ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE
 
ROUTINE       
 
R 071843Z OCT 03 ZYB MIN PSN 010565J17
 
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
 
TO NAVADMIN
 
UNCLAS //N00000//
NAVADMIN 272/03
 
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/-/OCT//
 
SUBJ/CNP MONTHLY UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 2003//
 
RMKS/1.  I HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE TO MAKE TWO TRIPS TO FLEET
CONCENTRATION AREAS IN SEPTEMBER, FIRST TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND
THEN TO THE SAN DIEGO AREA.  I VISITED SIX BASES IN ALL AND TALKED
TO HUNDREDS OF SAILORS.  THEN WENT TO USS RONALD REAGAN TO HELP
PROMOTE THE NAVY'S FIRST CWO5 AND SPEAK WITH SAILORS THERE.  THE
TONE AT EACH COMMAND WAS OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE, BUT THEY DID ASK
ME SOME VERY DIRECT QUESTIONS.  IN FACT, THE QUESTIONS WERE SO
DIRECT AND SO ASTUTE, THAT I THOUGHT I WOULD DEVIATE FROM MY
TRADITIONAL MONTHLY UPDATE BY SHARING SOME OF THEM WITH YOU.  BELOW
IS A SAMPLING OF THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS, ALONG WITH MY RESPONSES.
    Q:  HOW WILL THE FLEET RESPONSE PLAN (FRP) AFFECT DEPLOYMENT
LENGTH AND SCHEDULES? SHOULD WE PLAN ON BEING GONE FOR LONGER
PERIODS OF TIME?
    A:  THE FRP DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN LONGER DEPLOYMENTS.  IT
MAY, IN FACT, MEAN SHORTER ONES.  THE CNO HAS BEEN VERY CLEAR:  WE
WILL NO LONGER DEPLOY FOR DEPLOYMENT'S SAKE.  WE ARE GOING TO DEPLOY
WHEN AND FOR HOWEVER LONG IT TAKES TO ACCOMPLISH THE MISSIONS THE
NAVY IS CALLED UPON TO EXECUTE.  HE CALLS IT "PRESENCE WITH A
PURPOSE."  IT'S ALL ABOUT INCREASING OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE THE
PRESIDENT OPTIONS BY SURGING FORCES FASTER AND MORE EFFECTIVELY.
OUR CHALLENGE IN THE MANPOWER AND PERSONNEL BUSINESS IS TO MAKE SURE
WE KEEP YOUR SHIPS AND SQUADRONS FULLY MANNED THROUGHOUT THAT SURGE
CYCLE, SO THAT WHEN YOU GO, YOU DO SO WITH ALL THE TALENT AND SKILLS
YOU NEED TO GET THE JOB DONE.
    Q:  WE HAVE HEARD THAT SEA/SHORE ROTATION POLICIES ARE BEING
REVIEWED.  IS THAT TRUE AND WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT?
    A:  WE'VE JUST STARTED TO APPLY ENERGY TO THIS, AND WE DON'T
HAVE ANY FIRM ANSWERS YET.  THE WAY I SEE IT, THERE ARE ESSENTIALLY
FOUR TYPES OF SHORE DUTY:  INSTRUCTOR DUTY, DUTY UNDER INSTRUCTION,
NAVY REPRESENTATION (I.E. RECRUITING) OR IN-RATE WORK.  BUT NOT EVERY
RATING OFFERS THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES ASHORE, SO SOMETIMES WE SEND
SAILORS TO JOBS THAT DO NOT ENHANCE THEIR SKILLS AND MAY NOT BE ALL
THAT CAREER ENHANCING.  PERHAPS THERE IS A BETTER WAY TO DO BUSINESS,
AND LOOKING AT SEA/SHORE ROTATION IS A GOOD FIRST STEP.  WHATEVER WE
COME UP WITH, REST ASSURED IT WILL NOT MEAN THAT YOU SPEND YOUR
ENTIRE CAREER AT SEA.  WE KNOW SHORE DUTY PROVIDES A VALUABLE
RESPITE, AND THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR FAMILY LIFE.  WE JUST WANT
TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU DO GO ASHORE, YOU GO TO A REWARDING JOB.
