The commanding officers and command master chiefs of the six ships of Destroyer Squadron 21 recently participated in an open forum on retention.
The discussion provided many innovative and exciting ideas that already have benefited the squadron—and its more than 1,800 personnel. Here are the highlights:
Engage the New Arrivals
- Have a member of the command call the prospective crewmember while at A school with helpful information and some good news about the ship.
- Officers and sailors who have received orders can get on line and access the ship's Web page by clicking the "welcome aboard info" icon.
- Meet new arrivals. If arriving by airplane, a new shipmate is met by the command's duty driver for a free (no cost to the member) ride to the ship. Have the command duty officer meet the member on the quarterdeck and provide an escort to the wardroom to make a free phone call home to notify family of safe arrival.
- Provide a free tour of the base and downtown area to orient the member.
- Screen running-mate assignments to ensure that only model sailors are assigned.
- Have new personnel check in with the XO and CO within 48 hours of reporting aboard.
- Add an extra week of command indoctrination to allow for focused damage-control training and basic damage-control qualification. This will emphasize the command's priority on shipwide damage-control responsibility and provide new sailors with opportunities to acclimate to the workcenter.
Work Quality-of-Life Issues
- Expand in-port duty sections to the maximum extent possible. Two of our ships already had shifted to ten-section duty while in port.
- Order contemporary magazine subscriptions for officers, chiefs, and crew.
- Initiate the children's literacy program-already instituted on large ships, this program allows deployed crewmembers to videotape themselves reading children's story books for their kids.
- Form all-enlisted watchbills. If possible, get the ship under way with qualified enlisted crewmembers manning all major watchstations.
- Conduct meaningful home improvements. Get new low maintenance decking laid; install washers and dryers in crew berthing areas; and purchase the thickest and most comfortable rack mattresses available.
- Support servicemembers' right to take 30 days of leave per year, even on sea duty. To encourage compliance, notify the families of the policy in the command newsletter.
- Have as much corrosion-control preservation done topside as possible, using OpTar (operations target funding) if necessary. The result is less paint-chipping and repainting, resulting in better manpower management and more liberty for junior personnel. Many waterfront businesses will negotiate good prices to secure a contract to support the ship in this area.
- Enforce normal in-port working hours. One ship enforced hours of 0630-1430 Mondays through Thursdays and 0630-1130 Fridays. When in port, sailors want to spend more time with family and friends, and as little time as possible on the ship.
- Set a command-wide policy of zero tolerance for any action that creates public embarrassment.
- Purchase new foul-weather jackets for the command. New ones are on the market that are cheaper than government issue and are also U.S. Coast Guard-approved as Type I life-vests. They have a highly professional appearance, especially when the ship's name is stenciled on the back of the jacket in reflective tape—esprit de corps!
- Provide nice new coveralls and make them the uniform of the day. If possible, purchase an embroidery machine that allows a command to "jazz-up" the coveralls with a pride instilling U.S. flag, Navy logo, and name patches.
- Maintain a regular command sports competition program ("Captain's Cup"), even while under way.
Push Advancements and Education
- Provide each new member with an advancement and education goal card to complete; discuss with his or her immediate chain of command upon reporting on board and periodically thereafter.
- Conduct workshops on board to convert military service to college credit through the Veterans Administration. Many A and C school graduates unknowingly have compiled a huge number of college credits.
- Support the National Apprenticeship Program, which allows for crewmembers to become journeymen and apprenticeship-certified in specialized skills for pride in rate and to become more marketable for post-Navy service employment opportunities.
- Individually interview and tailor an individual's advancement training plan based on his or her advancement results.
- Motivate sailors to get warfare qualified and increase their chances of advancement. One of our COs presents the spouses of new surface warfare specialist-qualified crewmembers with miniature warfare pins at the same ceremony.
- Ensure the educational services officer has received the requisite training to proctor GREs, LSATs, ACTs, SATs, and the college-level examination program, as well as DD 295 workshops.
- Work the ship's schedule around advancement exams, not vice versa.
- When possible, have all advancement exams taken off-ship in a noise-free environment. One of the ships administers exams in a secluded conference room of a local restaurant.
- Increase the number of college accessions by empowering the command career counselor to actively pursue scholarship, the Enlisted Education Advancement Program, service academy, and Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) packages for junior personnel. Some of these personnel find the task of preparing paperwork too intimidating and are unable to visualize themselves attending college. By activating the career counselor, a command can submit a vote of confidence in a stellar performer who may pay huge dividends for the Navy and society in the future.
Our forum also noted some common findings. Upon reporting on board, many of the junior sailors in our squadron stated that they joined the Navy to see the world and get an education. It is obvious that scheduling quality port calls and a major command push to get sailors prepared for college will improve morale—and ultimately retention.
We discussed the advantages of having a strong awards program. One ship even went through the laborious process of submitting the ship's ombudsman for the Meritorious Volunteer Service Medal, the civilian equivalent of the Meritorious Service Medal. Persistence paid off, and she was surprised to receive the award during her husband's commissioning as a limited duty officer.
A commanding officer of one of our destroyers declined to categorize his brief as one on retention, but instead called it the "things that make our sailors enjoy coming to work brief." Indeed, if our sailors are happy, satisfied, better educated, and frequently advanced, we will cease to have retention problems.
Lieutenant Commander Crockett, a surface warfare officer, is the Materiel Officer for Destroyer Squadron 21, which is commanded by Commodore Mike Lefever. Commander Crockett has served as a division officer on the USS DeWert (FFG-45), as an instructor at the Surface Warfare Officers School, and as Engineer Officer on the USS Stethem (DDG-63).