NAVAL AIR STATION LEMOORE, Calif. – Naval Air Station, Lemoore, Calif. (April 29, 2015) — Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class (AW) Amanda Pate is excited she may be up for a huge payday soon.
Pate because she holds the non-destructive inspector (NDI) Navy Enlisted Classification — and is now eligible for up to $45,000 in re-up cash.
Her rating — AM — had been was on the Selective Reenlistment Bonus list but until now, only rated at the lesser max payout level of $30,000 max payout, until now. Recognizing her skill as more crucial, the Navy aims to has upped the ante to keep her and — but now the Navy's awarding her specific skill as more critical and upped the ante to keep her and an estimated 24,000 sailors others like her in the ranksservice.
"Our job is important work and it's in demand on the outside, so it's nice to see the Navy recognize that and give us an," Pate told Navy Times April 29. "It will definitely be a big factor in deciding to stay in or not for a lot of NDIs around the fleet."
Her NEC is just one of 15 all new skills — a combination of rating, and re-enlistment zone and sometimes NEC navy enlisted classification combinations is one of 15 such combos added to the SRB mix, giving more sailors — roughly 24,000 a chance to get a slice of the re-up bonus SRB pie this fiscal year and next. and next fiscal years.
And there's a bit more money available come October, when fiscal 2016 starts, as Navy leadership plans to spend nearly $20 million more on re-upRE-UP bonuses in fiscal 2016 than they will this year.
That's the news with the release of the fiscal 2015 Selective Reenlistment Bonus program announced in NavAdmin XX/XX on April XX.
There are plenty of changes this year. Twenty-six Also this year, there's more movement within the list as 26 skill combinations will see increases and 25 will see decreases. And the best news of all: is that only five skill combinations were removedcut.
The new award levels take go into effect immediately, while the decreases and those being eliminated don't go into effect until May 30, 30 days after the release of the NAVADMIN announcing the changes. NavAdmin is released.
The Navy pays out bonuses at five monetary maximum levels; the level depends on the Navy's need for a given skill. , which level is offered for a given skill depends on the Navy's needs. Those max payouts are $30,000, $45,000, $60,000, $75,000 and $100,000.
But sailors might want to think fast and make the move to stay in and get the bucks sooner rather than later as officials plan to start updating the system more frequently. Also, plans are on the table to overhaul the system further, the chief of naval personnel recently said.
"We are doing it every year and I would like to get to twice a year," Vice Adm. Bill Moran told Navy Times in April April 2. "I think within a year or two we are going to be able to do SRB adjustments every six months which will help control advancement opportunity better."
Moving faster
Moran plans to build an To get there, he's building an "early warning" system that will be able to analyze retention data faster and detect slight changes in re-up behavior in all ratings well before those ratings slip into an critically undermanned status.
Pate watches as Loy checks a wheel hub for cracks using nondestructive testing techniques available at Fleet Readiness Center West at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.
Photo Credit: Mark D. Faram/Staff
"We should be able to see change in behavior a lot sooner than we have been in the past," he said. "And once we do then we can make SRB adjustments every six months and fine-tune them to account for behavior. A lot of it is focus, driving the system to focus on those things that are important to us."
The push is for a more agile and timely SRB system. The stabilizing opportunities for Navy-wide What manpower planners and community managers have been focusing recently will play right into the more agile SRB system Moran wants. And he says the recent years stabilization of Navy-wide advancement is a direct result of this deeper understanding of individual ratings, Moran added. said.
And with a rosy stable manpower outlookpicture for the rest of the decade — including a boost of 5,000 sailors and even a slight increase to nearly Navy 330,000 sailors — Moran says, "we are in a much better place to focus on that," Moran said.
But Moran is eyeing an even deeper overhaul of the re-up bonus system, one that reacts to needs in real time — even more often than the semi-annual updates he's planning for next year.
"Today, we cast a wide net across a needed NEC and hope that we get the right quantity and quality within that skill set," Moran told Navy Times April 29. "Moving forward, we want to evolve to a system that uses better forecasting data [to determine needs sooner], gives COs more authority, computes [payout] rates in near real time, and has authorities to tailor packages to the shared needs of the sailor and the Navy."
Other things, such as choice orders, officials say, could be added into such re-enlistment packages to sweeten the pot even further. Some personnel officials have heard sailors at fleet visits gripe that bonus bucks alone as officials have been hearing during fleet visits and focus groups that bonus bucks alone might not be enough to entice some top sailors to stay. influence sailors to stay in.
"We regularly hear from our folks that flat rate bonuses by themselves are less and less of a reason for high quality sailors to stay Navy," Moran said. "To ensure we keep the right people with the right skills, we need to continue to improve and refine the SRB process."
Moran didn't give any timeline for this overhaul, but says that it can't happen with the Navy's current plethora of information systems being used across the personnel, training and education landscape.
"Key to this is upgrading our old and outdated personnel system, cleaning up data and improving access across all of ourt IT systems," he said. "Better information in the hands of sailors, COs and detailers will improve this and many other 'people' processes across our Navy."
The bonus pot
For fiscal 2015, the Navy has a budget of Moran is working with a $135 million budget for initial re-up bonus payments and are hoping to entice 8,600 sailors to stay in the ranks.
Next fiscal year, the picture gets brighter. The service is asking for a with a budget request of he service is asking for a $19.4 million increase for in that part of the budget in fiscal year 2016, for a total re-up bonus budget of $154.4 million.
Officials hope to are aiming for entice nearly 500 more sailors to take the SRB. They're aiming for roughly 9,100 sailors to take the re-up bucks and remain in uniform.nand stay than the to They're aiming for upwards of 200 more sailors — or roughly 9,100 in all to take the re-up bucks and stay, up from around — 8,600 targeted for in fiscal 2015.
How much a sailor can get is based on a mathematical formula: Each selected skill is which uses the skill's assigned a multiple from the list, which is then factored in with their basice pay and the number of months they're enlisting, up to the payout maximum for which their skill qualifies.ll re-enlist for — up to the maximum their skill qualifies for.
Along with Pate's AM-7225 NEC, 14 other skills in eight ratings, across the three re-enlistment zones, now have a shot at bucks, too.
Re-up zones are years of service "gates" that each of the services — use along with rating and NEC — to determine eligibility. Sailors with up to six years of service are in Zone A for re-up purposes. Seven through 10 years is Zone B, and 11 through 14 years is Zone C.
Here's A look at the skills addedwho is coming and who is being dropped:
- Cryptologic technician (collection) with NEC 9149 advanced signals analysis are on in Zones B and C. Meanwhile, their CTR shipmates with the 9169 Morse code intercept NEC are on the list in Zones A and B.
- Cryptologic technician (networks) and all enginemen qualify in Zone B only.
- All sailors in the air traffic controller and aerographer's mate ratings qualify in Zones A and B regardless of whether or not they have any NECs's or not.
- The same is true For Gas turbine systems technicians (electrical) except they qualify in Zones B and C, whether or not they have NECs.
- Navy counselor (career recruiter) in Zones B and C qualify now, too.
On the down side, the Five rating-and-zone combinations being cut from the list:
- CTRs in Zone A with the 9138 journeyman analysis and reporting NEC.
- All surface conventional machinist's mates in Zone A.
- All hull maintenance technicians in Zones A and B.
- Fire controlmen Technicians with the 13XX series of NECs.
Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.
