The continuing interest expressed over the series of policy directives issued by the Chief of Naval Operations—messages widely known both within and without the Navy as “Z-grams,” after their originator, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., U. S. Navy—has suggested publication of a brief description of each of the series.
Presented herewith is a listing of the first 70 Z-GRAMS, along with brief descriptions of the respective subject matters, as provided by the office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Z-gram 01 convened a junior officer retention study group to examine the problems causing officers and enlisted personnel to leave the Navy after their obligated time. The group, which brings in officers representing the principal Navy specialty areas, reviews policies which bear on retention or morale. Their recommendations and reports are presented personally to the Chief of Naval Operations at scheduled briefings. The first group met with the CNO on 20 July 1970. Effective date: 14 July 1970.
Z-gram 02 is Admiral Zumwalt’s remarks on his taking over as Chief of Naval Operations. Effective date: 1 July 1970.
Z-gram 03 is classified. Effective date: 22 July 1970.
Z-gram 04 authorizes 30 days leave for officers receiving permanent change of station (PCS) orders. Exemptions are allowed for those receiving PCS orders more than once in a 12-month period and for those officers going on board ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) which already have an ample leave policy. Enlisted personnel have been authorized 30 days leave on PCS for some time; however, this Z-GRAM reiterated that all enlisted personnel should be granted the 30 days. Effective date: 30 July 1970.
Z-gram 05 instituted a pilot program authorizing first class petty officers on board certain ships in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets to have civilian clothes on board ship. Previously, this privilege was granted to officers and chief petty officers only. The pilot program starts with three ships in the Atlantic (carrier, destroyer, and tender) and three in the Pacific (carrier, destroyer, and amphibious). Three additional ships will be added to the program in each Fleet every four months. The program, which has no restrictions on style or type of clothes, may be extended to second class petty officers and below if the pilot program is a success. The civilian clothes may be worn off the ship when not on duty. Effective date: 30 July 1970.
Z-gram 06 authorizes the Chief of Naval Personnel to conduct a pilot program and to implement a dependent air charter program, whereby wives and dependent children may travel to liberty ports frequented by deployed ships. The program, using chartered civilian aircraft, will stress flights during peak vacation and holiday periods commensurate with ships being in port. In this program, arrangements may also be made for hotel accomodations [sic], tours, and other services in support of travel overseas. The program will be operated at no cost to the government, and with all expenses to be paid by the traveler. Effective date: 11 August 1970.
Z-gram 07 directs commanding officers to institute a sponsorship program for incoming Navymen and their families. Previously, this program was limited to overseas shore stations. Transferring commands will send all pertinent data on the member and his family to the member’s new command, which in turn will provide informational material on the area and assign a Navy family in the area, normally of the same rate or rank, as a sponsor and point of contact. This will ease the burden of the newly-arrived family of finding temporary housing and seeking other needed services on their own. Effective date: 11 August 1970.
Z-gram 08, to enhance officer morale, extends from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, the time detailers at the officer assignment desks in the Bureau of Naval Personnel are available to answer questions regarding assignments, career patterns, and the like. Effective date: 11 August 1970.
Z-gram 09 authorizes meritorious advancement to first class and chief petty officer for a small number of Navymen who have performed in a consistently outstanding manner, but have not successfully advanced in rate. A selection board will be convened to review these special cases recommended by commanding officers. A man must have taken the service-wide examinations five times before he will be considered for meritorious promotion. Effective date: 14 August 1970.
Z-gram 10, in order to improve morale among flight crews, provides for transient aircraft, when away from their home base, to be met by an officer or chief petty officer who will ensure efficient aircraft servicing and assist in ensuring conveniences including quarters, messing facilities, and recreation are provided to visiting crewmen. Effective date: 20 August 1970.
Z-gram 11 authorizes enlisted men who desire to remain on sea duty to do so. Certain personnel with specific classification codes and those under orders do not qualify for this program. Provisions of this program will soon be incorporated into the Navy Transfer Manual. Effective date: 24 August 1970.
Z-gram 12 allows enlisted men to wear civilian clothes on board all shore activities. The privilege is extended to off duty hours and in mess halls during the evening meal. Recruits in basic training are excepted. Effective date: 24 August 1970.
