military Department cadets recently did test positive for COVID-19 and have been sent home,” Shiroma wrote in a “final response” Aug. 5. “Staff will continue to monitor their conditions before they will be allowed to return to class.”
He said the affected cadets were sent home with laptop computers to continue their educational courses online.
“This was part of our response plan prior to the opening of the (program),” Shiroma wrote. “Our Youth Academies remain open for instruction and, from the start, have implemented the highest health and safety standards and are in compliance with state and county guidelines.”
The state Military Department would not answer questions about staff safety or coronavirus cases among employees.
News reports show similar programs run by other states’ national guards have graduated classes since the beginning of the U.S. pandemic shutdown in March.
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 3:34 PM with the headline "California National Guard camp opened as COVID surged. Then, some cadets got sick."
