Navy manpower needs are lessening as technology advances. To circumvent loss of personnel, reduce costs, and increase efficiency, the current sea-shore rotation system must be revised.
The U.S. Navy's major capital assets no longer are ships, but sailors. As of 17 December 2003, the Navy had 376,471 military employees.1 On deployment were 90 (31%) of its 294 ships with 33,035 (9%) Navy military personnel on board. Even if 100% of the Navy's ships were deployed, only 107,914 (29%) personnel would need to be. As a new generation of ships and unmanned aerial vehicles is developed, less human intervention will be required. What might we change to enhance the management of our future deployment force and still capture and invest in the value of a sailor? One answer is to eliminate sea-shore rotation as we currently know it and adopt a new method of sailor rotation.
By creating a more sailor-friendly ship tour and a focused professional growth plan tailored to the needs of both Navy and sailor, traditional sea-shore rotation can be abolished. Sailor morale strongly affects the end strength of our force. The career bonus called shore duty helps keep morale high. Unfortunately, our shore billets continue to dry up with the advent of technology, outsourcing, and base closures. Moreover, many of our shore duty billets involve as much or more time away from home than their sea-based counterparts.
Establishing two crews that rotate on and off a single ship would allow the Navy to maximize the use of ships, aircraft, and sailors. Prior to a ship's deployment, both crews would complete four to six months of intense training and certification using the same ship. The sailor would be attached to a crew for 60 months and accomplish three 6-month deployments, 30 months of duty ashore while assigned, and 12 months of shipboard training and certification. ("Ashore while assigned" means a crew is attached to a ship that may or may not be deployed but that crew is not on board. When crewmembers are ashore, they are attending college or military schools, manning shore operational centers, or training with their sister crew.) On completion of his or her assignment, a sailor would transfer to another crew attached to a different ship. Inserting dedicated education and military schooling periods while the sailor is not physically attached to a ship or the ship's responsibilities means the sailor would be rejuvenated and more psychologically prepared to go to sea. Sailors' having significant blocks of time ashore while assigned would diminish the need for shore duty assignment.
Under this new system, a ship would deploy for 18 months with the crews on an A-B-A six-month rotation cycle (see Table 1). The ship would return for 18 months for repairs, refit, and training then redeploy for another 18 months on a B-A-B crew rotation cycle. Both crews would remain familiar with the uniqueness of their ship. Four to six months prior to a ship's deployment, both crews would enter an aggressive training and certification program that would be valid until the ship returns in 18 months. The concept offers a more cost-effective way of deploying a ship and capturing significantly more days on station by avoiding the multiple transits involved with relieving a returning ship. Multiple crews would resolve concerns over disparities with installed systems (which vary from ship to ship even within the same class) and accomplishing training certifications.
The success of our ships on the high seas can be attributed largely to ship design and the proper placement of redundant vital systems. Sailors should be part of this system of redundancy. On too many occasions, the Navy has robbed Peter to pay Paul by removing a sailor from one command to fill a vital role on a deployer. This philosophy cannot continue if we are going to build ships that require a broader range of expertise and fewer personnel. By manning the new generation of ships with A and B crews, the Navy would have a ready resource of people with the qualifications and ship familiarity to fill a billet quickly.
For too long, the Navy has deployed ships forward for years only to have them return to the United States in need of major repairs and upgrades. Moreover, a ship that conducts a homeport shift to a forward-deployed assignment disrupts the lives of entire crews and their families, by the sailor either deploying with the ship or transferring to a new duty station. Either system comes at a significant cost to the Navy. If the new generation of ships were strategically placed throughout the world for only 18 months at a time, either through Sea Basing or in foreign ports, and applied two-crew rotation, it could eliminate the need for families to live overseas. Concurrently, our ships would require less repair and be out of service for less time.
Citing senior leaders' concerns, The CNA Corporation concluded the Navy can increase the experience of the sailor only if it is willing to pay more for its people.2 But the increasing cost of undereducated, untrained sailors far outweighs the price of training and educating them. As the force becomes more technologically advanced, the Navy must be prepared to meet this demand or face becoming the most technologically advanced Navy in the world with no one smart enough to run it.
Time management remains an issue as our sailors strive to obtain educations while maintaining very busy schedules. Phasing out sea-shore rotation would reduce the number of sailors needed in our Navy, and technology will reduce the number of sailors needed to crew ships. This would recapture millions of dollars that could be reinvested in the education of sailors.
Throughout a sailor's career, many college credits are awarded for military schooling and advancement. Coupling this with distance learning and a new requirement for 12 months of focused education in a traditional university could result in a sailor receiving at least an associate's degree in the first six years in the Navy. By the end of a 20-year career, a sailor easily could obtain a master's degree and be better prepared for a follow-on career. This would save millions of dollars in tuition assistance through partnering with community colleges and state universities that provide instate rates to military personnel. Furthermore, since sailors would have more education, their need to use the Montgomery GI Bill would decrease dramatically and result in even more savings to the government.
When a ship deploys, it takes from three to six weeks for her crew to become aware of the ship's vital signs, the theater of operation, and current operations. If sea-shore rotation were abolished, centers would need to be built that could link by satellite to one or more deployed ships. These centers would be manned by senior leaders who have achieved their educational goals and are ashore while assigned. The operations centers would be capable of realtime communications with the ship and be responsible for monitoring the ship's automated systems and theater operations and for handling logistics and administration for the embarked crew.
Deployed sailors should receive a dramatic increase in sea pay. Increasingly, we are sending ships to tax-free zones. If a sailor were flown rather than deployed to a ship, he or she might be eligible for six months tax-free pay versus the traditional three and be able to keep more earned dollars. Because the sailor would not be eligible to receive sea pay while not attached to a ship, the money dedicated to this incentive program could be reduced.
This concept warrants further study. Research would expose the cascading effects of such a radical shift, which could include reduced investment requirements for housing, training, shore facilities, personnel rotations, and overall manning. The most important advantage, however, would be to ensure our future Navy is adequately manned with a highly trained and mentally prepared force.
1 U.S. Navy, Status of the Navy, Chief of Naval Information, http://www.chinfo .navy.mil/navpalib/news/.www/status.html.
2 The CNA Corporation, "Pros and Cons of Increasing the Experience Level of the Average Sailor," http://www.cna.org/research/studies/agingfrc.hlml.
Senior Chief Davenport is Combat Systems Department leading chief petty officer at Afloat Training Group Pacific.