Z-gram 13 orders commanding officers to grant 30 days leave to at least 50% of their crews during the 30-day period following return from deployment overseas. Commanding officers of ships and air squadrons returning from extended deployments are encouraged to grant leave in excess of the minimum 50% policy level set by this Z-GRAM. Effective date: 26 August 1970.
Z-gram 14 eliminates collateral duties given to junior officers. Some of the collateral duties scrapped include cigarette fund custodian, cold weather officer, health officer, test equipment officer, and special clothing officer. In all, 18 collateral duties have been scuttled and another 18 will be revised to permit responsible petty officers to do the job. The latter 18 include jobs such as athletics officer, movie officer, photographic officer, and the like. This Z-GRAM also calls for any further recommendations to reduce or modify other collateral duties. Effective date: 27 August 1970.
Z-gram 15 orders all disbursing offices to give officers and enlisted men a statement of earnings before 30 October. All pays such as basic, clothing, sea, basic allowance for quarters (BAQ), and hostile fire will be included. Such deductions as taxes, FICA, and all allotments will also be listed. The intent is to give each Navyman a better understanding of various factors that constitute their total pay. Those wishing statements at a later date are authorized to receive them on request. Effective date: 28 August 1970.
Z-gram 16 provides help to enlisted men desiring change of duties. Previously, a sailor had to find his own replacement when he wanted to swap duties, either between ships or from Fleet to Fleet or coast to coast. This Z-GRAM now authorizes an office in the Bureau of Personnel (BUPERS) to process these swaps by computer. A sailor writes BUPERS, giving pertinent data and where he would like to be stationed. The computer seeks to find another man looking for the requestor’s duty station. A continuing search every week assures a swap sooner or later. The individual still has to pay transfer expenses once a swap is approved. Effective date: 2 September 1970.
Z-gram 17 tells all check cashing facilities at shore stations to raise their limits to $50.00 per day for personal checks when there is no other convenient banking facility available. In the past, a $25.00 limit was normally set for enlisted men, even during emergencies. Effective date: 2 September 1970.
Z-gram 18 opens the Navy Finance Center in Cleveland, Ohio, to all disbursing offices outside normal working hours, seven days a week, for processing urgent inquiries concerning pay, allowances, and other fiscal matters. Effective date: 4 September 1970.
Z-gram 19 announces the increase in the authorized percentage of below-the-zone officer promotion selections to 15%. Previously, the deep selection to lieutenant commander thru captain was held to 5%. The change was made possible by an Executive Order by President Nixon. The move was to recognize high performance through visible accelerated promotion opportunity. Effective date: 4 September 1970.
Z-gram 20 directs commanding officers of shore establishments to provide washing facilities and locker space for sailors who have to work in dungarees and get themselves and their clothes soiled. Fleet and Type Commanders will assist the COs in setting up the facilities, using materials obtained from ships being retired from the Navy. Effective date: 8 September 1970.
Z-gram 21, commensurate with operating schedules, encourages commanding officers to give those sailors standing duty on holidays compensatory time off on a one-for-one basis. Holidays listed in this Z-GRAM include New Years Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day (beginning in 1971), Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas. When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday and the preceding Friday or following Monday is observed as a holiday, compensatory time off shall be granted for both the holiday and the Friday or Monday. Effective date: 9 September 1970.
Z-gram 22 authorizes shore commands to set up a system of improving on-base facilities. Everyone in the shore establishment, from Seabees to yeomen, are urged to participate. Priority was given to living facilities, temporary lodgings, parking facilities, trailer parks, locker clubs, and welfare activities. Effective date: 9 September 1970.
Z-gram 23 provides for setting up a chief petty officer (CPO) advisory board to the CNO. The board will provide recommendations and act as a sounding board on ideas and policy proposals of interest to the enlisted Navyman. The board will be composed of six E8/E9s and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy. The six CPOs will be selected from personnel in receipt of orders to Washington, D. C., and will serve six month terms on the board. Effective date: 12 September 1970.
Z-gram 24 directs shore-based commanders to establish procedures which give Navy wives an opportunity to present complaints, viewpoints, and suggestions to COs. In particular, such procedures will include the selection of a wife by each local wives’ club or organization who will have direct access to the base commanding officer. Effective date: 14 September 1970.
