ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE ROUTINE R 122230Z JAN 04 ZYB MIN PSN 882726J33 FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1// TO NAVADMIN UNCLAS NAVADMIN 007/04 MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/-/JAN// SUBJ/CNP MONTHLY UPDATE FOR DECEMBER 2003// RMKS/1. DECEMBER WAS A BUSY MONTH HERE AT THE ANNEX AND IN MILLINGTON AS WE CONTINUED TO HONE OUR FORCE SHAPING TOOLS TO BETTER MEET THE FLEET'S REQUIREMENT FOR TRAINED AND MOTIVATED MANPOWER. WE EXPANDED PERFORM-TO-SERVE AND THE ASSIGNMENT INCENTIVE PAY PILOT, AND WE ANNOUNCED PLANS TO RELEASE FROM ACTIVE DUTY MORE THAN 400 PROBATIONARY OFFICERS. I KNOW YOU HAVE READ OR HEARD ABOUT SOME OF THE INITIATIVES, BUT ALLOW ME HERE TO GIVE YOU A QUICK SNAPSHOT. JUST LAST MONTH: A. THE ASSIGNMENT INCENTIVE PAY (AIP) PILOT EXPANDED TO INCLUDE 569 BILLETS IN THE REPAIR UIC'S IN USS EMORY S. LAND (AS 39) AND USS FRANK CABLE (AS 40). THE BILLETS RANGE FROM E4 TO E9 AND INVOLVE SEVERAL RATINGS, INCLUDING STS, ET, MM(SS), EM, EN, MR, AND HT -- WITH MAXIMUM AWARDS FROM $500 TO $700 PER MONTH DEPENDING ON PAYGRADE. WE ARE ALSO INCREASING AWARD AMOUNTS FOR SOME EXISTING AIP BILLETS IN NAPLES AND SIGONELLA, ITALY AND MISAWA, JAPAN. SELECTED BILLETS IN THESE LOCATIONS -- PREDOMINANTLY FOR ITS AND ETS -- WILL SEE INCREASES IN CURRENT MAXIMUM BID AMOUNTS BY UP TO $450. NAVADMIN 321/03 HAS ALL THE DETAILS. MORE THAN 1,100 AIP BIDS HAVE BEEN PROCESSED SINCE THE PILOT PROGRAM BEGAN IN JUNE, RESULTING IN 238 SAILORS RECEIVING AN AVERAGE OF $245 EXTRA EACH MONTH. B. PERFORM-TO-SERVE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE FIRST-TERM SAILORS IN CREO GROUP TWO RATINGS. THIS EXPANSION, WHICH AFFECTS PERSONNEL WITH AN EAOS IN FEBRUARY 2004 OR BEYOND, INCLUDES TWO SIGNIFICANT PROGRAM CHANGES: 1) WITH ASVAB RETESTING ON THE RISE, APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER 1 JANUARY 2004 (INITIAL OR MODIFIED) MUST NOW INCLUDE CURRENT ASVAB LINE SCORES FOR A SAILOR WHO CHOOSES A CONVERSION OPTION, AND 2) SAILORS WHO DESIRE TO REENLIST ONLY IN A DIFFERENT SKILL SET MAY SELECT A "CONVERSION ONLY" OPTION. SEE NAVADMIN 316/03 FOR MORE DETAILS. MORE THAN 16,000 SAILORS HAVE APPLIED TO REENLIST THROUGH PTS SINCE THE PROGRAM BEGAN LAST FEBRUARY. EIGHTY-THREE PERCENT HAVE BEEN APPROVED TO REENLIST IN RATE, WITH 14 PERCENT APPROVED FOR CONVERSION TO LESS CROWDED RATINGS. C. THE CREO/REGA LIST WAS UPDATED. WE TIMED THE RELEASE OF THIS PTS EXPANSION WITH OUR LATEST CREO/REGA MESSAGE, WHICH UPDATES THE PLACEMENT OF SOME RATINGS WITH RESPECT TO MANNING INTO CREO GROUPS AND SHOWS THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT. OPPORTUNITIES ARE EXCELLENT IN THE MA RATING, WHICH IS STILL GROWING TO A TOTAL END STRENGTH OF JUST UNDER 10,000. MS, SK, AND IT ARE ALSO GOOD OPTIONS FOR CONVERSION. D. SOME PROBATIONARY OFFICERS RELEASED FROM ACTIVE DUTY. WE HAVE NEARLY FINISHED NOTIFYING ALL 433 PROBATIONARY OFFICERS PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED FOR RELEASE FROM ACTIVE DUTY. THESE OFFICERS WERE ALL SERVING IN EXCESS OF NAVY REQUIREMENTS -- MOST HAVING NOT EARNED OR MAINTAINED NEEDED QUALIFICATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS. THE DECISION TO EMPLOY THIS PARTICULAR FORCE-SHAPING TOOL WAS NOT ONE WE TOOK LIGHTLY, NOR ONE WE EXECUTED CALLOUSLY. EACH OFFICER WAS PERSONALLY NOTIFIED BY THEIR COMMANDING OFFICER. AS WE COMPLETE THAT PROCESS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE NECESSITY OF THIS TOOL. THE NAVY IS BECOMING MORE COMPETITIVE AND WILL CONTINUE TO BECOME A MORE EFFICIENT, LESS MANPOWER-INTENSIVE, AND SURGE-READY FORCE. INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN THAT FORCE WILL BE THE KEY TO CAREER DEVELOPMENT. AS RADM JOHN TOWNES PUT IT IN A RECENT NAVY TIMES INTERVIEW, "IT SENDS A SIGNAL THAT IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED, YOU NEED TO COMPETE." E. DETAILERS