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Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on April 15, 2011 at 8:27am

Record Retention, Shifting Missions Prompt Focused Navy Retention Board

 

From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy announced April 14 that it will conduct a focused enlisted retention board (ERB) in August for 31 specific ratings.

The ERB will be conducted as a result of record high retention and low attrition among active duty Sailors and to meet current and future planned end strength controls.

Currently, the Navy is overmanned in 31 of its 84 ratings, and as a result, many ratings have limited Perform-to-Serve (PTS) quotas available, resulting in increased competition and reduced opportunity for strong performing Sailors to reenlist. In order to enable the PTS program to work as designed to shape the force, Navy leadership has determined it is necessary to increase the opportunity for top performing Sailors to compete for a quota.

"Programs like Perform-to-Serve and selective reenlistment bonus have been effective tools at optimizing and stabilizing our force strength. Retention behavior, coupled with the shift of 6,800 billets back to sea and development of our capabilities in key areas such as ballistic missile defense (BMD), cyber and information dominance has necessitated the establishment of the enlisted retention board to meet congressionally mandated end strength and to rebalance the force," explained Chief of Naval Personnel, Vice Adm. Mark Ferguson.

The board will review the records of selected third class petty officers (E-4) through senior chief petty officers (E-8) in the 31 overmanned ratings with greater than seven but less than 15 years of cumulative service as of Oct. 1 2011, and will be conducted in two independent phases -- Phase I will review E-4 to E-5 Sailors and will convene Aug. 22, 2011. Phase II will review E-6 to E-8 Sailors and will convene Sept. 26, 2011.

The specific ratings identified include the following:

- Aviation Boatswain's Mate Fuels (ABF)
- Aviation Machinist's Mate (AD)
- Aviation Electrician's Mate (AE)
- Aerographer's Mate (AG)
- Aviation Structural Mechanic (AM)
- Aviation Support Equipment Technician (AS)
- Aviation Electronics Technician (AT)
- Aircrewman Mechanical (AWF)
- Aircrew - Tactical Helicopter (AWR)
- Aircrew – Avionics (AWV)
- Aviation Maintenance Administrationman (AZ)
- Builder (BU)
- Construction Electrician (CE)
- Construction Mechanic (CM)
- Engineering Aide (EA)
- Electrician's Mate Surface (EMSW)
- Equipment Operator (EO)
- Electronics Technician, Surface Warfare (ETSW)
- Fire Controlman (non-Aegis) (FC)
- Gas Turbine Systems Technician, Electrical (GSE)
- Machinist's Mate, Surface Warfare (MMSW)
- Mineman (MN)
- Machinery Repairman (MR)
- Operations Specialist (OS)
- Parachute Rigger (PR)
- Personnel Specialist (PS)
- Religious Program Specialist (RP)
- Ship's Serviceman (SH)
- Sonar Technician Surface (STG)
- Steelworker (SW)
- Utilitiesman (UT)

The board will exclude Sailors whose soft expiration of active obligated service (EAOS) date is in FY12 because they will be considered in PTS. The board will also exclude those who advanced to their current paygrade in cycles 208 (E-4/5/6), 209 (E-8/9), 210 (E-7), or 211 (E-4/5/6), are nuclear qualified, Joint Special Warfare Command enablers and those currently enrolled in the Navy's Safe Harbor program.

This quota-based board is anticipated to review roughly 16,000 records and will identify approximately 3,000 Sailors who will not be retained on active duty. In essence, this board will review roughly 6percent of the force to separate approximately 1 percent. Separation quotas will be developed by individual rating, pay grade and years of service, and will be published once the board convenes.

In an effort to provide maximum opportunities for conversion ahead of the board, eligibility requirements will be adjusted to allow eligible Sailors to convert to an undermanned rating prior to the board convening. Those Sailors approved for rating conversion prior to the board will be exempted. Procedures to apply for rating conversion will be published by May 1 and the applications must be received by June 15, 2011.

Those Sailors not selected for retention will need to separate by June 30, 2012, but qualified Sailors will be afforded the opportunity to compete for a Selected Reserve quota via PTS. The Career Transition Office (CTO) will be available to assist Sailors who desire to make this transition into the Reserve Component.

Sailors separated by this board will also have access to the Navy's transition assistance programs which includes the Transition Assistance Management Program (TAMP), employment assistance, relocation assistance for separating members stationed overseas, and other benefits for members who are involuntarily separated. Members will also be eligible for involuntary separation pay.

"Navy values the service of every Sailor. The decision to establish this board was made after careful consideration, and will allow Navy to keep our very best Sailors in these overmanned ratings, improve advancement opportunity, and enable PTS to maintain this balance into the future. We also strove to afford Sailors the opportunity to shift ratings prior to the board and to affiliate with the reserves should they not be continued on active duty."

To read the ERB announcement, NAVADMIN 129/11, visit www.npc.navy.mil.

To listen to Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead's comments on the ERB, visit www.navy.mil/navydata/cnoPlay.asp?id=4379.

For more news from Chief of Naval Personnel, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnp.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on March 3, 2011 at 6:08pm

ok....let me try this again now that my posting problem is resolved:

 

9,000 jobs to go

Officials aim for end strength of 319,000 by 2015

By Mark D. Faram

mfaram@militarytimes.com

The Navy plans to cut end strength by 9,000 sailors over the next four years.