    Q:  WITH ALL THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY COMING AND WITH NEW SHIP TYPES
BEING PLANNED THAT REQUIRE FEWER PEOPLE, IS THE NAVY DOWNSIZING IN
THE FUTURE?
    A:  WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO OVER THE LONG TERM IS LEVERAGE
TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE US MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE EFFECTIVE, AND WE
THINK THAT WILL -- BY DESIGN -- MAKE US A SMALLER NAVY.  A TERRIFIC
EXAMPLE IS HUMAN SYSTEMS INTEGRATION.  HSI IS ALL ABOUT DESIGNING
EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS WITH THE SAILOR IN MIND FROM THE VERY START,
ALLOWING US TO DEVOTE FEWER PEOPLE TO A GIVEN TASK WHILE SAVING
PRECIOUS RESOURCES THAT CAN, IN TURN, BE REINVESTED IN EVEN BETTER
TECHNOLOGY.  THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT, WHATEVER THE NUMBER OF SHIPS WE
HAVE, WE KNOW THE FLEET OF THE FUTURE WILL BE MORE TECHNOLOGICAL AND
MORE LETHAL.  IT WON'T BE MANNED BY AS MANY PEOPLE, AND IT WON'T NEED
TO BE.
    Q:  WHAT IS THE STATUS OF PERFORM TO SERVE? WILL IT BE EXPANDED
TO ZONES B AND C?
    A:  AFTER THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF PERFORM TO SERVE WE HAVE
APPROVED MORE THAN 11,000 FIRST-TERM SAILORS TO REENLIST IN RATE AND
ANOTHER 1,800 OR SO FOR CONVERSION INTO SOME OF OUR UNDERMANNED
RATINGS.  410 SAILORS WILL NOT BE OFFERED REENLISTMENT OPTIONS AND
WILL BE SEPARATING AT EAOS.  OF THOSE 410 SAILORS 159 INDICATED THEY
INTENDED TO SEPARATE AT COMPLETION OF THEIR OBLIGATED SERVICE.
EXPANDING PTS THROUGHOUT ZONE A IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE WOULD LIKE
TO DO IN THE NEAR FUTURE AS IT PROVIDES SAILORS WITH THE EXPECTATION
THAT CAREER PLANNING SHOULD OCCUR WELL BEFORE THEIR LAST SCHEDULED
DAY IN SERVICE AND ENCOURAGES THEM TO VIEW THE WIDE VISTA OF
OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE EITHER IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES OR THROUGH
CONVERSION TO OTHER RATINGS.  WE ARE ALSO STUDYING EXPANDING PTS
INTO OTHER ZONES, BUT THERE IS NO SET TIMELINE.  THIS EXPANSION WILL
GIVE LATER ZONE SAILORS THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES AS THOSE IN ZONE A,
BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ALL THE IT SOLUTIONS IN PLACE FIRST.
    Q:  THERE ARE SOME RATINGS THAT NEVER GET SELECTED REENLISTMENT
BONUSES.  ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO WIDEN THE NUMBER OF RATINGS WITH
SRBS?
    A:  SELECTED REENLISTMENT BONUSES REMAIN ONE OF OUR MOST
EFFECTIVE FORCE-SHAPING TOOLS.  THIS YEAR THE PROGRAM FUNDED MORE
THAN 18,000 REENLISTMENTS OUT OF A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 39,457 FOR
FY03, AND WE EXPECT SIMILAR FUNDING LEVELS NEXT YEAR.  IT IS
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT SRB RATES ARE FLEXIBLE, FREQUENTLY
CHANGING TO MEET FLEET MANNING REQUIREMENTS.  SRBS ARE FOCUSED ON
SPECIFIC SKILLS, DOWN TO THE NEC LEVEL, TO ENSURE WE HAVE A
SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF SKILLS TO MEET OUR CRITICAL WARFIGHTING AND
