MAYPORT Florida –
“Activities like SERMC are critical to deployment lengths
and schedules,” Vice Adm. William Moran, the Navy’s Chief of Personnel, said
during an All Hands Call at the Afloat Training Group auditorium July 16.
Moran met with Southeast Regional Maintenance Center’s
active duty component and discussed many of the recent personnel initiatives
announced by the secretaries of defense and the Navy.
There is no shortage of issues to discuss when it
comes to this year’s personnel concerns.
Moran talked about meritorious advancement, uniform changes, physical fitness
assessment revisions, extended maternity leave and more. He hit home when he told SERMC’s military
folks their role in deployment lengths.
He said the repair work SERMC does directly impacts
ship deployment schedules. Moran praised
the efforts of the crew in dealing with emergent ship repairs and routine ship
maintenance availabilities. “You have
the ability to lighten the load,” Moran said of current deployment lengths.
As for the Navy’s manning, the CNP said 328,000
billets are authorized and manned across the Navy. Where the gapped billets occur, he called
“friction.” Friction, in this context,
is defined as non-deployable assets such as LIMDU or pregnant Sailors, those in
school, or even those in jail. These
non-deployable Sailors count against the authorized billets, but due to their
status, the Navy will never be 100 percent manned.
“The priority is sea duty billets, and it’s the
shore installations such as yours that are hit hard with gapped billets,” Moran
said.
One of the things he offered to take back to
Washington with him was why SERMC continues to receive Sailors right out of
boot camp and “A” School when SERMC billets are for petty officers on their
second tour (first shore tour). While
CNP agreed this is not preferred for the command, he and Fleet Master Chief April
Beldo see the benefit to the Sailor to excel under the tutelage of senior petty
officers, and the ability to earn NECs under the NAMTS program.
“Because you’re working in your rate, there’s an
opportunity for you to excel,” Beldo told one of SERMC’s young first term
Sailors. “As far as you being
competitive at sea, you can apply all you’ve learned here at SERMC to support
your ship. You’re going to know your
job.”
There was plenty of information to digest, and Beldo
recommended keeping an eye on the Navy Personnel Command web site, and regular
NAVADMINs in order to keep up with the many changes occurring now and in the
future.