That would ratchet the service’s end strength — 328,271 as of Feb. 18 — even lower than planned for the recent drawdown, and lower than Navy officials believe they need to carry out the service’s post-war missions.

In fact, the plan — included in the Navy’s 2012 budget — puts the service on track to exceed the drawdown goal of 322,500 by fiscal 2013, dropping to 319,000 by the end of fiscal 2015.

Cuts started in earnest in 2003, when the Navy, with an end strength of 382,235, put into effect a plan to whittle the force.

Since then, more than 53,000 sailors have been shown the door.

Navy officials were able to con­vince Congress in 2009 to pause that drawdown, saying they just couldn’t go any lower and still meet all the Navy’s regular mis­sions — as well as provide nearly 14,000 active and reserve individ­ual augmentee sailors annually to serve with the Army and Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Mark Ferguson told Navy Times in a Feb 17 interview that those requirements are pro­jected to begin dropping off during fiscal 2012 and continue to drop into 2013.

Moreover, he said units assigned to Navy Expeditionary Combat Command are likely targets for cuts.

Though Ferguson acknowledged that the projected cuts are shown in this year’s budget documents, he said future end strength is far from settled.

“There’s some element of uncer­tainty in the out years, which is why I’m reluctant to say that’s exactly where we’re going to go,” he said.

That’s because demand for sailors in the war zones may not go away, he said. Also, he noted that ship-building schedules could change, which could cause planned decommissionings to slip. Both factors could give him ammunition to keep the Navy’s end strength higher.

But he said the biggest battle is out of his hands: The most impor­tant factor in determining the Navy’s future size will be “the fis­cal environment and what we’re going to face next year and the year after.” “I would say I’m absolutely cer­tain that 325,700 is the number for [fiscal 2012],” Ferguson said. “For [fiscal 2013], we’re in the middle of a new budget build, and a lot of these items are back on the table for discussion, because they’re kind of based on projections.” Ferguson said he and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead both believe that the Navy needs to remain roughly 325,000 strong, even post-war, to meet slated missions and man the current fleet as well as the ships of the future.

Ferguson said he believes fleet leaders will be able to argue against future cuts. But he also admits that their success will ultimately depend on available funds. If they are not successful, the service will need to make hard decisions.

War-related reductions

Ferguson said fiscal 2012 will be the first year Navy manpower won’t be inflated because of the war effort.

“All of our funding in this budget is the baseline for the active side,” he said. “There’s no supplemental funding as we had in previous years for end strength.” And as the war in Iraq winds down, he said some of the roughly 15,000 active-duty sailors at Navy Expeditionary Combat Command face cuts.

“There are some reductions in capacity in those areas. We will reduce some of the maritime expe­ditionary security squadrons, and there are some projections that we could take — not until [fiscal 2013] and out — some other NECC reductions” for units yet to be identified, he said.

Those initial cuts to the security squadrons, officials say, will result in going from six squadrons in the active force down to just to three while maintaining seven in the reserves.

Also, as many as three naval mobile construction battalions could go away in 2013 or beyond. There are nine active and 12 reserve battalions, each with roughly 600 sailors.

“Right now, we’re projecting that we will take two active battalions out in [fiscal 2013] from the nine we have today,” Ferguson said “But I will tell you that’s still on the table for debate.” Navy budget officials say projections for fiscal 2013 budget call for removing three battalions from the active force, although the Navy is expected to fight to keep that loss to two.

Yet to be decided is whether battalions go away for good, or switch to the reserve component.

“We’re looking at, is the right answer seven active and 14 reserve or seven active and 12 reserve?” Ferguson said Additionally, the projected Marine Corps drawdown of roughly 15,000 to 20,000 people will help the Navy cut more of what Ferguson calls “blue in support of green” billets.

“We contribute billets, such as corpsmen and chaplains and other personnel, in support of the Marine Corps,” he said. “So as Marine Corps reduces in size, those [billets] will start to reduce in the outer years.”

Finding savings

Since the post-Cold War draw­down began in 1990, the enlisted force has borne the brunt of man­power cuts.

The enlisted work force has been cut 47.8 percent since 1989, when the service hit its post-Vietnam high, while officers were cut by 28.3 percent over the same time frame.

The previous drawdowns, Fer­guson said, avoided cutting what he calls “overhead” — reducing the officers who were overseeing the work.

That’s why Ferguson turned to the officer corps first, seeking to eliminate or consolidate officer­heavy staffs.

“For example, we had a subma­rine squadron staff with four boats in it,” he said. “We’re now going to a squadron construct where they had eight or nine boats in it, as it was years ago — that’s an example of how when we took the strength out, we did not focus on the strength that was overseeing it.” From fiscal 2012 through 2014, he’ll consolidate staffs, with the goal of cutting 2,000 to 3,000 billets.

Those savings, he said, include the consolidation of 2nd Fleet with Strike Forces Atlantic Training and Fleet Forces Command.

Also being eliminated are a destroyer squadron staff, three sub­marine squadron staffs, an air wing staff and a carrier strike group staff. He also said he had identified 1,000 billets to be cut at Navy Installations Command, the sys­tems commands and Navy Recruiting Command.

As a part of these staff reduc­tions, Ferguson also is looking at the structure of the officer corps, seeking to shrink that to bring it even more in line with the trimmer enlisted work force. He started at the top.

“We did flag billets, we eliminat­ed nine and reduced 15 [in rank],” he said. Those 15 reductions, he said, were done by dropping some O-8 billets down to O-7 and some O-7 billets to O-6.

