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ROUTINE
R 122237Z JUN 20 MID510001261460U
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
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UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 169/20
PASS TO OFFICE CODES:
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/JUN//
SUBJ/PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION POST STOP MOVEMENT PRIORITY PLAN//
REF/A/MSG/OPNAV/122138ZJUN20//
REF/B/DOC/OSD/22MAY20//
REF/C/MSG/OPNAV/042027ZMAY20//
REF/D/DOC/USFFC/USPACFLT/16AUG19//NOTAL//
REF/E/MSG/OPNAV/221516ZDEC17//
REF/F/MEMO/DOA/20MAY20//
NARR/REF A IS NAVADMIN 168/20, NAVY MITIGATION MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK UPDATE 5.
REF B IS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
(SECDEF) MEMO ON TRANSITION TO CONDITIONS-BASED PHASED APPROACH TO
CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 PERSONNEL MOVEMENT AND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.
REF C IS NAVADMIN 132/20, FORCE MANAGEMENT OPERATIONAL MITIGATION MEASURES IN
RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK.
REF D IS U.S. FLEET FORCES COMMAND-U.S. PACIFIC FLEET NOTICE 1000, SEA DUTY
MANNING TARGET LEVELS.
REF E IS NAVADMIN 307/17, ALIGNMENT OF ENLISTMENT CONTRACTS WITH DUTY STATION
TOUR LENGTHS.
REF F IS DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (DOA) MEMO ON PASSPORT PROCESSING DURING
COVID-19 PANDEMIC.//
RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN details how Navy Personnel Command (NPC) will work to
eliminate the temporary backlog of five months of Sailors due to transfer as
locations and installations achieve the conditions outlined in reference (b).
There are 42,000 Sailors with Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders
delayed due to COVID- 19. As conditions allow for the easing of stop
movement orders, household goods (HHG) and transportation logistics will
initially limit the number of Sailors that can be moved at one time.
2. Until full HHG and transportation capacities are restored, NPC will
prioritize transfers that emphasize fleet readiness while striving for
contact relief in operational sea duty billets. This will likely involve the
delay and/or acceleration of Estimated Dates of Departure (EDDs) of Sailors.
3. Background
a. COVID-19 has created a complex challenge to how the Navy balances the
distribution of Sailors and maintains fleet readiness.
Interruptions to the Navy accessions supply chain and inability to complete
prioritized turnover moves have contributed to an increase of operational
gaps at sea. Solving this problem will require engaged leadership,
flexibility and patience among Sailors and commands.
b. References (a) and (b) and previous guidance have forced Sailors with
EDDs in March, April, May and June 2020 to delay their transfer. When
combined with Sailors due to detach in July 2020, transfer backlog of the
Navy is almost 42,000 Sailors.
c. Reference (a) details that travel restrictions may be lifted or
relaxed incrementally by location or installation, taking into account local
health conditions and criteria. These relaxations will be tracked by the
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
(USD(PR)). In areas remaining under stop movement conditions, the exemption
and waiver processes described in reference (a) will continue to apply. PCS
orders will continue to include Restriction of Movement (ROM) periods for
Sailors traveling to or from these areas, to include intermediate stops.
Travel may be restricted even between areas which have satisfied the criteria
in reference (a) if the travel includes an intermediate stop (I- stop),
layover or airline connection in an area which remains under stop-movement.
d. During the summer, the highest volume move season, U.S.
Transportation Command (USTC) will not immediately be able to support
Department of Defense (DoD) and Navy demand for PCS moves.
As a result, Navy will follow DoD criteria for lifting restrictions on travel
and PCS orders. These criteria will take into account local conditions in
countries, states and installations based on prevailing COVID risk
conditions. This means that relaxation of the global stop-movement will not
mean unrestricted movement to and from all locations simultaneously.
Eliminating the PCS backlog could extend beyond the end of calendar year
2020.
e. The ultimate goal is for Navy to preserve its maritime superiority by
focusing on fleet readiness. Once we have eliminated the COVID-created
backlog, NPC will return to a distribution environment where Sailors transfer
based on their original EDD.
4. Policy
a. NPC will use every option available to maintain fleet readiness.
These options include prioritization of move timing based on the priority of
billets, incentivizing sea duty as outlined in reference (c) and adjustment
of EDDs.
b. For the entire group of Sailors affected, even those in categories
exempted under reference (a), NPC will prioritize all PCS moves based on the
impacts of fleet readiness rather than solely on a Projected Rotation Date
(PRD) of the Sailor. Those Sailors transferring to high priority units will
move first. This will entail shortening shore duty tours by up to 6 months.
