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I had a wake-up call last night during a phone call with Chris Thorne. You see, I truly thought we were making an incredible difference in the transition of all service members - regardless of branch of service. Then Chris, a recently retired Command Master Chief, told me how the Navy transitions many of their Sailors.? I was HORRIFIED!! First, he informed me that many Sailors are not authorized to use their transition leave. In fact, most are not allowed more than 7 days of terminal leave and are required to sell back anything beyond that. I didn't think that was even allowed. Next, he informed me that transitioning Sailors are required to go to sea with their ships. If a Sailor separates in 2 months, they will still go out with their ship on a mission and get worked until the last moment.? They are dropped off at a local port and put on a plane in time to arrive at either Norfolk or Sand Diego 7 days before their transition date. Is this true? I understand balancing the needs of the unit against the individual, but how can our Sailors possibly have a positive transition back to the workforce if this is the case? With over 70% of our future force related to current service members, how does this impact future Navy readiness? Most importantly - how can we affect change?
I am currently serving and on deployment and I can tell you that it happens all of the time. Even more ironic, as I read the comments I see other Sailors I have served with?in agreement. It's the mentality of the?Chain of Commands here and that isn't going to change unless it is put forth in a NAVADMIN that would increase the?minimum amount of time?for transition related matters.??
I was more fortunate with my final duty station. I was able to take 90 days terminal leave, plus 10 for job hunting and 10 for house hunting. This is not the norm for many sailors and I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. When you dedicate 20yrs of your life to an organization it’s hard to put your best interests above those of the branch you are serving in. Every member of the military needs to start focusing on life after the military because it comes for us all eventually. I try to impress that upon anyone who is getting out because you are on your own when it’s all said and done.
These ships are committed to getting all they can from sailors who aren’t informed of their rights. And yes, I see this happening but the triad is responsible for fulfilling their mission first. Ships are undermanned and people are forced to leave at the last minute. People can act as if this doesn’t occur but it does. We can educate sailors but it’s up to the command to release them in time to transition or not. No one, surprisingly, will do anything since manning is an issue.
The navy offers 6 months of internship via DoD skill bridge, the are programs out there, and commands let people go. All the doom and gloom you hear are from sailors who didn't properly plan their transition.
I took 90 days of leave with full special duty pay, flight, jump, dive etc and was working in another country during my transition.
I’m on day 1 of 76 days of terminal leave. My command gave me all the time I asked for to take care of my separation and transition needs.
I hope something can be done to influence a change in the matter. Regardless of branch of service; we all deserved the opportunity to be given enough time for transition after given so much to our great nation. We are proud of all our sailors/Navy SEAL for their hard work and relentless dedication to greatness.
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6 年This is just one practice that increases our work with PTSD early for all branches. We are grateful to have systems that do work with measured results. The disappointment among some new veterans, we can do little for that except help them plan outstanding careers based on what they've learned and willingness to broaden into waiting markets. We must do better.?