Next, he reworked the billet structure of the restricted line and staff communities, such as lawyers, all types of medical offi­cers and supply. “We looked at the seniority of the billets in those offi­cer communities and we rolled some of them down,” he said.

Ferguson didn’t say how many total billets this officer corps restructuring produced.

Still, he said, reviews like this will continue during the next few budget cycles in an effort to find more savings.

Recruiting untouched

Ferguson said one thing the Navy won’t do is reduce recruiting goals. The service learned a valuable les­son in the previous drawdowns, when recruiting cuts created man­ning problems in later years.

Ferguson said officials learned savings must come from other places.

“Were down to [bringing in] 34,000 this fiscal year,” he said. “We’ve probably got a little room left, but we’re extremely close to the margins — we cannot cut our future by stopping accession.” □

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on March 3, 2011 at 5:53pm

folks...sorry about some of the recent posts just getting cut off in mid-sentence.  Our provider was made aware of the issue and has resolved (hopefully....) the problem.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on February 14, 2011 at 5:02am

knock doors on defense contractors.......

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 12, 2011 at 4:41pm

Blue to Green Is Option for Sailors Facing Separation

From Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- In a climate where Sailors may face separation due to high year tenure or Perform-to-Serve/Fleet Rating Identification Engine, Navy leadership is reminding Sailors in 2011 that Operation Blue to Green could keep them serving.

"Sailors should be aware of all avenues to stay in the military," said Capt. Hank Roux, head enlisted community management.

According to the Army's Operation Blue to Green website, the program allows highly qualified Sailors the opportunity to continue in military service, maintain benefits and gain new training.

Benefits of transitioning to the Army via Blue to Green include:

* E-1 through E-5 retain their grade and date of rank.
* Rates that convert into an Army military occupational specialty (MOS) will only need to attend Basic Combat Training.
* Retraining into another MOS may be possible.

"Of course we want all of our Sailors to stay Navy, whether that is active, full time support or Reserve component, but if a Sailor's facing separation Blue to Green is a great option for them," Roux said.

In fiscal year 2010, only 43 Sailors took advantage of the program.

To qualify, Sailors must be physically fit, meet the Army's height and weight standards, have a minimum of three years time in service and have an approved Request for Conditional Release (DD Form 368).

For more information, speak with your career counselor, review SECNAVINST 1000.7F, MILPERSMAN 1300-081 and the Army's Operation Blue to Green website at http://www.goarmy.com/benefits/additional-incentives/blue-to-green.....

For more news from Navy Personnel Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/npc/.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on September 30, 2010 at 5:52pm

Major news here about re-enlistments from Navy Times, Sept 27

Re-up rules get tough

PTS overhaul looks at fitness, warfare qualifications

By Mark D. Faram

mfaram@militarytimes.com
New rules roll out Oct. 1 for the Perform to Serve re-enlistment approval pro­gram — and the changes could make or break your career.

The changes are part of a com­plete overhaul of PTS that lead­ers hope will make it fairer in determining who stays and goes by giving a better picture of the “complete” sailor.

With the new rules, Millington will be looking further back into your performance history before approving re-enlistment. The sys­tem will also look at your fitness data, number of warfare qualifica­tions and any nonjudicial punish­ment.

The timeline for applications has been simplified to take away some of the guesswork, and officials have added new tools to help sailors “manage” their applications, which should give them an edge in know­ing their odds of approval each month.

The PTS system began seven years ago for first-term sailors, and over the past year has been applied to sailors through their 14th year of service. Sailors up for re-enlistment are given a quota to remain in their rating, convert to a new rating where the need is greater, or are told they need to leave the Navy.

The PTS changes come at a time of widespread misunderstanding and fear of how the system works in the fleet, deck-plate leaders said. The solution, they say, is for sailors to educate themselves and drive the process at the command. “There’s a misnomer out there that this is completely done by the computer and there’s no human interaction when it comes to the rack and stacks. That’s not true,” said Capt. Hank Roux, head com­munity manager at Navy Person­nel Command.

In the end, Roux said, more are approved to stay than are sent home.

As of Sept. 16, 95,575 applica­tions had been put into PTS since Oct. 1, 2009. That number includes some redundancy, as sailors can modify and resubmit their applica­tion each month.

Of those, 46,689, or 49 percent, were approved to ship over in current rating. Another 955, or 1 percent, were approved to convert to another rating. Five percent, or 5,163, were told to separate. Another 10,978 were “rolled over” in the system and are awaiting next month’s run.

Until now, PTS assumed you would apply 12 months before your “hard” end of active obligated service date. That’s without counting extensions that you might have agreed to. Now, the time to apply is changing to the “soft” EAOS, meaning 12 months before the end of your total obliga­tion to the Navy, including any extensions.

“That’s really the time a sailor must make a decision, so that will now be the default,” said Joe Kelly, program manager for PTS at Millington.

There are some situations in which a sailor can apply early. Navy rules allows sailors to cancel an extension before it kicks in if they re-enlist, which allows them to cash in on re-up bonuses or spe­cial training. This also applies to sailors whose rotation date is with­in 24 months of their soft EAOS as well, as those sailors will have to obligate more service to negotiate orders.

For any of these “special circum­stances,” Kelly said, the sailor will need PTS approval to ship over, but it will be up to the command to inform Millington. If they fail to win approval, their extensions kick in and they can apply again later.

