Navy officials are offering sailors who entered the Navy in 2012 and 2013 a one-time to extend their enlistments to the end of their initial sea tours. Over 45 percent of first-term sailors leave the Navy before fulfilling the sea duty requirement for their ratings, which causes gaps at sea. Because the Navy recruited significantly more sailors in 2012 and 2013, even more gaps are expected as these sailors begin to leave the service. The Navy is willing to waive some rules to give sailors the chance to stay in and better their chances to re-up for shore duty once the extension is. Here's a look at the minimum requirements to apply.


Requirements

Sailors wanting to apply for sea duty extensions under this program must meet some minimum requirements which include:

  • Be a first-term, rating-designated sailors. Those still in the Professional Apprenticeship Career Track, or PACT program, who have yet to be designated into a rating are not eligible for this.
  • Must be recommended by their commanding officer.
  • Have no performance mark below 3.0, or an advancement recommendation of "progressing" or "significant problems" in the most recent competitive evaluation.
  • Have an End of Active Obligated Service date that is both before Jan. 31, 2020 and also prior to the completion of their proscribed sea tour.
  • Are on Type 2 Sea Duty, which are ships and squadrons based in the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska; Type 3, which is overseas remote land-based sea duty; or Type 4 Sea Duty, which includes those on commissioned vessels and in deployable squadrons homeported overseas. Type 4 also includes overseas land-based units and staffs who operate away from their duty station more than 150 days a year.
  • Passed their most recent Physical Fitness Assessment.

Incentives

For sailors who are up against high year tenure, the "up or out" policy that sets limits on how long individual sailors can remain on active duty without advancing to the next paygrade, the Navy will grant waivers to those rules to allow junior sailors stay in to complete their prescribed sea tour. Current rules don't allow E-1s and 2s to stay beyond four years, and E-3s beyond five years. These sailors will be allowed to stay to the end of their sea tours under this program.

Eligible sailors do not need an approved C-WAY quota to take advantage of this opportunity.

Applying 

Eligible sailors need to submit a NAVPERS 1306/7 form endorsed by their commanding officer to Navy Personnel Command. Non-nuclear sailors must send their forms to PERS81@navy.mil and nuclear sailors must send theirs to bullnuke@navy.mil before Feb. 28. After approval, the sailor's personnel office will prepare the enlistment extension for them to sign.

About Mark D. Faram

Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.

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