The Navy is closing its base schools and day care centers in Naples and Sigonella because of rapid increases in coronavirus transmission rates, Europe’s top U.S. admiral said soon after Italy decreed a national curfew and other restrictions to contain the pandemic.

The targeted rules include a “ban on travel to high-risk regions, national travel limit in the evening, more distance learning and public transport with a capacity limited to 50%."

Some students at Aviano Air Base might have to switch from in-person to online learning and to go into quarantine after a member of the Defense Department school community tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said.

Students and staff at four schools in U.S. military communities in Germany and Italy may have been exposed to the coronavirus, officials said this week as the two European countries that are home to thousands of American military personnel scrambled to contain the rapidly resurging virus.

Army officers have had a similar system of ranked choices in place since 2016, but this is the first time it has been introduced for NCO ranks.

DODEA introduced the virtual aspect of the competition, which concludes with a championship on Oct. 24, this year in an attempt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Drills in Bulgaria are the latest in a series of exercises taking place across Europe, where the Air Force has conducted numerous show-of-force flights.

Twelve fire brigade teams from nearby towns had largely extinguished the fire by late Monday.

One of the great advantages to serving in Italy is the country’s food, which my family and I can’t get enough of eating.

The day was a first step in what will be on ongoing effort to eradicate discrimination in the Air Force and at Aviano, said Brig. Gen. Jason Bailey, the wing’s newly arrived commander.