Another new twist is designed to reduce the numbers of sailors who slip through the cracks. While career counselors must still track those needing PTS approval, Millington will identify every sailor who is 15 months away from his end of service date and automati­cally put an application in the sys­tem in his rating.

“Just because we’re generating the initial application doesn’t take away from command or sailor responsibility,” Kelly said. “It will be their responsibility to verify every eligible sailor is in the system and that all their data is correct.” Personnel command will only do this for sailors approaching their soft EAOS. Those wishing to re­enlist under special circumstances such as at their hard EAOS or near their rotation date will have to be entered manually by the command career counselor.

Every month, officials will pub­lish online the actual quotas for both in-rate re-enlistments and conversions, along with a running tally of how many applications are received for those slots.

“This will give a realistic look at their chances,” Kelly said. “If they see there are 70 quotas in their rating and 220 sailors are apply­ing, they might want to consider applying for a conversion.” PTS — just like it has since 2003

— starts with a formula that ranks everyone on a computer.

Those who come out on top get this month’s re-enlistment quotas. Sailors compete with others in their rating and re-enlistment zone. Zone A covers those with up to six years of service; Zone B goes from six to 10 years, and Zone C takes it up to 14 years.

For active-duty approvals, the process will include two separate formulas — one customized for in­rate approvals and the other for conversions. Sailors will be able to compete in both at the same time. “For example, if someone’s first choice is to re-enlist in-rate, but they’re willing to convert, they’ll first compete in the in-rate stack, and if they don’t get a quota, then they’ll compete in the conversion stack,” Kelly said.

The reworked formula will review at least four, but up to five years of promotion recommendations in per­formance evaluations instead of the two years used in the old formula.

Also new in the formula is fit­ness data.

“Just like the rules on the [physical fitness assessment], we’re looking at the last four years — and we give a value of 0 through 3, with 0 meaning no failures,” Kelly said. “If you have three failures in four years, you should be gone — so we’re saying in PTS if you have three failures, the system is going to kick out your application.” When the rankings are finished, the quotas are applied. If there are 20 spots available, then the first 20 on the list get provisional approval. That approval must go through three separate reviews before a quota is official. “Where it could play is if you have 20 quotas in a rating this month and you have two guys tied at No. 20, one has an NJP and one doesn’t,” Roux said. “The one without ... will get the nod.” The same thing can play out with warfare qualifications, he said.

“These are tough calls for [com­munity managers], because what if you have one guy who went to NJP who got back on track and he has a warfare qual, while the other guy with a clean record doesn’t have a qual but didn’t go to NJP — they must decide who is the best sailor overall.”

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on July 23, 2010 at 8:45pm

great news from the DOD....this was sent to me by one of our great members!!

My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA)
Questions and Answers

Q1. When will MyCAA be reinstated?

A1. Monday, October 25, at 8 a.m. (EDT).

Q2. Why was October 25 chosen to reinstate the program for all military spouses?

A2. This date was chosen to allow enough time to implement the new staffing and software infrastructure.

Q3. Why did it take so long to make this decision?

A3. We wanted to make sure we got it right, especially in view of fiscal realities the federal government is facing.

Q4. How has the program changed?

A4. Eligible spouses will receive DoD-funded assistance of $4,000 for three years from the start date of the first class. Key program changes include:

• Financial assistance will cover tuition for associate's degrees, licensure, and certification programs. Consultants will assist spouses in identifying other funding resources for higher academic degrees.

• Annual cap of $2,000 per spouse, per fiscal year. A spouse pursuing licensures or certifications requiring an up-front fee greater than $2,000 may apply for a waiver of the annual cap up to the total maximum assistance of $4,000.

• Finally, there will be clarification and stricter enforcement of active duty eligibility. In the past, there was a window around Guard and Reserve deployments during which their spouses could sign up for the program. Effective immediately, only those spouses whose service members are executing Title 10 orders will be eligible. This includes spouses of deployed National Guard and Reserve members with a completed active duty military ID, who are activated on Title 10 orders. This change in practice is to better comply with the program's authorizing legislation. All spouse participants must be able to start and complete their courses while their military sponsor is on
Title 10 orders.

Q5. Why weren’t these program guidelines incorporated into the program before?

A5. We recognize that this was a shortfall and have taken corrective action.

Q6. How can we assure the vitality of the program?

A6. Current and anticipated financial constraints are the primary reason for restricting the program to junior pay grades.

• We will focus our efforts on a more robust and customer-centric counseling approach, monitor usage closely, and use better defined guidelines.

• We have increased the staffing levels to handle the anticipated call volume which will include more one-on-one counseling with spouses. The one-on-one counseling will allow spouses to make better education, training and career choices in a field of study that not only best fits her or his interests, but is also relevant to current market employment conditions.

• The new approach will also require counselors and participants to look beyond the MyCAA funding resources to optimize military spouses' access to and use of available resources. Military spouses will be guided along a more holistic approach to career planning, to include finding additional federal benefits available to them.

Q7. How can you assure that this program will not incur the same problems as it did in February?

A7. We believe the new constraints will keep costs in check. We have also reviewed the entire MyCAA program and have instituted additional controls and forecasting tools to better anticipate future demand. We will now monitor program utilization more frequently (daily) with our additional metrics. These include number of spouses creating financial assistance documents, funds obligated, number and type of career field (that is, certificate or degree). Before the pause, we monitored the program on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

Q8. What is the new budget for the MyCAA program?