Z-gram 25 authorizes ship commanding officers to establish a six section watch bill to replace the old traditional four section. Now a sailor pulls duty on weekends twice every seven weeks instead of three out of every five weeks. The Z-GRAM permits crewmen from two ships in a nest to combine duties to allow liberty for the maximum number of men. Effective date: 16 September 1970.
Z-gram 26 implements a different approach to shore patrol staffing and training. It allows for a shore establishment to provide all the shore patrol personnel required for the area. Special schooling will precede the duty. A pilot program began in the Norfolk, Virginia area in January 1971. Effective date: 21 September 1970.
Z-gram 21 limits routine operating time for ships on the east and west coasts near their homeports from Monday morning to Friday noon. Those ships operating further away should not be gone more than from Monday to the Wednesday of the following week, followed by a five-day in-port period. Effective date: 21 September 1970.
Z-gram 28 was a progress report on the first four retention study groups. Between 200 and 300 recommendations were made, most of which were being staffed when this Z-GRAM was released. Some recommendations had already been put into effect, such as post-deployment leave policies (Z-GRAM 13), raised check cashing ceilings (Z-GRAM 17), improved Naval Air Station aircraft services (Z-GRAM 10), and 30 days leave on PCS orders (Z-GRAM 04). Effective date: 21 September 1970.
Z-gram 29 authorizes and encourages commanding officers to allow as much as 5% of their crew to be on leave when their ships are deployed overseas. The leave may be in continental United States (ConUS) or outside the area of deployment as the individual may elect. The percentage is to be increased when the ships begin their return to ConUS. Commanding officers may be exempted if this policy seriously endangers the readiness of the ship. Effective date: 22 September 1970.
Z-gram 30 provides guidance for officer’s clubs Navy-wide. It asks that officers under 30 be appointed to advisory groups and encouraged to express recommendations from younger groups. It also asks that groups of young ladies without escorts be invited to the mess to act as hostesses for the younger officers, and asks that at least one room be set aside where casual dress and flight suits can be worn. Under this Z-GRAM, “hard rock” clubs are to be established at five naval stations in a pilot program to see if such activities would improve morale among the junior officers. Effective date: 23 September 1970.
Z-gram 31 establishes competition among junior officers in ship-handling. All officers except commanding officers and lieutenant commanders serving as executive officers are eligible to compete on a voluntary basis. Winners will be announced yearly from the lieutenant commanders and below who participate. Criteria for the competition will be set by type commands. Winners will be able to pick their next duty station in regards to the ship type, homeport, school, area of ConUS duty, or overseas duty. A suitable name will be selected for the competition at a later date. Effective date: 23 September 1970.
Z-gram 32 gives a sailor reenlisting the opportunity to arrange his own ceremony with help from the command. The command will also provide refreshments for those attending the ceremony. The whole idea is to make the reenlistment ceremony more pleasing in the eyes of the reenlistee, his family, and shipmates, and to increase the stature of the ceremony. Effective date: 23 September 1970.
Z-gram 33 directs commanding officers at activities with Navy exchanges and commissaries to implement advisory boards of authorized customers and management personnel. The boards are to establish a customer relations mechanism designed to improve communications between management and patrons, and to identify and respond to customer requirements and complaints. Effective date: 25 September 1970.
Z-gram 34 deletes from the list of required uniforms for male lieutenants and below the dinner dress blue jacket and the dinner dress white jacket. Effective date: 25 September 1970.
Z-gram 35 allows for more habitability in barracks by allowing alcoholic beverages in room-type barracks and permitting the installation of beer vending machines in senior bachelor enlisted quarters (BEQ), for use of the occupants. Effective date: 25 September 1970.
Z-gram 36 is a personal message to all commanders, commanding officers, and officers-in-charge, encouraging improvement of standards of service at facilities such as personnel, disbursing, dispensaries, and others which deal in services to or for the people. Effective date: 26 September 1970.
Z-gram 37 makes it possible for lieutenant commanders to have command of aviation squadrons. Previously, only commanders and above held these commands. Lieutenant commanders will begin commanding four specific air squadrons in the spring of 1971. Effective date: 26 September 1971.
