Chief mandatory retirement board set for August

It's not the board you might want to prepare for, but it's one you should prepare for and it's coming fast.

The Navy will convene a senior enlisted continuation board Aug. 3, a performance-based review that with the authority to force retirement for active-duty and full-time support E-7, E-8 and E-9 with at least 19 years of service and three years time in grade, as of Feb. 28.

For reservistses, it's the same time in rate cutoff, but to be eligible, selected reservists must have 20 years of qualifying service toward retirement as of the same date, according to NAVADMIN 088/15.

In the precepts of all past boards, board members are told to look for specific "indicators" of an issue in the past five years of a chief's career. The board typically looks for dropping performance or misconduct in a chief's record. If that's found in a chief's record, the board deliberates on whether that chief stays or goes.

And despite any rumors to the contrary, just because misconduct is found isn't a guarantee a sailor will be retired. The board is directed to look deep and determine if that performance or misconduct is enough to send themat sailor home.

It's not clear, yet, how many eligible chief's will be considered by the board this year, but last year's board peeked at the records of 7,017 E-7s through E-9s and released in January that it had announcing Jan. 27 the selection of 161 active, reserve and full-time support chiefs must retire by the end of September. chief petty officers to retire by the end of September this year.

The good news: is that last year's numbers were the fewest number of mandatory retirements this board has handed out since it's first year in 2010, when 158 active-duty senior enlisted were retired. At just two percent of those screenedreviews, it was also the lowest percentage of chiefs forced out since that first year, too.

The good news is If you are picked for advancement to E-8 or E-9 this year, your name goes off the list. That's also the case if you've already put in your papers to retire.

There are no other exceptions for eligibility. Even the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (AW/NAC) Mike Stevens and as well as all fleet, force and command master chiefs get looked at.

Navy officials expect to publish the names of those the service considers board-eligible on June 8. Commands will be able to review their eligible chiefs on the Navy Enlisted Advancement System website at https://neasos.cnet.navy.mil.

Commands can apply for operationally waivers, but those must be approved by the head commander of Navy Personnel Command. Even that will only keep a sailor on active-duty until Dec. 1., 2016.