A8. We have reprogrammed funds to meet the needs of the program for fiscal year 2010; estimated at $215M.

Q9. What is the budget for the out years and how do you plan to fund it?

A9. The estimated cost for FY 2011 is $250M; we anticipate lower costs in the out years. This is still a very new program and consequently, we lack sufficient long-term experience and historical data to formulate a refined budget estimate. We will be monitoring the program closely in FY2011.

Q10. Considering Secretary Gates’ guidance to reduce DoD’s budget, how can the department justify spending this amount of money on military spouses? How does this impact the war effort?

A10. A reduced budget in coming years is a reality, and every DoD program will be closely scrutinized in coming years for its contribution to military family readiness. Whatever the choices ahead, maintaining our incredible all-volunteer force is our highest priority as we strive to recruit, attract, and retain America’s sons and daughters in the service of our nation. Families play a crucial role in supporting servicemembers on the battlefield.

Q11. Where will the funding come from?

A11. DoD has been able to reprogram money to meet immediate program needs.

Q12. Will the budget be cut?

A12. Not in FY 2011. However, in coming years, with a reduced defense budget a reality, every program will be closely scrutinized for its contribution to military family readiness.

Q13. How would you handle another spike?

A13. We will use the historical information with current usage data to ensure we can meet the demand. We are monitoring program utilization on a daily basis. This monitoring helps us assess how well we are able to serve military spouses interested in the program as well as the funding stream ‘burn rate.’ If usage surpasses the budget, DoD will reprogram to meet the requirement.
Q14. Were other options considered?

A14. Yes. We considered a wide range of options, examining multiple variations in every aspect: paygrade, program covered, and time offered. We believe the selected option assists the spouses who need it most and allows them the flexibility they need to get started in a broad range of careers. It also allows us to be good stewards of taxpayer's dollars, and increases the effectiveness and efficiency in managing the program.

Q15. What drove the decision to include the program guidelines; that is, the annual cap?

A15. We have to face present and future fiscal realities – so we adjusted the program to assist those spouses who need it most.

Q16. Why weren’t these program guidelines incorporated into the program before?

A16. We recognize that this was a shortfall and have taken corrective action.

Q17. How many military spouses are currently enrolled in the program?

A17. More than 136,000 (the exact number is 136,583) military spouses have accounts in the program; approximately 110,000 spouses have been approved for financial assistance.

Q18. Have spouses failed courses? How much has DoD lost as a result of failed courses? What was the course of action then? What is the course of action now?

A18. Yes. As a result of the course failures and withdrawals, the Defense Department will not realize any benefit from approximately $6.6M in funds that were spent on these failures. Previously, spouses were not held accountable for failing grades or withdrawing from classes. Under the new guidelines, spouses will have to show successful completion of a course in order to continue in the program. The intent is to further strengthen accountability and commitment. For spouses who have ‘good cause’ for failure or withdrawal from a course, procedures for hardship waivers, similar to that of voluntary education programs for servicemembers, will be in place.

Q19. Will all spouses not enrolled be able to take advantage of the GI Bill? If not, what benefits are available to them?

A19. The GI Bill Transfer Benefit is open to those service members with at least 6 years' service who commit to at least another four. It is at each service member's discretion whether some or all of this benefit is transferred to his or her spouse and/or children. As some of the GI Bill program nuances are complex, we encourage all spouses to visit the program website at: www.gibill.va.gov.

Q20. How long may spouses participate in the program?

A20. Military spouse may participate in the program for three years from the start date of their first course funded by MyCAA; all classes must be started and completed while the spouse’s service member is on active duty.

Q21. What will happen to spouses currently in the program? Will they be ‘’grandfathered in”?

A21. Spouses currently in the program, within the eligible pay grades, may participate under the new guidelines. All other spouses remain eligible for career and education counseling services, but not financial assistance from DoD.

Q22. What would you say to military spouses who may feel left out of the program or are angry about not being able to participate in the program?

A22. We regret the impact that these changes will have on those spouses who will no longer be eligible. We carefully weighed that impact in our decision, but we had to make the program fiscally sustainable. All spouses will have access to the enhanced career counseling element of the program. This will include advice on finding alternate sources of financial assistance.

Q23. What about spouses who want to enroll in the Fall Semester of 2010?

A23. We regret that some spouses may not be able to enroll in those schools that adhere to a traditional Fall Semester start date. However, many institutions offer a rolling registration, both in online and classroom settings, and some offer waivers. We encourage spouses to work with MyCAA counselors, as well as their educational institutions’ counseling and admissions staff, to work through the complexities of these issues.

Q24. What other programs are available for military spouses?

A24. There are a wide variety of federal, state, local, and Service programs for military spouses. To assist military spouses in their search for resources and programs, Military OneSource has developed an in-depth list of federal, scholarship and grant providers. The list provides an overview financial assistance available for education with program contact information. Some of these resources include:

• Tuition Assistance Tax Credit (“American opportunity credit”). This new education tax credit, a modification of the Hope credit, is available for 2010. The maximum credit per student is $2,500 (100 percent of the first $2,000 and 25 percent of the next $2,000 of qualified education expenses).

• Pell Grants; considered a foundation of federal financial aid, to which aid from other federal and nonfederal sources might be added. These grants are awarded usually only to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or a professional degree.

• Department of Education Web site, www.studentaid.ed.gov, includes an extensive listing of resources

Q25. Why do you have this program? Isn’t this something the Department of Education or the Department of Labor should be doing?