Z-gram 38 tells commanding officers to eliminate, or reduce as much as possible, the scheduling of work routine on Sundays and holidays. Exception to this Z-GRAM are deployed operating units of the U. S. Sixth and Seventh Fleets. Effective date: 28 September 1970.
Z-gram 39 extends operating hours of 23 ConUS and two overseas commissaries. The extended hours are intended to lessen the usual Saturday morning and payday crowds, providing better service to all. Effective date: 5 October 1970.
Z-gram 40 seeks to ensure that adequate check cashing facilities are available for the sailor who receives his pay by check. Where these facilities are not close by, the Navyman will have the opportunity to elect being paid by either check or in cash. Effective date: 7 October 1971.
Z-gram 41 announces the establishment of a forum on Command Excellence to be hosted by the President of the Naval War College. The CNO, by this Z-GRAM, also institutes a chair at the War College for Surface Strike Warfare to be filled by a commander or captain with a record of outstanding performance in command. The objective is to derive maximum benefit for officer corps training from the distilled experience of outstanding COs. Effective date: 21 October 1970.
Z-gram 42 establishes a policy whereby ensign and lieutenant (j.g.) officers can request sea duty as their first choice on their initial obligated service. The Z-GRAM expressed the CNO’s policy that officers interested in a naval career be given every opportunity to acquire necessary qualifications during their first four years in the Navy. Effective date: 13 October 1970.
Z-gram 43 asks commanding officers, as a morale factor, to provide help to disbursing officers in processing claims in minimum time, especially during peak workload periods. Priority was given to claims by people requesting large amounts due and where no travel advances were drawn. Effective date: 13 October 1970.
Z-gram 44 encourages the assignment of senior petty officers (PO) to officer of the deck (OOD) quarterdeck watches on afloat units in port, in place of officers, whenever possible and appropriate. Emphasis is on the capability and qualification of senior POs to handle the responsibilities of the OOD. Effective date: 13 October 1970.
Z-gram 45 implements a program whereby flag officers and commanding officers of shore activities are urged to do all they can for the families of prisoners-of-war (POW) and personnel listed as missing in action (MIA). Dependent cruises, invitations to sporting events and entertainment functions, job placement assistance, special POW/MIA presentations on rights, benefits, and privileges, and automatic base vehicle pass renewals are a few of the programs suggested by the Z-GRAM. Effective date: 15 October 1970.
Z-gram 46 reduces the paperwork that was required in the manpower, maintenance, and management (3-M) system. Inspections, documentation, and associated paperwork were pinpointed for reduction on most ships of both Fleets. Effective date: 15 October 1970.
Z-gram 47 gives executive officers and department heads on ships being deactivated more responsibility in the deactivation of their ships. This Z-GRAM is another effort to give young officers more prestige and responsibility while on their first tours of duty. Effective date: 20 October 1970.
Z-gram 48 opened a new office in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Called PERS-P, the office established liaison with commands as well as ensuring the fullest possible communications with individuals throughout the Navy. The primary mission of PERS-P is to obtain answers to questions anyone in the Navy is asking. PERS-P will be comprised of five divisions covering the fields of personal affairs, administering recreation programs, providing information and answering questions, and coordinating career information publications. They will also administer family assistance services and benefits for both the Navyman and his dependents. Effective date: 23 October 1970.
Z-gram 49 limits to 60 days the time it should take between the recommendation and final approval of awards and medals. It also says that 50% of the personnel on awards boards should be made up of lieutenant commanders and below. Effective date: 23 October 1970.
Z-gram 50 encourages liberal leave and liberty policies by authorizing, where possible, “cold iron berths” for ships returning from extended deployments. Exceptions to this Z-GRAM are ships requiring support for systems beyond the capabilities of port facilities and when higher priority requirements exists [sic] for available berths. Effective date: 23 October 1970.
Z-gram 51 recognizes the small-boat skippers of the “brown water” Navy in South Vietnam by authorizing breast insignia for those men who were officers-in-charge of the following type craft peculiar to Vietnam: PBR, PCF, STAB, MSM, MSB, LCPL, LCU, LCM, YFU, ASPB, CCB, ATC, and monitors. Effective date: 23 October 1970.
