Sailors aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) take the oath of enlistment, March 30, 2020 (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Ashley M.C. Estrella)
Months after the Navy announced record recruiting bonuses, the Sea Service The department has made a series of policy changes aimed at reducing the rate at which sailors are leaving the Navy, a further sign of the service's efforts to recruit and retain members of the service.
The changes, announced in an administrative message released Tuesday, include keeping sailors on active duty longer. timing initiatives — Sailors can apply to delay separation or retirement, as well as proposals to waive the “senior tenure” requirement — as well as measures to prevent sailors from leaving the fleet early. The goal behind the changes is to "ensure the Navy remains fully manned and combat-ready," the release explained.
The changes come amid "arguably the most challenging recruiting year since the creation of the all-volunteer force," Lt. Gen. David Otignon, the Marine Corps officer in charge of manpower, announced in Senate testimony. April 27th.
A first version of the policy posted on the Navy's website explains that the changes are being made "because competition for talent is particularly fierce due to COVID-19 pandemic vaccination losses and the uncertainty of the recruiting environment."
"This is needed amid uncertainty period to retain the right talent to ensure the sustainment of the force," the policy added.
However, when Military.com contacted the Navy for more details, a spokeswoman for the branch said the file was "uploaded in error." A new version was subsequently released that completely removed the line describing recruitment difficulties.
The Navy's new policy also indicates the service is considering keeping COVID-19 vaccine refusers on active duty. In addition to mentioning "uncertainty regarding the loss of COVID-19 pandemic vaccinations," the original policy also made clear that people who refuse COVID-19 vaccinations are not eligible for voluntary extensions of service. The quote - made in two places in the original memo - has been removed.
The Navy will offer sailors who retire or separate before March 31, 2023, the opportunity to delay their exit until September 30, 2023, the service announced. Sailors who choose to stay will continue to be eligible for incentive sea duty pay as well as promotions.
In addition, the policy explains that enlisted sailors "filling mission-critical positions at sea and ashore" who retire because they have reached "senior years of tenure" — the limit on how many years a sailor can serve in various ranks — can request to continue. Serve for one year. In addition to providing another year of service, the policy also states that these Sailors will be eligible for promotion during that time, giving these Sailors more opportunities to advance and avoid forced senior-year tenure separations.
Instead, the message also announced, "Effective immediately, all plans for early withdrawal and new exemptions from grade requirements are hereby canceled."
The policy said: "Enlistment contracts, service obligations to accept permanent change of station orders, promotions, bonuses will be honored , training and other service commitments.”
The Navy offered a record-high $25,000 recruiting bonus in April just to encourage recruits to ship to boot camp before the summer.
Lt. Sarah Niles, a spokesperson for the Navy's personnel chief, explained in an email that while the Navy is "confident that we will achieve our overall annual retention goals," the service also acknowledges that they are "in a very challenging time." competition for top talent in a recruiting environment”—hence the bonus.
According to data provided by Niles, the Navy is close to retaining all senior sailors who have served that year and has exceeded its goal of sailors with less than six years of service.
The optimistic numbers provided by the Navy conflict with grim reports from military officials who say the U.S. military has a shrinking pool of potential recruits, further limited by the country's growing obesity problem or as a result of petty crimes. Exclusions include the use of recreational drugs, such as marijuana.
The Navy's new policy also comes days after the Army announced it would drop a requirement that its recruits have a high school degree or GED certificate as long as they undergo basic training by Oct. 1.
