RTTUZYUW RUEWMCS0000 3401941-UUUU--RUCRNAD
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R 051941Z DEC 08
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
BT
NAVADMIN 348/08
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/DEC// 
SUBJ/FISCAL YEAR 2009 RETENTION GOALS// 
REF/A/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/062142ZAPR2001// 
REF/B/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/140017ZFEB2008// 
REF/C/DOC/OPNAV/03DEC06// NARR/REF A IS NAVADMIN 082/01, STANDARD 
ENLISTED RETENTION MEASURES.  
REF B IS NAVADMIN 043/08, BRILLIANT ON THE BASICS TAKING CARE OF 
SAILORS.  
REF C IS OPNAVINST 1040.11B, GOVERNING NAVY RETENTION AND CAREER 
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.// 
RMKS/1.  THIS MESSAGE SUMMARIZES NAVY'S ATTAINMENT OF FISCAL YEAR 2008 
(FY-08) RETENTION OBJECTIVES AND OUTLINES THE FY-09 RETENTION 
ENVIRONMENT AND GOALS.
2.  THE NAVY EXCEEDED RETENTION GOALS ESTABLISHED FOR FY-08.  
STRONG COMMAND AND DECKPLATE LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTED TO NAVY ATTAINING 
101 PERCENT OF OUR NUMERIC REENLISTMENT MISSION (26,510 REENLISTMENTS 
COMPARED TO A GOAL OF 26,200) FOR SAILORS IN THE FIRST 14 YEARS OF 
SERVICE.  FY-08 ATTRITION RATES WERE ALSO LOWER WHEN COMPARED TO FY-07 
FOR A MAJORITY OF LOSS CODE CATEGORIES, TO INCLUDE PHYSICAL FITNESS 
ASSESSMENT, SERIOUS OFFENSE, DRUG ABUSE, OTHER MEDICAL OR DISABILITY, 
AND ALCOHOL ABUSE.  A SUMMARY OF FY-08 RETENTION INCLUDES:
    A.  ALL-NAVY FY-08 REENLISTMENT RATE
                                         
                                       GOAL          ACTUAL
ZONE A (0 TO 6 YEARS OF SERVICE)       48 PERCENT    50.7 PERCENT 
ZONE B (6 TO 10 YEARS OF SERVICE)      58 PERCENT    59.8 PERCENT 
ZONE C (10 TO 14 YEARS OF SERVICE)     82 PERCENT    80.2 PERCENT 
NOTE:  REENLISTMENT RATE MEASURES THE PROPORTION OF SAILORS WHO MAKE 
LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS (FORMAL REENLISTMENTS PLUS EXTENSIONS OF AT LEAST 
24 MONTHS) TO STAY ON ACTIVE DUTY UPON REACHING THEIR EAOS.  IT ALSO 
INCLUDES THOSE WHO DECIDE TO REENLIST EARLY.
    B.  ALL-NAVY 12-MONTH ATTRITION RATE
                                         FY-07 ACTUAL     FY-08 ACTUAL
ZONE A (0 TO 6 YEARS OF SERVICE)         9.10 PERCENT     8.40 PERCENT     
ZONE B (6 TO 10 YEARS OF SERVICE)        2.82 PERCENT     2.44 PERCENT     
ZONE C (10 TO 14 YEARS OF SERVICE)       2.08 PERCENT     1.52 PERCENT    
NOTE:  ATTRITION RATE MEASURES THE PROPORTION OF SAILORS WHO LEAVE 
ACTIVE DUTY PRIOR TO REACHING THEIR EAOS.
3.  LIKELY FACTORS THAT WILL SHAPE NAVY'S FY-09 RETENTION EFFORTS 
INCLUDE CHANGING ECONOMIC FACTORS, COMPETITION FROM CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT, 
THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POST 9/11 GI 
BILL IN AUGUST 2009.  FURTHER, FY-09 WILL HAVE 2,500 FEWER SAILORS 
REACHING EAOS IN ZONE A AND MAKING THE DECISION TO CONTINUE SERVICE.  
TO BEST POSITION THE NAVY TO MEET END STRENGTH REQUIREMENTS WHILE 
RESPONDING TO THESE FACTORS, I HAVE SET THE FOLLOWING FY-09 RETENTION 
GOALS:
                                       FY-09 GOAL 
ZONE A (0 TO 6 YEARS OF SERVICE)       54 PERCENT 
ZONE B (6 TO 10 YEARS OF SERVICE)      63 PERCENT 
ZONE C (10 TO 14 YEARS OF SERVICE)     81 PERCENT 
4.  ACHIEVING FIT THROUGH RETENTION.  NAVY'S ACTIVE DUTY FORCE ENDED 
FY-08 AT APPROXIMATELY 332,000.  IN FY-09, NAVY CONTINUES OUR GRADUAL 
PATH TO REACHING A STEADY STATE OF APPROXIMATELY 326,000 BY THE END OF 
2011.  BECAUSE WE ARE BECOMING SMALLER, WITH MORE DEMANDS AND A WIDER 
RANGE OF MISSIONS, NAVY MUST CONTINUE TO SHAPE THE FORCE TO ACHIEVE THE 
BEST "FIT."  "FIT" MEANS HAVING A TRAINED SAILOR, AT THE RIGHT PLACE, 
AT THE RIGHT TIME.  ACHIEVING FIT THROUGH RETENTION MEANS MOVING BEYOND 
THE AGGREGATE REENLISTMENT RATE GOALS LISTED IN PARA 3 TOWARDS MEETING 
RETENTION REQUIREMENTS BASED ON RATING AND LENGTH OF SERVICE.  FOR 
EXAMPLE, THERE ARE SOME RATINGS THAT REQUIRE A ZONE A REENLISTMENT RATE 
OF MORE THAN 80 PERCENT FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH; OTHERS CAN REMAIN HEALTHY 
WITH A 40 PERCENT REENLISTMENT RATE.  COMMAND UNDERSTANDING OF THESE 
INDIVIDUAL GOALS IS ESSENTIAL IN INFLUENCING THE DESIRED REENLISTMENT 
BEHAVIOR FOR OUR MOST CRITICAL RATINGS.  
5.  TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY VISIBILITY OF FIT THROUGH RETENTION 
INFORMATION, OPNAV N13 SENDS MONTHLY EMAILS CONTAINING PROGRESS TOWARDS 
ATTAINING NAVY-WIDE, RATING-SPECIFIC REENLISTMENT GOALS TO THE FLEET 
N1S AND TO LEADERSHIP OF THE FLEET READINESS AND PROVIDER ENTERPRISES.  
THIS INFORMATION IS ALSO DISPLAYED ON THE ENLISTED RETENTION DASHBOARD 
LOCATED ON BUPERS ONLINE AT HTTPS://WWW.BOL.NAVY.MIL.  COMMANDING 
OFFICERS, OFFICERS-IN-CHARGE, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, COMMAND MASTER CHIEFS, 
AND COMMAND CAREER COUNSELORS CAN OBTAIN ACCESS TO THE ENLISTED 
RETENTION DASHBOARD BY SENDING AN EMAIL TO THE CENTER FOR CAREER 
DEVELOPMENT. 
6.  POINTS OF CONTACT:
- MRS. GRETCHEN CAMPBELL, AT (901) 874-4004/DSN 882, OR EMAIL: 
gretchen.d.campbell@navy.mil
- LT MICHAEL WELGAN, AT (901) 874-2317/DSN 882, OR EMAIL AT 
michael.welgan@navy.mil 7.  RELEASED BY VADM M. E. FERGUSON III, 
N1.// 
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