Sailors transferring from high priority units will move last. This will
entail extending Sailors on sea duty by up to 6 months. In each case, NPC
will work with the Service Member, gaining and losing commands to evaluate
potential hardships and impacts on readiness.
(1) High priority units are those specifically designated
*operational sea duty.* NPC will continue to work with Commander, U.S. Fleet
Forces Command (USFF), Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CPF) and Type
Commanders (TYCOM) to prioritize *operational sea duty* billets over other
sea duty, using reference (d) and current operational requirements as
guidance.
(2) Operational sea duty includes strategic and special operations
forces, Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) and Optimized Fleet Response
Plan (OFRP) units with a published manning date (M-date), normally 12 months
before the deployment date.
(3) Special consideration will be given to Sailors serving in or
ordered to critical accession pipeline billets on shore duty (Recruit
Training Command, Officer Training Command, Navy Recruiting Commands, and
essential production support training sites). This consideration will ensure
those commands continue with manning to operate with an acceptable level of
risk to their critical training missions and preserve the flow of accession
Sailors to the fleet.
(4) The next group of priorities will be Sailors transferring to
milestone billets, OSD validated key billets, special program billets and
students heading to civilian or service schools (e.g., Naval War College,
Naval Postgraduate School, Senior Enlisted Academy).
(5) The next group of priorities will be Sailors transferring
outside the continental U.S. (OCONUS) shore duty, Major or Numbered Fleet
Staffs, Combatant Commander staffs or Joint Staffs and Office of the
Secretary of Defense.
(6) The next group of priorities will be non-operational sea duty to
include units that are in the maintenance phase and Pre- Commissioning.
(7) The final group of priorities will be all other continental U.S.
(CONUS) shore duty.
c. NPC acknowledges that vacancies may exist at lower priority commands
and will work to minimize those shortfalls.
d. Detailers will contact those Sailors with orders to transfer in March
through September 2020 to determine any economic hardships or transfer
limitations. Placement officers will work with USFF, CPF and TYCOMs to
determine readiness impacts. The transfer of a Sailor will be determined by
the priority system listed in subparagraph 4b and may be adjusted up to 6
months to facilitate contact relief.
e. For Sailors with PRDs in October 2020 and beyond, detailers will
review the postings of all Sailors on higher priority units to determine if a
relief has been identified. For those Sailors with a relief identified, the
detailer may adjust the EDD of the incumbent to match the Estimated Date of
Arrival (EDA) of the relief to facilitate a contact relief. When
appropriate, detailers may consider moving the relief from shore duty early
to lessen the extension impact on the incumbent. Those Service Members
without a relief identified shall have their EDD extended up to 6 months past
their current PRD. The EDD may be readjusted when a relief is identified in
the future to minimize overlap.
(1) Using information gathered from Sailors, USFF, CPF and TYCOMs,
NPC will issue order modifications as required. Those modifications will
have a No Earlier Than (NET) or No Later Than (NLT) date on when the Service
Member can conduct a HHG move.
Sailors are encouraged to use the MyPCS mobile app, available from the Navy
App Locker (https://www.applocker.navy.mil) to schedule and manage their HHG
move.
(2) Sailors conducting local geographic transfers, no-cost PCS moves
or Personally Procured Moves (PPM), also commonly referred to as Do-It-
Yourself (DITY) moves, are not exempt and may still be subject to an orders
modification. The intent of Sailors and pursuit of these options will reduce
the overall demand for HHG moves by a contracted moving company, reducing
pressure on USTC and personal property offices. PPM/DITY moves in particular
allow a Sailor to move HHG when best for the Sailor and family, even if fleet
readiness concerns adjust the timing of the actual detachment of the Sailor
from the losing command.
f. In coordination with USFF and CPF, NPC may need to renegotiate
already-released orders to maximize readiness of operational sea duty units,
accession pipelines and increase the number of same geographic location and
no-cost moves. For the extent of the COVID recovery, near-term readiness may
eclipse career progression or duty station preferences.
g. In special circumstances, and with Career Management Pillar
(PERS-4) concurrence, some Sailors may be extended 7-12 months as they await
a contact relief. All efforts will be made to minimize these extensions. A
new Assignment Incentive Pay to compensate those Sailors extended greater
than 6 months beyond their PRD has been proposed by Navy to the Assistant
Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (ASN(M&RA)) and
approval is expected shortly. Sailors that are in Sea Duty Incentive Pay
(SDIP) eligible skills and extend for 12 months or more may receive SDIP
instead.