A25. The military lifestyle is unique and we developed the program to be responsive to those unique needs. Military service extracts a heavy demand on military families. The key employment challenge facing military spouses is the frequent permanent change of duty station moves, which entail adverse consequences, most notably lengthy interruption in employment and profession education, the loss of job tenure needed to build seniority and retirement benefits, and the need to meet location-specific licensing and certification requirements. Military spouses often find themselves responsible for balancing work and family life as a single parent, while simultaneously trying to achieve personal goals. Military spouses are the backbone of military families, displaying strength of character to be admired by this nation. We continue to collaborate with the Department of Education and Department of Labor on behalf of our military spouses.

Q26. Will there be other agencies helping to fund this program; for example, DEA, DOL, DHS, etc.?

A26. No, not directly. The program will be funded by the Defense Department; however, our career counselors will work with other federal agencies to maximize the use of federal education and training resources.

Q27. Where can military spouses go for advice and counseling?

A27. Military OneSource, toll-free at (800) 342-9647 and online at www.militaryonesource.com is the best place for military spouses to start getting information. Military OneSource Spouse Education and Career Consultants can provide education and training, career exploration, assessment, employment readiness and career search assistance.

Additional Questions (added):

Q28. Didn’t Secretary Gates promise a bigger program with a $500 million budget when he spoke at Fort Riley a few weeks ago?

A28.

Some of you heard what our senior leadership, including me, said about this program in the past—to include some pretty generous budget figures.

Some of those numbers were too large: the fact is, we have to face present and future fiscal realities. You’ll recall that a few weeks ago, Secretary Gates drew a line in the sand and challenged the Department to identify program savings and efficiencies.

It’s not going to be easy, but it’s the right thing to do. So, as a part of that, we adjusted the MyCAA program to assist those spouses who need it most.

Q29. Why an annual cap? Why waivers for licensures / certifications?

A29. The $2,000 annual cap is necessary to keep the annual costs of the budget in check. We recognize, however, that some licensures and certifications require more than that up front.

Q30. Why the reduction in the total maximum benefit from $6,000 to $4,000? Associates’ Degrees cost a lot more than that or why aren’t you funding Bachelor’s or Advanced Degrees? Some of the “licensures and certifications” that you’re claiming to “support” require Bachelor’s or higher as prerequisites?

A30. Those are true statements—we won’t cover the total cost even of an Associates’ Degree, and some spouses will need to go well beyond that to reach their career goals.

However, this program is to give spouses a start—not take them all the way to the completion of their degree programs.
• Tuition for Associates’ Degrees are averaging between $6,800 and $8,000—that’s more than the original $6,000 offered before.
• So this reduction isn’t good news, but it’s what we have to do to sustain the program, and keep us in line with our fiscal responsibilities.


Q31. If a spouse is enrolled in a course on October 25, and is no longer eligible for the program, does that mean they won’t get their money?

A31. Spouses are approved for financial assistance before their course begins, and payment goes to the school. All financial assistance that’s already approved will be honored, including after the program changes.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on May 26, 2010 at 8:36pm

waiting for results:

This is from Navy Times.....looks like MANY will not advance....

Active petty officer quotas at historic lows

By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 26, 2010 16:55:52 EDT

The names of the Navy’s newest active-duty petty officers first, second and third class are expected to be released as early as Thursday, but there will be fewer sailors crowing about their new crows

That’s because the Navy has quotas to advance fewer than 15,000 to E-4, E-5 and E-6.

Navy-wide, there is a 16.42 percent chance to advance, with 88,715 sailors passing their tests and 14,570 quotas available to move up. That is down from 19.86 percent last fall and a 24.08 percent chance just a year ago.

Part of the problem is more competition, with 1,758 more sailors passing their tests than the 86,957 who passed in September, and 2,740 more than a year ago, when 85,975 became eligible to advance by passing advancement exams.

But the real killer is fewer quotas, down 2,808 from the 17,378 available slots to move up last fall. That’s also 6,087 fewer than last year’s spring cycle, when 20,657 got a new chevron.

The falloff was worst at the E-4 level, where opportunity is the lowest since at least 1997. The 5,760 available quotas are 1,602 fewer than the 7,362 made available last fall. Quotas for third class are also down 4,474 from the spring 2009 cycle’s 10,234 quotas.

At 24.40 percent opportunity, it’s lowest chance to make E-4 in nearly two decades. Opportunity has dropped nearly 10 percentage points each year since spring 2008, when it was 46.58 percent.

At the E-5 level, opportunity is also down for the third cycle in a row. The overall opportunity to make second class dipped to 15.52 percent, down from the 18.97 percent last fall and 22.6 percent just a year ago.

It’s the lowest chance at making E-5 since fall 1997, when opportunity was 15.06 percent, but still a bit above the 12.57 percent in the fall of 1996, when the Navy was drawing down.

Here, too, competition is rising. Since the spring 2009 cycle, the numbers of test-passers has increased by 1,011 while quotas dropped by 2,109, causing the slide in opportunity.

If there’s a bright spot, it’s at E-6, where opportunity dipped a fraction of a percentage point to 11.08, down from 11.09 last fall. That’s still higher than last spring’s 10.75 percent.

Although the quotas dropped from last fall by 130, to 3,233, it’s still higher than the 2,787 quotas available last spring. But the drop in quotas was offset by fewer eligible sailors — 1,31l fewer test passers than last fall.

