Military problem

Difficulties of a Decommissioning Unit Change of Homeport

I. Introduction

A. Attention: Change of Homeport is an overwhelming milestone for Sailors and Navy vessels heading into a decommissioning availability. Each year, naval ships reach their service life and the inactivation’s lesson learned continue to growing.

B. Motivation: Personnel from Commander, Naval Personnel Command (BUPERS) are working with aging warship triads to efficiently and effectively improve the change of homeport process while easing the undue stress on Sailors and their families.

C. Overview (State Main Points): This essay will discuss the difficulties a decommissioning unit that changes homeport faces, offer a discussion on the scope of the problem, and present a recommendation to solve the common mistakes commands make.

II. Body

A. Main point 1: Problem

1. Sailors Projected Rotation Date (PRD) or End of Active Obligated Service (EAOS) will affect what category of orders they receive.

2. Dependents that move early before the effective homeport date can lead a loss of entitlements (i.e. Family Separation Allowance (FSA) or Dislocation Allowance (DLA).

Transition sentence: Now that we have identified the problem of the different categories and the potential loss of entitlements, a discussion of the scope and impact of the problem can be reviewed.

B. Main point 2: Discussion

1. Sub-Point. The promulgation date is the first phase of the change of homeport, it identifies the effective date to shift Personal Service Detachment (PSD) that controls the payout of entitlements. The effective date and the change of homeport should be close to the same or there could be a lapse in coverage with losing and gaining PSD.

2. Sailors with insufficient time remaining on their contract are sent Temporary Additional Duty (TAD) to other commands or Transient Divisions to finish out their contract. These actions leave a command with a gapped billet.

C. Main point 3: Recommendation

1. Commands must work with BUPERS’ codes on Sailor’s PRD Management and Sailor’s separating at EAOS.

2. BUPERS should combine orders category 1 and 2 for decommissioning unit to allow for Sailor's personal property to be shipped to their next homeport.

3. The Early Out Program should be extended from three to six months prior to a Sailor’s EAOS.

4. Increase the delay in dependant travel from 180 days to 6 - 9 months. This would allow dependants to complete the school year, sell a home, or transfer from their current employment.

5. To reduce any misunderstanding, once business rules have been issued, Type Commands (TYCOMS), Immediate Senior in Command (ISIC), PSD, and the command should to have bi-monthly meetings to ensure that the command is on track with the effective date.

III. Conclusion

A. Summary (Review Main Points) This essay identified the problem of orders categories management, how entitlements can be lost with early departure from current homeport, discussed in detail the effective date of decommissioning change of homeport, the negative impact it can have on Sailors, and provided a recommendation that BUPERS personnel and command leaders work closely to resolve these underlying issues.

B. Remotivation: Naval leaders need to understand how change of homeports affect Sailor’s on decommissioning units, and how these impacts can make the transition go smoother for the Sailor and the command.

C. Closing: It is important that any issues be identified as soon as possible by the command and BUPERS prior to the change of homeport effective date to ensure the Sailor transition goes smoothly. This milestone is cumbersome on all that are involved and by failing one Sailor you fail a whole family.