Military problem

Change of Homeport Difficulties

I. Introduction

A. Attention: A change of homeport at what cost to the Sailor! A change of homeport is an overwhelming milestone for Sailors and commands heading into an inactivation period.

B. Motivation: Naval leaders need to layout an effective change of homeport plan laying out the steps, because it will ease undue stress on Sailors and their dependents.

C. Overview (State Main Points): This essay will discuss the difficulties of a decommissioning unit’s change of homeport, offer a discussion on the scope of the problem, and present a recommendation to solve the common mistakes command 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 receives.

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

Transition sentence: Now that the problem of order categories and potentially monetary loss has been identified, the scope and impact will be reviewed and discussed.

B. Main point 2: Discussion

1. Sub-Point. The promulgation date is the begin phase of the change of homeport and identify 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 in the same or there could be an over lapse 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 Division finish out their contract. These actions leave a command with a gapped billet.

Transition sentence: Now that the full scope of the problem have been identified, a discussion of the recommendations to resolve these issues and be reviewed.

C. Main point 3: Recommendation

1. Commands work with Commander, Naval Personnel (BUPERS) codes on Sailor’s PRD Management and Sailor separating at EAOS.

2. BUPERS combine orders category one and two for decommissioning unit to allow for Sailors personal property to be shipped to their next homeport.

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

4. Increase the delay in dependant travel from 180 days to six to nine 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 need to have bi-monthly meeting to ensure that the command is on par with the change of command 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 and Navy vessels net work closely to resolve these underlying issues.

B. Remotivation: By effectively understanding the strenuous demands of change of homeport, naval leaders will ensure their Sailors know how to make the transition go smoother for them and their dependents.

C. Closing: Naval leaders will not have all the answers for their Sailors but any issues identified should be handled with urgency as to not cause and undue stress and ensure the transition goes smoothly. Ronald Regan said it best, “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”