Visit navytimes.com for updates on when the advancement lists will be released.

Full-time support down, too
The news is just as bad in the full-time support ranks, though they outpaced the regular Navy’s opportunity at E-4 and E-5.

Overall, 444 FTS sailors will advance out of 2,648 test passers for an overall opportunity of 16.77 percent. That’s 69 fewer quotas than last fall, when opportunity was 19.01 percent with 513 advancing out of 2,689 test passers.

At E-4, opportunity dropped to 35.81 percent with 140 quotas, 12 fewer than the 152 who moved up in the fall when opportunity was 40.43 percent.

For those seeking to advance to E-5, opportunity dropped to 16.33 percent, down from 19.48 last cycle. Quotas dropped by 26, allowing 155 of 949 eligible sailors to sew on a second chevron.

For E-6 hopefuls, there are 31 fewer quotas. Opportunity is 11.39 percent, down from 13.01 last fall, dropping FTS E-6 opportunity slightly below that of the regular active component.


CLICK FOR ACTIVE ADVANCEMENT QUOTAS

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on May 25, 2010 at 11:45am

from Navy Times:

Chiefs face the ax
More sailors at risk in forced­retirement board

By Mark D. Faram

mfaram@militarytimes.com

As many as 9,000 active-duty and reserve chiefs, senior chiefs and master chiefs will go before a forced retirement board on Sept. 20 — 3,000 more than the number considered last year when the board first met.

This year, senior sailors in the diver, special warfare and explo­sive ordnance disposal fields are no longer exempt, which has dri­ven up the number of eligibles, although sailors in the nuclear and command master chief rat­ings are still exempt, as are some others. Personnel officials have also expanded that pool to include sailors with 19 years of service, as opposed to 20 years and up. Sailors must still have three years in their paygrade. No one will be forced to quit before becom­ing retire­ment-eligible.

In addition, this year’s board will examine the records of 2,000 senior drilling reservists. Reserve eligibility rules are similar to the active compo­nent, except there are no exempt ratings or communities, and time in service is calculated differently.

The announcement came May 19 in a fleetwide message, NavAdmin 180/10.

“The continuation board has expanded from last year,” said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West. “This is a move in the right direction so we are retaining the best people pos­sible for our Navy.” West said the goal of the board continues to be identifying nonperforming chiefs and those with misconduct on their records.

“This is a performance-based board, and I have confidence that the senior enlisted leadership who sit on the board are focused on fairness and proper adherence to standards and are choosing who they want to stand with and lead the Navy,” he said.

Last year’s board, which was the first of its kind in 15 years, ended up forcing 158 chiefs to retire.

Who gets a look

All E-7 through E-9 active-duty and full-time support sailors not in an exempt category who will have at least 19 years of service and three years’ time in rate as of Sept. 1 will be seen by the board.

For Selected Reserve sailors, the 19 years of total service are com­puted from their pay entry base date as of Sept. 1. The three years’ time in grade also applies.

“In developing lessons learned from last year’s board, we realized that with the time given for these chiefs to retire, we could drop the time in service to 19 years,” said Capt. Leo Falardeau, head of career progression at Navy Person­nel Command. “By the time it’s all said and done, they’ll still be able to retire with their 20 years.” This year, fewer sailors will be excluded. Although those with nuclear power specialties and command master chiefs will con­tinue to be exempt, Navy divers, special warfare operators, special warfare boat operators and explo­sive ordnance disposal technicians will get a look.

But the addition of reservists, both full-time support and drilling reservists, is a significant change, Falardeau said. Force Master Chief Ronney Wright (FMF), top sailor in Navy Reserve Forces Command, said the board will examine both selected reservists and those in voluntary training units — Individual Ready Reserve sailors not in a paid billet, but who drill for points only.

Falardeau said the board will be fully integrated and “reflect the Navy as a whole,” which means all of the board’s panels will include reserve and full-time support sailors.

“We intend to fully brief the reserves about the active force career paths, and we’ll do the same for active board members,” Falardeau said. “There will be no doubt what the standards are and all will be held to the same ruler.”

How it will work

Like last year’s board, this year’s selection has no quotas, in what leaders call a “quality cut.” Commands are encouraged to review their chiefs’ records and determine who’s eligible for a look this year, and ensure all records are complete. Packages will be considered and are due at NPC in Millington, Tenn., by Aug. 16.

Those deemed unfit to continue must retire by June 30, 2011.

Some reservists will need to leave their drilling status before accruing 20 years toward retire­ment, because reservists must accrue a minimum number of drill points per year of service for that year to count toward retirement. But at the same time, their time in service and time in grade clock keeps ticking regardless of whether they are on active status. Chiefs forced from drilling reserve status before having enough quali­fying years for their reserve retire­ment will be allowed to finish their careers in the IRR. But instead of drilling, they must complete Navy correspondence courses to obtain those retirement points.

To get a qualifying year toward retirement, all reservists must earn at least 50 retirement points. Most drilling reservists earn two retirement points for each drill day, while active-duty days count for one. □

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on May 25, 2010 at 11:42am

from Navy Times:

New rules on warfare quals

Failure to earn pin could end your career

By Mark D. Faram

mfaram@militarytimes.com
Instructions laying out mandato­ry warfare qualifications will hit the fleet July 1, in which all first­term sailors must get a warfare pin during their first sea tours or doom their Navy careers.