All Sailors are encouraged to consider the incentives for voluntary
extensions outlined in reference (c).
h. To ensure NPC and gaining commands have the most accurate information
of projected Sailor arrivals, all enlisted orders received shall be
acknowledged by the losing command to their Immediate Superior in Command
(ISIC) with a statement of the intent of their affected Sailor to execute the
orders, in line with reference (e). Commands with enlisted personnel who do
not intend to execute a received set of orders (i.e., separate at PRD) shall
notify PERS-4013 as soon as possible. Commands shall ensure all gains and
losses are accounted for in Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS)
in a timely manner.
i. Sailors with retirement or fleet reserve orders and enlisted
personnel with End of Active Obligated Service (EAOS) dates before their PRDs
who do not intend to re-enlist will be exempt from this direction.
j. Conditions outlined in reference (a) will be achieved in stages
geographically. Local restrictions will persist after the initial
relaxations. NPC will take local Health Protection Conditions (HPCONs) and
international, state and local government policies into account when
determining PCS transfer timelines. NPC may delay moves, even into an area
cleared for PCS movement, in the interest of fleet readiness.
k. Passport and Visa Issuance. As outlined in reference (f), Service
Members, DoD civilians and dependents on PCS orders to OCONUS locations
requiring a no-fee passport, pursuant to the foreign clearance guide, will
submit passport applications to their local passport acceptance facility no
earlier than 60 days and no later than 45 days from OCONUS departure date.
If a visa is also required, the passport application will be submitted no
earlier than 80 days and no later than 65 days before departure date.
(1) Failure to adhere to these timeframes increases the chance that
command-sponsored dependents will not receive their passport and/or visa in
time to travel concurrently with their DoD sponsors.
(2) Service Members, DoD civilians and command-sponsored dependents
on PCS orders to OCONUS locations with departure dates before 30 June 2020,
and who are traveling under one of the stop movement order exemptions
approved by reference (a) or have been granted an exception to policy to the
stop movement order, should immediately submit their passport applications if
they have not already done so.
l. Delayed Dependent Travel (DDT). Sailors in receipt of PCS orders
with a transfer date before 1 September 2020 may request DDT to the new
permanent duty station of up to 180 days due to coronavirus. Sailors with a
transfer date before the stop movement termination date will receive up to
180 days delay from the termination date. Personnel with a transfer date
after the termination date will receive up to 180 days from the transfer
date.
(1) Service Members with dependents in elementary or secondary school
(K-12) may request DDT until the end of the school year or 30 June 2021,
whichever occurs first. Service Members are only entitled to one housing
allowance and Family Separation Allowance will not be authorized.
(2) Navy Personnel Command (PERS-451) will be the approval authority
for DDT from locations within CONUS. Due to possible Status of Forces
Agreement (SOFA) concerns, Military Pay and Compensation Branch (OPNAV N130)
will be the approval authority for DDT from locations OCONUS. For personnel
who were previously approved for DDT, PERS-451 and OPNAV N130 are authorized
to approve extensions related to COVID-19 on a case-by-case basis.
5. Key messages
a. Sailors. The emphasis on operational readiness and unit
prioritization reflects our identity as a Sea Service. NPC must preserve the
readiness of the Fleet by ensuring that PCS moves are executed to maintain
manning at key commands. This will result in changes to tour lengths as we
move Sailors to sea duty early and hold Sailors on sea duty beyond their EDD.
I encourage all Sailors to review the incentives outlined in reference (c)
and consider extending at sea or volunteering for sea duty. I know that this
will induce additional hardship for some Sailors and families and I thank you
and them for your service and sacrifice. Please trust that every Sailor on
the MyNavy HR team will work hard to minimize this impact.
b. Commands. Commanders, commanding officers, executive officers and
senior enlisted leaders must ensure their Sailors understand the intent of
this message. Further, command leaders should engage their Sailors, discuss
the COVID-19 affect on the economy and encourage your best Sailors to stay
Navy, taking advantage of incentives in reference (c). Your engagement and
recruitment of your Sailors to stay Navy makes a difference.
6. Points of Contact. Questions regarding the changing of the EDD of a
Sailor should be referred to the appropriate detailer.
Detailer contact information is available through MyNavyPortal
(https://my.navy.mil) or by contacting the MyNavy Career Center at
askmncc@navy.mil or 1-833-330-MNCC (6622).
7. Released by Vice Admiral John B. Nowell, Jr, N1//
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