Month: July 2022

Source: United States Navy

Calhoun, a Selected Reserve member attached to U.S. Fleet Forces Command Maritime Operations Center (N3 FCC) in Norfolk, Va., initially thought of his idea during a mobilization exercise where he realized shifting many of the mobilization requirements to a secure mobile platform would make the process faster and more efficient for both Sailors and Navy Reserve Center staff.

“In this era of strategic competition, we must be ready on day one,” said Calhoun. “Empowering Sailors to use their mobile device to complete a significant portion of pre-mobilization requirements will improve the overall experience for the modern-day Sailor and save critical time during mass mobilizations to get warfighting-ready Sailors on station faster.”

The envisioned mobile application could reduce duplicative administrative requirements for both members and mobilization staff, save critical time by auto-populating data fields across multiple documents, provide real-time transparency and progress status for members and leadership throughout the process, and enable clear and customizable views and reports.

Additionally, the app could remove the difficulties some Reserve members have accessing CAC-enabled sites outside an NMCI environment and would “ensure our ability to mass mobilize, predictably, at scale, and with seamless administration activation workflows” as outlined in the Navy Reserve Fighting Instructions 2022.

“We are already moving out on the design for Lt. Cmdr. Calhoun’s mobile application,” said Mustin. “His idea to add mobile technology to our distributed activation process helps us achieve our goal of mobilizing the entire Selected Reserve force of 50,000 in 30 days, if required.”

i3 Waypoints is an approach to inventing: innovate something entirely new; improve on something already established; or integrate several ideas, products or processes rendering the former completely obsolete. Mustin introduced the annual competition to fast-track transformative ideas from across the Navy directly to the highest levels of the Navy Reserve, without filters or bureaucratic barriers.

One-hundred and seven submissions were received in a five-week period. Five final entries were subsequently chosen and presented to a panel hosted by Mustin during a taped session at Fort Meade, Md., June 28, 2022. The other panelists were retired Vice Adm. Andrew “Woody” Lewis, Mr. Bruce E. Mosler, chairman, global brokerage of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., Navy Reserve Force Master Chief Tracy L. Hunt and 2021 Navy Reserve Sailor of the Year Chief Yeoman (Select) Jasmyn Phinizy.

“The large number of creative, thoughtful strategic ideas submitted in a relatively short timeframe far exceeded our original expectations,” said Mustin. “It demonstrates our Reserve Force’s commitment to innovate, improve efficiencies, and reduce administrative burdens, allowing us to focus on warfighting readiness – our one and only priority. With such an enthusiastic response from the force, and so many great ideas to modernize the way we do business, we saw enough in this inaugural event to commit to making i3 Waypoints an annual program. Very little is more important to us than keeping the direct pipeline open for creative ideas to flow to top leadership without filter or disruption.”

The other i3 Waypoints finalists and their submissions were:

• Lt. Brian Adornato, Naval Sea Systems Command, Surge Maintenance Sacramento: “Create a New Category of Personnel: Civilian Technicians”
• Cmdr. Bobby Hsu, Director of Navy Staff, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations: “Official Navy Reserve YouTube Channel”
• Cmdr. Sarah McGann, Navy Personnel Command (PERS-9), and Lt. Josh Didawick, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (MPT&E): “New Policy for Reserve Retirement Education Across the Career Continuum”
• Cmdr. Scott Mericle, Navy Reserve Operations, Plans and Policy (N5), Commander, Second Fleet: “Improve Active to Reserve Transition”

The streamlined broadcast can be viewed at:
https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/Resources/I3-Waypoints/
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/850303
https://www.youtube.com/c/usnavyreserve

Source: United States Navy

As CDA, Paparo made 27 individual disposition decisions, which were primarily focused on the ship’s fire prevention, readiness, and response efforts. The disposition decisions included six Nonjudicial Punishments (NJP) with guilty findings, two NJPs with Matter of Interest Filings (MIF) and a Letter of Instruction (LOI), two NJP dismissals with a warning, one additional MIF, five other LOIs, three Non-Punitive Letters of Caution (NPLOC), two letters to former Sailors documenting substandard performance, and six no-action determinations.

Paparo’s CDA accountability actions were primarily focused on USS Bonhomme Richard’s leadership and the fire response team. Paparo awarded punitive letters of reprimand and forfeitures of pay to Capt. Gregory Scott Thoroman, former commanding officer, and Capt. Michael Ray, former executive officer. Former Command Master Chief Jose Hernandez was awarded a punitive letter of reprimand.  

After a thorough and careful review, the CDA issued LOIs to Rear Adm. Scott Brown, U.S. Pacific Fleet director of fleet maintenance, and Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center.