Z-gram 52 is classified. Effective date: 23 October 1970.
Z-gram 53 authorizes annual publication of a list of available billets (jobs) intended for junior officers so they may have a ready reference of career assignments throughout the Navy. The booklet will highlight geographical location, required specialty or qualifications, and rank needed. Effective date: 2 November 1970.
Z-gram 54 The primary intent of this Z-gram is to show that any man in the Navy with helpful suggestions can be heard. It outlines the means that the Chief of Naval Operations uses to learn from Fleet and shore establishments improvements needed in the Navy. Retention study groups, visits by the CNO to the Fleet and shore units, and meetings with senior naval officers are three of the programs outlined. Effective date: 2 November 1970.
Z-gram 55 initiates a pilot program for study in the field of human relations. Twenty-four selected volunteer personnel will staff the program with an eye towards improving the management of human resources in the Navy. Effective date: 4 November 1970.
Z-gram 56 implements, on a trial basis, an officers’ exchange of duty program similar to that already implemented for enlisted personnel in Z-GRAM 16. Exchange of duty requests need only the favorable endorsement of commanding officers. Officers concerned must pay their own expenses on such moves. Effective date: 9 November 1970.
Z-gram 57 eliminates a number of abrasive and demeaning (Mickey Mouse) regulations. Putting these on the same terms as extended family separation and low pay scales as causes of dissatisfaction in the Navy, this Z-GRAM eliminates a number of regulations and standardizes others which have not been consistently enforced throughout the Navy. Included in the message are clarification of rules on hair-styles, moustaches, and beards, adding that rights and privileges of any officer or enlisted man must not be abrogated in any way because of their decision to grow sideburns, beards, or moustaches; suspension of regulations prohibiting wearing of clean and neat working uniforms off-base to and from work; standardizing regulations concerning the wearing of dungarees and flight suits in commissaries, exchanges, snack bars, dispensaries, disbursing offices, and other service-type facilities; discontinuing the requirement to shift into the uniform of the day for the evening meal; ordering all Navy clubs to have at least one room in which casual clothing and flight suits may be worn; letting the individual decide what uniform to wear when optional uniforms are specified; cautioning commanding officers against painting ships for appearance when flag officers are scheduled to visit; eliminating the requirement for property passes; dispensing with proof of possession of sufficient funds when departing on leave, or acknowledgement of geographical limitations for leave (except Vietnam, where special regulations apply) or liberty purposes, or showing certified permission to be away from place of duty (walking chits); allowing members having motorcycles entrance to naval bases and to wear any color helmets which meet safety requirements; allowing overnight liberty as the rule rather than the exception; discontinuing the wearing of whites or blues while engaged in work that would soil or damage such uniforms; requiring that requests be forwarded up the chain of command, even if disapproved. The overall rationale expressed is that regulations should reflect that the vast majority of Navymen not be penalized by policies designed to constrain those few who would not respond to the trust and confidence inherent in the less stringent rules. Effective date: 10 November 1970.
Z-gram 58 orders ship’s stores afloat to accept checks in payment for purchases. Effective date: 14 November 1970.
Z-gram 59 authorizes a program whereby selected officers can spend up to one year in independent research and study for professional development at full pay and allowances, in areas mutually beneficial to the officer and the Navy. Thirty selectees will be authorized to study under this program with the cooperation of other governmental departments and agencies, private and public corporations, foundations, and educational institutions. Effective date: 14 November 1970.
Z-gram 60 encourages a free exchange of ideas and recommendations between personnel and the command by asking all major naval installations to install an answering recording device on at least one telephone. The Z-GRAM also authorizes one carrier in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets to install a device on board, under a pilot program. (A number of shore stations have had such a system in operation for some time.) Effective date: 18 November 1970.
Z-gram 61 authorizes a pilot program giving warrant officers and senior petty officers afloat the responsibilities of communications watch officer and registered publications custodian. Warrant officers and petty officers will be sent to school before assuming such duties. If successful, the program would be expanded. Effective date: 19 November 1971.
Z-gram 62 sets up a forum in both the junior and senior courses at the Naval War College which will include discussion on means to improve the Navy, particularly those aspects relating command to personnel policy. Representative members of the forum will be asked to present their views personally to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. Effective date: 27 November 1970.
