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Paperless records: Tell us what you think

The Navy wants to eliminate your paper service record and instead put those documents online — for every sailor — by Oct. 1.

This means you’ll no longer head over to the local personnel support detachment to view your records and figure out why your housing allowance wasn’t started. Or why the Navy Achievement Medal wasn’t counted toward your last advancement exam.

Instead, everything will be online. You’ll need to log on, either at work or from home — if you invest in a card reader to access your records. In the meantime, officials are recommending sailors still hang onto their paper documents, and top officers are privately concerned that the Navy isn’t ready to transition smoothly to paperless records.

The stakes are high, since these documents affect every facet of your career. If they’re not up to date, your pay, advancement, leave and any number of areas could be affected.

What’s your take?

So is this a good idea? Are you glad to see paper service records go away, or do you think putting it all online creates a whole new set of problems? Do you have good connectivity from your ship, or do you think your pay and career could suffer due to bad comms? Is the Navy getting with the times, or should it leave paper records alone?

Tell us what you think. E-mail your reactions to staff writer Mark D. Faram at mfaram@navytimes.com. Your comments could be used in an upcoming story.