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    GWOT Support Assignments Increasingly Replace Individual Augmentees

    GWOT Support Assignments Increasingly Replace Individual Augmentees

    Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathaniel Moger | Deputy chief of naval personnel, Rear Adm. Sonny Masso, speaks to Joint Task Force...... read more read more

    By Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathaniel Moger
    Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

    GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Freedom of Information Act clerk for the Joint Detention Group. Independent duty corpsman for the Joint Medical Group. Videographer for Combat Camera.

    All three are seemingly disparate jobs that are intrinsically linked by the nature of their billets. They are individual augmentee billets, and the man in charge of Iraqi army assignments, the commander of Navy Personnel Command, Rear Adm. Sonny Masso, visited Guantanamo Bay to tour the facilities and hold an all-hands call for deployed Sailors today.

    Over 100 Sailors from both Joint Task Force Guantanamo and the Naval Station gathered to hear Masso's remarks on the future of personnel detailing and the upcoming changes to the IA process. The IA process, which takes Sailors from a parent command, and assigns them to hotspots around the globe in support of the Global War on Terror, has been criticized for creating career uncertainty and an environment of 'will-I-go-won't-I-go' during 'forces afloat' tours.

    Masso is implementing changes that will put the power and responsibility of filling these difficult billets in the hands of Sailors.

    "GWOT Support Assignment is a new term we rolled out about eight months ago and we're making it part of the detailing process," explained Masso. "Rather than ripping-to-fill a Sailor or looking for volunteers to leave on short notice, we're looking to make jobs in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Djibouti part of a regular career."

    Currently, IAs are taken from their parent commands, leaving a gap and creating Sailors who face uncertainty in their futures. GSA looks to fix these problems by filling these billets with Sailors who are naturally reaching the end of their sea duty tours. This is beneficial for all parties involved.

    "Hopefully this will alleviate churn to both the command and the Sailor," said Masso.

    The effects of this policy are already being felt here in the JTF. The Navy Expeditionary Guard Battalion which shares responsibility with the Army 525th Military Police Battalion for day-to-day detention operations originated as an IA only billet. This soon changed to a unit with a unique unit identification code or UIC.

    "Since Sailors are now ordered to NEGB on PCS (permanent change of station) orders, you actually get people negotiating for the orders," said Rear Adm. Mike Tillotson, commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command during a visit on March 3. "You're more likely to end up with individuals who understand what the mission is and volunteer for the mission. Personnel that volunteer are going to be better prepared for what they see."

    Currently orders are cut six to eight months in advance. Masso hopes that by early autumn, 80 percent of GSA billets will be part of a natural career path.

    "We're getting some outstanding results with a lot of volunteers coming off of forces afloat tours asking to go to specific assignments," said Masso. "It's a ramp-up and it will be fully executed by August, September, October time frame."

    Masso's trip involved more than just touring JTF facilities and educating deployed Sailors on the latest detailing news.

    "Speaking to IA Sailors is the most important thing I do because I need feedback to make sure we're providing them with the sense that their service as an IA is valued, that their families are going to be taken care of," said Masso. "They need to understand how the service they're rendering right now will help their career."

    On the last point, Masso notes that during the last chief petty officer advancement cycle, prior GSAs and IAs fared well.

    "Advancements rates for folks who have served in GSA or IA assignments were about 33 percent compared to about 21 percent for conventional billets," said Masso. "That is a profound difference."

    Masso makes a point of visiting commands under his umbrella of influence, and during his tours he encourages suggestions on how to improve the process and strives to take each suggestion from idea to implementation.

    "At Navy Personnel Command, we value three principles. One, love our Sailors," said Masso. "Two, lean towards 'yes' and three is 'do the right thing.' Sometimes doing the right thing means saying no, but we are always leaning towards what is optimal for each Sailor."

    Navy Personnel Command's mission is to support the Navy by providing the fleet with the right person, in the right place at the right time.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.19.2008
    Date Posted: 03.20.2008 14:05
    Story ID: 17588
    Location:

    Web Views: 374
    Downloads: 310

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