Z-gram 63 directs that the number of certain operational publications on board ships be reduced by 25%, thereby reducing the administrative workload previously needed to maintain and make changes to them. Effective date: 30 November 1970.
Z-gram 64 encourages commanding officers to increase the opportunities for junior officers to practice ship-handling. Standard visual conning signals have been implemented to enable observers to know that the CO is not conning the ship, and indicating the rank of officer or senior petty officer having the con. Effective date: 3 December 1970.
Z-gram 65 lists incentives to encourage highly-skilled and motivated officers to volunteer for Vietnam to take part in the Vietnamization of the U. S. Navy’s role in Southeast Asia. Included are choice of duty after leaving Vietnam; 30 days leave before and after their tour; assurance that their shortened shipboard tour, if this is the case, will count as a full tour of duty and that future billets will follow natural progression; and an expansion in the spot-promotion program to include all in-country activities for all officer categories. (The spot-promotion program allows the temporary promotion of one grade to qualified officers filling certain categories of billets which call for the higher grades.) Effective date: 5 December 1970.
Z-gram 66 deals with equal opportunity and directs each base, station, and aircraft squadron commander, and ship commanding officer to appoint, on a concurrent duty basis, a minority group officer or senior petty officer as an assistant for minority affairs, having direct access to the commanding officer. All shore-based commanders shall have a minority group wife in the Navy Wives ombudsmen program (Z-GRAM 24). This Z-GRAM also orders all Navy exchanges and commissaries to stock food and grooming items suitable to black people, and to hire qualified barbers or beauticians to provide hair care for black personnel. Other areas covered include special services, which should obtain discount tickets for events of special interest to minority groups, and libraries, which should carry books, magazines, and records by and about black Americans. Effective date: 17 December 1970.
Z-gram 67 reorients the inspections of combat units to make better use of training time, more practically serve the needs of the command, and be less burdensome to those being inspected. Some changes brought about by this Z-GRAM include: the chief inspector will be the immediate unit commander (next senior in chain of command); inspections should be combined in order to conserve time and to meet the needs of management; and inspection results will be expressed in terms of satisfactory/unsatisfactory, rather than both a numerical and adjective grade, with mandatory check-off lists eliminated. Effective date: 22 December 1970.
Z-gram 68 authorizes all petty officers on board ships to have and wear on and off all ships civilian clothes. The order was in response to a pilot program initiated in Z-GRAM 05. Guidelines concerning appropriate types of clothing were provided. Effective date: 23 December 1970.
Z-gram 69 announces the institution of new command selection procedures which eliminate previous requirements of deep draft ship command for flag rank selection. Recognition of the management skills needed in major shore station commands and weapons systems acquisition programs as suitable prerequisites for flag selection are stated, together with the policy that a major command in any of the categories stated would be viewed favorably by selection boards as a matter of policy. Effective date: 28 December 1970.
Z-gram 70 provides amplification of policy regarding hair grooming and uniforms covered in Z-GRAM 57. Guidelines provide that hair will not touch the collar of the uniform, that it will be neatly tapered, will not fall below the eyebrows when uncovered, and will not bush out below the band of properly worn headgear. The exact maximum length of hair is no longer specified, but must not interfere with the proper wearing of any military headgear. Sideburns will be neatly trimmed, will not extend below the bottom of the ear lobe, will be of even width (not flares). Beards and moustaches must be neatly trimmed and not be of a ragged appearance. The policy authorizes full and partial beards, van dykes, and goatees. Regarding uniforms, working jackets, raincoats, and peacoats are authorized for wear with dungaree uniforms to and from work, while flight jackets and foul weather gear are prohibited off base. Flight jackets may be worn with flight gear whenever appropriate. Stops enroute to and from home in working uniform are restricted to brief periods for personal necessities only. The message reiterated the responsibility of commanding officers to ensure personnel present a well-groomed appearance at all times, indicated that standards of grooming and dress were altered to reflect contemporary styles and trends, and not lowered. The message asked for continued support from all hands to demonstrate maturity and judgment in retaining high standards of appearance. Effective date: 21 January 1971.