Force Shaping for the Future - CNP Discusses Manning the Fleet for the Future
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS040825-13
Release Date: 8/25/2004 3:44:00 PM
By Journalist 1st Class (SW) Hendrick L. Dickson, Navy News Service
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- In an Aug. 17 interview at the Navy Annex in Washington, D.C., Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Gerry Hoewing talked about what a change in end strength would mean for Sailors and how the Navy would look in the future.
The Navy is changing the way it approaches manpower and personnel decisions, and shaping its force to become more efficient and effective, said Hoewing. This Force Shaping campaign is designed to get the skill mix right for the fleet by focusing on job requirements, not just numbers.
Hoewing stressed that this reduction is not about eliminating people, but rather about eliminating jobs that either do not need to be done specifically by Sailors, or do not need to be done at all.
"Our goal with end strength is to shape that force to the true requirement," said Hoewing. "In Fiscal Year '05, we will remove 7,900 billets from our structure. Those 7,900 billets are equated to ships decommissioning, reorganization and elimination of duplication, and civilian substitution for military people when it makes sense to do so. So we're not cutting people. We are eliminating work and then harvesting efficiencies and improved effectiveness associated with that."
According to Hoewing, the scaling down of these jobs will allow Sailors to focus more on their designated job skill. It will also keep Sailors from being bogged down and working in jobs that do not enhance their particular rating skill, thereby improving their overall chances for advancement.
"Jobs will be better," said Hoewing "The jobs will have greater job content. The jobs that will be removed are the jobs that have low job content, where Sailors don't have the opportunity to work in their designated rate, continue to improve their skills and become more effective in warfighting. So, we take those jobs away so Sailors are able the improve their skills and be more competitive in advancement down the line."
Hoewing said Force Shaping does not just depend on end strength reduction. The Navy is also taking advantage of great retention to help achieve proper manning requirements. Several programs that are already implemented, such as Perform to Serve, Assignment Incentive Pay and Enlisted Early Transition Program are helping make the transformation easier by helping the Navy match the skill set of their Sailors with the job requirements they need.
Perform to Serve has already converted 1,600 first term Sailors from overmanned ratings to less crowded ones, putting Sailors where they are needed. Assignment Incentive Pay provides Sailors with monetary incentives for taking jobs that are hard to fill or require special skills that the Navy is having trouble filling. And the Enlisted Early Transition Program allows Sailors who have already made the decision to transition back to their civilian lives voluntarily to do so a year early, giving them a head start on their futures.
There are also several rating mergers that are either in the completion phase or being studied as part of the Force Shaping process, as well. The disbursing clerk/personnelman merger is in the approval process. A hospital corpsman/dental technician merger is in the works. Journalist/draftsman/photographer's mate/lithographer ratings are being studied for the feasibility of creating one mass communication rating. The Navy is also looking at merging the yeoman/legalman/religious programs specialist/cryptologic technician (administration) ratings into one administrative rate.
According to Hoewing, merging these ratings that share similar training requirements and tasks will create more jobs throughout the fleet and more opportunity for jobs.
"If you open up a broader number of jobs in all of these skill areas, and allow more Sailors to compete for them, we then have the opportunity to get the best Sailor in the right area that meets his or her requirements, as well as the Navy's needs."
Hoewing added that rating mergers do not mean a dead end for advancement opportunities. Sailors should remain focused on being as technically proficient as possible to maintain their chances for advancement.
"Last year, we completed the rating merger for signalmen and quartermasters," said Hoewing. "The signalman rating was eliminated as a part of that, and our SM1s [signalmen first class] went into other skill sets throughout the Navy. Of those SM1s that were before the board to select for chief, they selected to chief at almost twice (43 percent) the all-Navy selection rate to chief of 21.9 percent."
"Just because we're doing the rating merger doesn't mean the opportunities are not there," he continued. "It goes back to what the individual Sailors bring to the table, what their knowledge, skills and abilities are, and how they will be able to shape the mission of the future."
Hoewing is aware the manning changing will cause Sailors to question the amount of time they will have to spend at sea away from their families. He expressed the Navy's commitment to provide the highest quality of life for their Sailors and families, and equal or greater opportunity for Sailors to spend at home with their families.
"We know that while we enlist Sailors, we reenlist families," Hoewing said. "So our commitment to the families is an essential element for our 21st century strategy. We want to make sure our Sailors' work/life balance (quality of service, quality of life and quality of work) all support an opportunity to have quality time with their families."
"When the ship or squadron is in port, Sailors will have the opportunity to go home at the end of the work day," he explained.
Although the overriding element in the Force Shaping campaign is reduction, Hoewing expressed that Force Shaping should not be misconstrued as downsizing. He does not want it to be looked at as the Navy becoming a smaller fleet, but as the Navy becoming a more efficient and effective fighting force.
"Downsizing means you are cutting people, you're cutting jobs and you're doing it for cost savings," he said. "What we are doing is determining the true requirement work, creating a better and a broader opportunity for Sailors so that we can do our mission better, and there is a big difference there."
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