Additionally, Secretary Del Toro issued a Secretarial Letter of Censure (SLOC) to Vice Adm. (ret) Richard Brown. At the time of the fire, Vice Adm. (ret) Brown was Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

“When leaders’ actions or inactions result in the loss of life or capital resources, the senior leadership of the Department of the Navy has a responsibility to determine the root cause and hold those accountable,” Del Toro said in a message sent to the Department of the Navy on June 2. “This fire could have been prevented with adequate oversight into the ship’s material condition and the crew’s readiness to combat a fire.”

The CDA’s actions are separate and distinct from the ongoing criminal proceedings against Seaman Apprentice Ryan Mays, who is accused of arson and hazarding a vessel.

The accountability actions do not represent the entirety of corrective actions following the fire aboard USS Bonhomme Richard.

“Losing Bonhomme Richard to this fire was preventable. We are making significant changes in the way the Navy learns and leads so that this does not happen again,” said Adm. William Lescher, Vice Chief of Naval Operations.

Lescher specifically pointed to three key institutional reforms that go beyond firefighting and prevention: the Get Real, Get Better initiative is designed to scale Navy-best leadership behavior and problem-solving across the Navy; the elevation of the Naval Safety Center to the Naval Safety Command with a new mandate as the naval enterprise lead for non-nuclear safety standards, expertise, and oversight; and the VCNO and Under Secretary-led Learning to Action Board which serves to both implement key lessons learned and assess the effectiveness of corrective actions over time. 

“What we have learned from both our strongest and our weakest performance is that consistently practicing Get Real, Get Better leadership is the most powerful way to make the Navy better.  The Get Real, Get Better initiative will sharpen Navy readiness and reduce the variability in the performance between our strongest and weakest performers,” said Lescher. “It reflects our commitment to invest in people as the center of what we do. Reinforcing and rewarding critical thinking, empowering our Sailors to find and fix problems at their level, and challenging leaders to remove barriers to their teams’ performance.”

The Navy’s revised Charge of Command and the Get Real, Get Better principles, both posted on the www.navy.mil website, include more information on these foundational initiatives.

The SLOC can be found here.

Source: United States Navy

The MyNavy HR Career Development Symposium (CDS), hosted by Navy Personnel Command, swept through Hampton Roads, engaging Sailors stationed throughout Navy Region Mid-Atlantic July 13-14.

The events, held at Naval Station Norfolk the first day and aboard Naval Air Station Oceana the second, brought a total of approximately 700 Sailors together with MyNavy HR leadership and subject matter experts to showcase new and emerging Navy programs and initiatives, explain how these changes will be affecting them, and offer Sailors the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns.

Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander, Navy Personnel Command, said the efforts brought out during CDS made this one of the best he’s seen. For Holsey, having the opportunity to meet Sailors and have direct honest conversations made all the difference.

“To watch young Sailors walk around and hear their comments, to tell them about what we’re doing at Navy Personnel Command, to me is about changing lives and improving outcomes,” he said.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Russell Smith also attended CDS and talked with Sailors about their concerns and career aspirations. He said CDS, “(lifts) barriers as a part of the CNO’s ‘Get Real, Get Better’ initiative. Hopefully, this symposium will put time back in our Sailors’ pockets to better prepare for combat,” Smith said.

CNP hosted a town hall, where he took questions from Sailors, many of whom took the opportunity to engage senior leaders in a direct forum.

“You can ask hard questions that you may not be able to ask over your computer and we are going to be here to answer them,” said NPC Force Master Chief Chris Detje.

True to its name as a Career Development Symposium, detailers and community management teams were on hand to provide career advice and discuss current and upcoming programs with Sailors.

“There’s not too many times that a Sailor can have their enlisted community manager and a detailer in the same spot at the same time, it’s like one stop shopping,” said Master Chief Electrician’s Mate Douglas Stevenson Jr., Surface Engineering Enlisted Community Manager.

The central feature of CDS was the MyNavy HR Trade Show. Sailors had the opportunity to visit tables filled with information and meet with subject matter experts standing by to discuss many programs and initiatives such as the MyNavy Career Center, eNAVFIT, the Government Travel Charge Card, the MyPCS Travel Voucher, MyNavy Coaching, and many others.

For Sailors new to their careers, CDS also brought with it the Professional Apprenticeship Career Track (PACT) Fleet Engagement Team, which helped more than 450 Sailors earn a rate right on the spot. Held in conjunction with CDS, the PACT Team started their work July 12 and wrapped up July 15.

“This (CDS) is a fantastic event. This is the biggest event I have ever seen and it’s been nothing but excellent,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class George Whitehead, assigned to Navy Cargo Handling Battalion (NHCB) 1. “Every single one of my sailors got a rate today. It was fantastic.”

“The Sailors really mean everything and without the men and women in this room we’re not the strongest military on the planet,” said Dietje. “It’s our mission to make sure that we’re taking care of each and every Sailor. CDS brings us closer to our goal: To see the Sailor today.”

Learn more about CDS at https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Talent-Management/CDS.

Follow MyNavy HR on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MyNAVYHR