BEGAN APPLYING BROADER PRD WINDOWS FOR ENLISTED PERSONNEL BY CUTTING ORDERS ANYWHERE FROM THREE MONTHS PRIOR TO FOUR MONTHS AFTER AN INDIVIDUAL'S PRD. THE USE OF THIS EXPANDED WINDOW DOES SEVERAL THINGS FOR US: 1) IT GIVES DETAILERS THE FLEXIBILITY TO MEET THE FLEET'S DYNAMIC MANNING REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE FLEET RESPONSE PLAN; 2) IT PROVIDES GREATER OPPORTUNITY FOR QUALIFIED CONTACT RELIEFS; 3) IT ALLOWS SAILORS TO SELECT THEIR NEXT JOB FROM A MUCH WIDER VARIETY OF POTENTIAL BILLETS; AND 4) IT CREATES A GREATER NUMBER OF POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR ANY GIVEN SET OF ORDERS. THIS POLICY MAKES GOOD SENSE FROM BOTH AN OPERATIONAL AND A QUALITY OF SERVICE PERSPECTIVE AND CERTAINLY PASSES OUR LITMUS TEST OF "MISSION FIRST, SAILORS ALWAYS." SEE NAVADMIN 318/03. F. ACTIVE DUTY AND RESERVE 2003 RECRUITERS OF THE YEAR WERE HONORED AT A CEREMONY ON 4 DECEMBER AT THE NAVY MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, DC. EARLIER THAT SAME DAY, SECNAV AND CNO MET WITH THE RECRUITERS, WHERE CNO MERITORIOUSLY ADVANCED ENLISTED RECRUITERS OF THE YEAR DC1(SW) YENIER RAMIREZ (ACTIVE DUTY) AND NCC JAMES A. GRAY (RESERVE) TO THEIR PRESENT RANKS. OTHER AWARD WINNERS HONORED AT THE CEREMONIES WERE LT JIMMY L. RYALS, LCDR DEBRA A. MORGAN, NCC(SW) GREGORY D. DICKEY, NCC FRANKLIN P. TIONGCO, BM2 JUAN R. GONZALEZ, NC1(FMF) GEORGE R. JOHNSON, AND QMC(SW) LEE M. WRIGHT. THROUGH THE HARD WORK AND TALENT OF OUR NAVY RECRUITERS, SUCH AS THOSE HONORED IN WASHINGTON, RECRUITING HAS NOW ACHIEVED MISSION SUCCESS FOR MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE CALENDAR YEARS. THEY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK HARD THROUGH 2004 TOWARD ACHIEVING THE CNO'S GOAL OF MAKING THE NAVY A PROFESSION OF CHOICE, WHERE THE BEST YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN IN THE COUNTRY COMPETE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN AND STAY WITH US. G. REENLISTMENT RATES DOWN SLIGHTLY. NOVEMBER MONTHLY REENLISTMENT RATES SHOWED A SLIGHT DECLINE FROM OCTOBER. THIS IS NOT UNEXPECTED SINCE EARLY FISCAL YEAR SRB REENLISTMENTS HISTORICALLY DROP OFF AFTER THEIR OCTOBER HIGHS. THE 2003 FISCAL YEAR-TO-DATE (FYTD) REENLISTMENT RATE FOR ZONE A CAME IN AT 63.6 PERCENT -- DOWN ALMOST 20 POINTS WHEN COMPARED TO THE OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2002 TIMEFRAME, BUT WELL ABOVE THE CNO'S GOAL OF 56 PERCENT. THE ZONE B (SAILORS WITH 6 TO 10 YEARS OF SERVICE) FYTD RATE STANDS AT 78.1 PERCENT, DOWN 7.3 POINTS FROM LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME BUT STILL EIGHT POINTS ABOVE GOAL. ZONE C (SAILORS WITH 10 TO 14 YEARS OF SERVICE) COMES IN AT 88.9 PERCENT, DOWN SLIGHTLY BY 2.4 PERCENT AND FOUR POINTS ABOVE CNO'S GOAL OF 85 PERCENT. THESE RATES HAVE HELPED PUT US ON OUR FY04 END STRENGTH EXECUTION GLIDE SLOPE. 2. WE WILL TAKE TIME OUT OF OUR BUSY SCHEDULES TO OBSERVE DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY ON MONDAY, 19 JANUARY AND REFLECT ON THE INCREDIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DR. KING TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND TO SOCIAL EQUALITY. JANUARY ALSO WILL SEE THE NEXT SOCIETY OF HISPANIC PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS (SHPE) NATIONAL TECHNICAL CAREER CONFERENCE. THIS YEAR THE CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD FROM 6-10 JANUARY IN CHICAGO. FOR MORE INFORMATION, LOG ON TO THE SHPE WEBSITE AT WWW.SHPE.ORG. 3. CONCLUSION. CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE FOR MAKING 2003 THE MOST SUCCESSFUL RETENTION YEAR IN THE HISTORY OF OUR INSTITUTION. AM LOOKING FORWARD TO 2004 AS WE CONTINUE TO PROPERLY SHAPE THE NAVY'S WORKFORCE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY AND DELIVER THE RIGHT TALENT TO THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. 4. RELEASED BY VADM G. L. HOEWING, N1.// BT NNNN