With the deadline near, most of the 12 warfare qualification pro­grams have been reworked to fit smoothly into a junior sailor’s assignment pipeline.

“We’re still focused on a July 1 rollout date, and the indications are that everything will be done for that to happen,” said Fleet Master Chief (SW/AW) Tom Howard, the top sailor at Fleet Forces Command. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West tasked Howard last July with carrying out the manda­tory qualifications program.

Under the new program, all first-term sailors on their first sea tour must complete a warfare qualification within 30 months of reporting. Failure to get pinned on time will, in most cases, result in career-ending evaluations.

Since 1998, all E-5s and above on sea duty without a warfare qual have been required to com­plete a qualification within 18 months of beginning that tour —

or face advancement restrictions. This requirement will remain, Howard said, for those who do their first tours ashore.

“It’s a standard we feel every sailor should achieve,” West said. “When I see a warfare pin on a sailor’s chest, I know that sailor has a level of knowledge to where he’s able to take care of his ship, his shipmates and himself at all times — having everyone at or working toward that level will only strengthen the war-fighting ability of that command and the Navy.” Howard said sailors who are already in the fleet will also be subject to the new rule. Beginning July 1, the 30-month clock starts ticking for them as well.

How it will work

Under the new program, when a sailor gets to his first command, all the standards needed to get a qual will be laid out.

Next, he will sign an entry in his service jacket stating he knows the requirements of the qual and con­sequences of failure. Sailors will be required to get only one pin during their career. Multiple quals are optional and encouraged.

All quals must be completed in 30 months or less, although dead­lines for individual warfare pro­grams may be set earlier. Surface and aviation quals will be 30 months. The new Information Dominance Corps program will allow its members 24 months to finish. Deadlines for the other quals have not yet been released.

“We know that many sailors complete these programs today in way less than 30 months,” Howard said. “But some ratings will need more time because of longer and more intense shipboard and in­rate quals, so setting the qualifica­tion at 30 months, we believe, makes it fair for everyone.” Both the Enlisted Surface War­fare Specialist and Enlisted Avia­tion Warfare Specialist programs — the two most common warfare quals in the Navy — will incorpo­rate a phased approach. Sailors will not be merely issued a big book to study. Rather, the program will be broken into phases with deadlines for each.

“We don’t want to overwhelm any sailor, so this will be mapped out in a format that shows the sailor week by week what they’ll be responsible for completing,” said Force Master Chief (AW/SW) James Delozier, senior sailor at Naval Air Forces, who is oversee­ing the rework of the AW program.

Get pinned or get out

In the submarine force, where the qualification has been manda­tory for 86 years, sailors who fail to get their dolphins within 12 months must leave the submarine community.

So, too, will sailors in the new warfare programs face conse­quences for missing the deadline.

It’s up to commands to hash out specifics, but if a sailor does fall behind, the command will counsel him and develop a plan to get him caught up.

If the remedial efforts fail, each warfare program will have specific consequences, said Force Master Chief (SW/AW) James Williams, top sailor at Naval Surface Force Atlantic.

“First, we recommend that a command take that sailor aside and really determine why that individual didn’t complete the pro­gram and if there’s extenuating circumstances,” he said.

That sailor will receive low marks in his next evaluation, will not be recommended for advancement and won’t be eligible to take the next advancement exam, he said.

Those consequences doom his chance of getting approved for re­enlistment, which is weighted heavily toward paygrade and eval­uations. After a re-enlistment rejection, it’s only a matter of time before he has to leave the Navy.

The mandatory qual program doesn’t just affect sailors with nothing on their chests. Deck­plate leaders are in charge of mak­ing it happen.

“You should know on the drop of a dime who in your work center, divi­sion or whole command is qualified. Who is making progress and who needs more work. We haven’t done a very good job of that in the past, and that has to change for this to be successful,” Williams said.

Most work centers have a train­ing petty officer who must track sailors’ progress. But it doesn’t end there, Williams said. All leaders —

the leading petty officer, depart­mental chiefs and the command master chief — must ensure sailors are on track. If they don’t, this will show up in their evaluations, too.

Reworking programs

The surface program, Williams said, will continue to run in two parts: a core curriculum for everyone and a ship-specific cur­riculum based on the sailor’s assignment.

“We’ve already rewritten the core, and now we’re at work on the ship-specific,” Williams said. “We’ve already found out in some cases we were asking sailors to learn about equipment that was no longer on our ships.” The SW program will undergo annual reviews for relevance.

The AW program isn’t as far along. Right now it’s similar to the SW program, with a core followed by a platform-specific focus.

Delozier said they plan to drop the common core part and develop totally new, platform-specific ver­sions for each of the 23 separate ship and aircraft programs.

All that, he said, is being decided by a team of command master chiefs and aviation maintenance master chiefs. They all agree on one thing: The content must be tougher.

“We have decided the program needs to be more detailed and have more in-depth knowledge requirements,” Delozier said.

Both programs aren’t expected to be finished until sometime in 2011, so for the time being, they’ll continue to use their existing pro­grams and gradually roll out the parts as they become available.

Updating the programs once they have been instituted will be easier now. Content changes will rest with the type commander, rather than the warfare sponsor in the Pentagon.

Howard, Delozier and Williams agree that the biggest challenge to getting mandatory warfare quali­fications off the ground will be get­ting everyone in the fleet used to a new way of doing business.

“The challenge for us is to be mindful of the culture change and not try to take this too far, too soon,” Williams said. □

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