WARFIGHTER SUPPORT MISSIONS.  SRB IS A REENLISTMENT MOTIVATION TOOL
THAT IS APPLIED TO AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE ADDITIONAL
REENLISTMENTS TO PROPERLY MAN THE FLEET.  WE ARE THE BEST MANNED
THAT WE HAVE EVER BEEN IN MOST RATINGS OVERALL AND HAVE THEREFORE
SHIFTED SRB TO FOCUS ON OUR MOST CRITICAL NECS.
    Q:  WITH THE FIVE-VECTOR MODEL COMING ONLINE, DO YOU FORESEE
MAJOR CHANGES TO THE WAY ADVANCEMENTS ARE HANDLED?  ARE ADVANCEMENT
EXAMS GOING AWAY?
    A:  ADVANCEMENT EXAMS ARE NOT GOING AWAY ANYTIME SOON. THE
CURRENT SYSTEM WORKS VERY WELL, AND THE EXAMS ARE BETTER THAN EVER.
BUT, ARE WE LOOKING AT HOW ADVANCEMENTS CAN CHANGE OVER THE LONG
HAUL?  YOU BET.  AND THE FIVE-VECTOR MODEL, AN INTEGRAL PART OF SEA
WARRIOR, HOLDS GREAT PROMISE.  THE REAL-TIME ASSESSMENT IT WILL
OFFER SAILORS AND LEADERSHIP ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL'S CAREER PROGRESS
COULD DRAMATICALLY CHANGE THE WAY WE PROMOTE PEOPLE.  THERE IS STILL
A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE, AND, UNTIL WE ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN ALL
THE PROPER SUPPORT MEASURES AND ALGORITHMS ARE IN PLACE, WE WILL NOT
DEVIATE FROM THE CURRENT ADVANCEMENT SYSTEM.  OURS IS THE BEST SYSTEM
IN ALL FOUR BRANCHES OF THE MILITARY, AND SAILORS TRUST THE RESULTS.
WE WANT TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE WE
HAVE IT RIGHT.
    Q:  THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL HIGH YEAR TENURE CHANGES LATELY, THE
MOST RECENT BEING AN ADJUSTMENT FROM TEN TO EIGHT YEARS FOR E4'S.
ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO CHANGE E5 HYT?
    A:  THERE ARE NO PLANS TO CHANGE E5 HYT, WHICH IS CURRENTLY SET
AT 20 YEARS.  WE FEEL COMFORTABLE LEAVING IT THERE FOR THE TIME
BEING, BUT -- AS WITH ANY POLICY -- WE REVIEW IT FROM TIME TO TIME
TO MAKE SURE IT IS IN KEEPING WITH OUR FORCE-SHAPING NEEDS.  HYT
REMAINS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO KEEP PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY STEADY AS WE
CONTINUE TO GROW THE TOP SIX PAYGRADES TO 75.5 PERCENT BY FY 07.
 
2.  CONCLUSION:  ANOTHER TOPIC AT THE TOP OF THEIR LIST WAS BANDWIDTH
AND COMPUTER ACCESS AT SEA, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE ADVENT OF WEB-BASED
DETAILING THROUGH SEA WARRIOR.  THIS WAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN TO
SUBMARINERS.  WHILE I COULD NOT PROVIDE A READY SOLUTION, I LET THEM
KNOW LEADERSHIP WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND WOULD NOT ALLOW IT TO
NEGATIVELY IMPACT ANYONE'S CAREER MANAGEMENT.
 
3.  AS YOU CAN READILY SEE, OUR PEOPLE ARE UP TO SPEED ON THE MAJOR
ISSUES FACING OUR NAVY TODAY.  THEY ARE THINKING CRITICALLY AND
CAREFULLY ABOUT THE POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT AFFECT THEM MOST, AND
THEY ARE NOT AFRAID TO LET US KNOW HOW THEY FEEL.  IT WAS STIMULATING
AND A LOT OF FUN TO SPEND TIME WITH THEM.  I HOPE YOU FIND THIS SORT
OF FEEDBACK VALUABLE.
 
4.  RELEASED BY VADM G. L. HOEWING, N1.//
 
BT
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