Now Hear This - May 2011

May 2011 - Navy
By CAPT Tom McAtee

All Navy personnel must verify their death gratuity beneficiary

Changes in the law regarding death gratuity and recent upgrades to the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) require all Navy personnel to verify their designated death gratuity beneficiaries. The change in the law allows Sailors to designate their gratuity in 10 percent increments to more than one beneficiary. This is different than the SGLI beneficiary. The death gratuity is a benefit paid to eligible beneficiaries of a Sailor who dies while on active duty or while traveling to or from such duty. The total gratuity paid is $100,000, and Sailors may designate one or more persons to receive it. The amount paid to each beneficiary is specified on their Record of Emergency Data (Page 2) in 10 percent increments. If a Sailor is married, but designates someone other than the spouse to receive the gratuity, the Sailor’s com- mand will be required to notify the spouse of the designation in a letter. The ability for Sailors to designate someone other than their next-of-kin on their Record of Emergency Data (Page 2) was announced in NAVADMIN 189/07. A change in the law further modified the death gratuity designation and was outlined in NAVADMIN 134/08. All Sailors should access their NSIPS Electronic Service Record and verify their “Page 2” data. Sailors who need to change their beneficiary data should contact their Command PASS Coordinator (CPC) or servicing personnel office.

For more information, Sailors should contact their CPC, personnel office or visit Navy Personnel Command’s Web site at www.npc.navy.mil to read the applicable messages.

Radical revamp for Reserves eyed by DoD

The Pentagon is finalizing a controversial plan to reshape and redefine the Reserve Components, including the creation of a new “hybrid” service member who will commit to serving far more than traditional Reservists but not as much as active-duty troops.

An internal report moving up the chain to the desk of Defense Secretary Robert Gates calls for creating a new type of service agreement for Reservists who, for example, may want to commit to drilling 90 days a year and mobilizing for one out of every three years.

Traditional Reservists expect to drill at least 38 days a year and mobilize one year out of every six. The draft plan also recommends ramping up the operational roles of the Reserve Components by deploying them to Europe and South Korea, making them a more integral part of the military’s global posture. This move could help relieve stress on the active- duty force and potentially save money, said Robert Smiley, the Pentagon’s principal director for readiness, training and mobilization for Reserve Affairs. The recommendations would apply to all services and Reserve Components, which could implement them in different ways in the coming years. The 165-page report reflects a critical turning point for the Reserve. Once envisioned as a rarely used strategic backup force, since 2001, the Reservists have mobilized routinely and played key roles in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Comprehensive Review of the Future Role of the Reserve Component, as it is formally known, was required by last year’s Quadrennial Defense Review. The current draft version was approved by Marine Gen. James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Dennis McCarthy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.

Bottom Line: The Reserve will continue to offer the traditional service agreement, and the changes under discussion would not affect today’s Reservists who opt to remain in their current status. In fact, planners expect the majority of Reservists will not opt for a change but a significant minority may seek a greater commitment. About 25 percent of currently mobilized Reservists, roughly 20,000 troops, are volunteers.

New performance evaluation requirements became effective 15 March

Navy performance evaluations and fitness reports must conform to new policies announced in NAVADMIN 286/10 effective 15 March. The evaluation form “NAVPERS 1616/27 (Revision Aug. 2010) Evaluation and Counseling Record for E7 through E9,” also known as the “CHIEFEVAL,” is not affected by the new requirements and its use will continue as usual. To define more clearly top-performing Sailors, NAVAD- MIN 286/10 changed the promotion recommendation rules for E-5 Sailors and aligns them with E-6 Sailors under the same recommendation requirements. For reports dated March 15 and beyond, “Early Promote” and “Must Promote” recom- mendations combined cannot exceed 60 percent of the rank- ing group. In addition, “Must Promote” recommendations may increase by one for each “Early Promote” quota not used. An update to NAVFIT98A – known as “Version 29” – was rolled out to the fleet incorporating the new rules. Work stations on the unclassified Navy/Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) auto- matically received this new version. For non-NMCI users, the “Version 29” upgrade is available for download from the Navy Personnel Command (NPC) Web site. Service members should verify they are using “Version 29” by checking “About NAVFIT98A” under the “help” tab in NAVFIT98A, which will display “Version 2.2.0.29.” Validating reports with the new NAVFIT98A version will help ensure commands comply with the new promotion recommendation rule and help eliminate common errors in preparing reports.