Sailors around the world are giving the GMT overhaul two thumbs up.
That’s the word from Vice Adm. Bill Moran, chief of naval personnel, who spoke with Navy Times on Thursday Sept. 10 during a sweeping tour of 5th Fleet. He said sailors across the board are "very pleased" with the 40 percent cut in annual General Military Training. Efforts are underway to make topics more interactive and less tedious; a mobile app is imminent likely.
Speaking of sailor-friendly technologies, the three-star said he has been inundated with questions about the "rather stubborn and archaic IT system." Moran assured sailors that a solution is on the way in the form of "My Navy Portal," which will provide one-stop access to things such as training and personnel records, and Navy Knowledge Online, all while eliminating the countless login passwords sailors need to have memorized to access them. requirements with which sailors must contend.
Moran's tour carried him from Bahrain to the amphibious assault ship Essex before arriving aboard the carrier Theodore Roosevelt. He said morale there is very high, and he was pleased to meet sailors who already have benefited from changes to the meritorious advancement program.
As one might expect, sailors throughout the region had questions about special pays. On one hand there is Hardship Duty Pay–Tempo, a $16.50 daily allowance (not to exceed $495 monthly) that is paid to sailors who are operationally deployed more than 220 consecutive days. The TR crew on Sept. 10 hit 183 days deployed and is scheduled to be out another 10 weeks. Their world cruise is supposed to be one of the Navy's last prolonged deployments as the Optimized Fleet Response Plan aims to cuts deployments to seven months.
On the other hand, sailors in the areas and airspaces of the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are none too happy that imminent danger pay was eliminated last year. Moran admitted that "we get that question everywhere" but was quick to say that policy is driven by the Defense Department.
Because TR sailors were deployed when changes to the Physical Fitness Assessment were made this summer, Moran took plenty of time to explain the program’s intent and execution. The visit also afforded an opportunity to update crew members on steps taken to ensure their historic three-carrier swap runs smooth. The swap kicked off March 11 when TR bid Virginia farewell after 28 years. The flattop will take the place of aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in San Diego at the end of its world cruise. Reagan will take the place of aircraft carrier George Washington in Japan, and GW will sail around South America to Newport News, Virginia, for a refueling and complex overhaul in scheduled for 2017. In all, roughly 9,000 sailors will be part of the unprecedented swap.
"I am very, very impressed with the spirit and the energy that these guys are showing given where they've been and as long as they have been on deployment, and knowing that they've got a ways to go to get home safely," said Moran, who will also visit the guided-missile cruiser Normandy and destroyer Higgins on his tour. "The goal is to get in touch with sailors, learn as much as I can to keep sailors in the Navy, and better prepare sailors to deal with changes. In a carrier strike group that has been on deployment for over six months, you really get the temperature about how sailors are feeling about their service and about their Navy. There is no better place to do it."
