[Navy testing alternative crewing model amid shortages, says SWO boss]

The Navy is testing an alternative crewing model that could apply to the entire fleet to improve manning shortages, but the service needs to somehow bolster recruiting efforts to remedy deficits, according to the commander of Naval Surface Forces.

There are about 9,000 operational sea-duty gaps, with the highest gaps appearing in the most sea-intensive ratings, the service told Navy Times in November. These numbers fluctuate on any given day due to permanent changes in station, ship decommissioning and the movement of ships into maintenance phases.

[🧧 USNCC Graduates First Naval Studies Certificate Recipients]

These 34 Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen represent USNCC’s pioneers in naval education as the college has more than 1,300 students enrolled in degree-seeking programs that include the Naval Studies Certificate.

“Use the knowledge you have gained this last year and create something greater,” said USNCC’s President Randi R. Cosentino, Ed.D. during her speech. "Push the boundaries of what we do as a naval force so that we can maintain that strategic advantage over our adversaries. You are the future of the naval forces."

[Navy moves toward leaner, more agile hospital ships with new funding]

The massive defense spending bill signed into law last month includes funding for a new breed of Navy medical ship with the speed and agility to serve more as ambulance than hospital.

The vessels, dubbed expeditionary medical ships, will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

[Starting Jan. 17, Veterans in suicidal crisis can go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for free emergency health care]

WASHINGTON – Starting Jan. 17, Veterans in acute suicidal crisis will be able to go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for emergency health care at no cost – including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days. Veterans do not need to be enrolled in the VA system to use this benefit.

This expansion of care will help prevent Veteran suicide by guaranteeing no cost, world-class care to Veterans in times of crisis. It will also increase access to acute suicide care for up to 9 million Veterans who are not currently enrolled in VA.

[MCPON: High-year tenure pause can’t block younger sailors’ advancement]

ARLINGTON, Va. — Suspending enlisted high-year tenure for two years aims to keep experience in the fleet — but the service must simultaneously find ways to prevent it from obstructing younger people from advancing, according to the Navy’s top enlisted sailor.

The previous high-year tenure policy required active duty sailors to move into the Fleet Reserve if they didn’t advance within certain benchmarks. But the new High-Year Tenure Plus pilot program prevents commands from separating or involuntarily transferring active component sailors to the Fleet Reserve.

[US Government has Received More Than 350 New UFO Reports]

The US government has received over 350 new reports of what the US government terms “unidentified aerial phenomenon,” commonly known as UFOs, since March of 2021 – roughly half of which are so far unexplained, according to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released on Thursday.

According to the report, the Pentagon office responsible for tracking and studying the sightings has preliminarily identified 163 of the reports as “balloon or balloon-entities.” A handful of other reports have been attributed to drones, birds, weather events or airborne debris like plastic bags.

[Start 2023 Knowing Your TRICARE Plan’s Catastrophic Cap]

FALLS CHURCH, Va.  –  What will happen if doctor visits, medical tests, or even hospital stays start to pile up this year? How will it affect your family’s finances? Fortunately, there’s a set maximum amount you’ll pay out of pocket each year for TRICARE covered services. This amount is known as the catastrophic cap, and it resets every year on Jan. 1.
 
“The TRICARE catastrophic cap is an important part of your health care coverage to understand,” said Debra Fisher, TRICARE Health Plan policy and programs analyst at the Defense Health Agency. “The catastrophic cap helps protect you because it limits your annual out-of-pocket costs for TRICARE covered services.”

[Service Members Who Refused Covid-19 Vaccine Say They Face Obstacles Despite Policy Reversal]

NAPLES, Italy — Some active-duty service members who refused the COVID-19 vaccine and faced expulsion from the military say a recent Defense Department announcement rescinding the mandatory inoculation order is a hollow victory. 

The action, which was announced this week by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and is required by the defense authorization bill passed last month, doesn’t address damage to military careers or restore the faith of service members sidelined by their refusal to take the vaccine, said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Caroline Crumbacker.

[Navy Wants Independence LCS in Bahrain for Mine Countermeasure Mission]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy could deploy the aluminum hull, Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship to the Middle East as part of a future mine-countermeasures force in U.S. Central Command, service officials said.

Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, the commander of Naval Surface Forces, said the Navy could send up to two of the Independence-class to Bahrain with a variant of the LCS MCM mission package in the same way the service’s Avenger MCM are deployed now.

[US Navy veteran released from Russian custody]

An American Navy veteran who has been detained in Russia for nearly a year was released from Russian custody on Thursday, his family’s spokesperson told CNN, after months of negotiations spearheaded by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

[Top 10 VetResources of 2022 | Access Whole Health Services | Free Login.gov Accounts]

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs bulletin - 01/11/2023

[Navy Might Have to Choose Between Arming the Service and Aiding Ukraine Due to Ammo Delays, Officials Say]

Top Navy leaders are sounding the alarm over what they see as the defense industry's failure to deliver enough ammunition to both meet the demands of the sea service as well as aid shipments to Ukraine.

"I am not forgiving of the fact they're not delivering the ordnance we need," Adm. Daryl Caudle, the service's Fleet Forces commander, told an audience at the annual Surface Navy Association conference held in Arlington, Virginia.

[Learn What’s New in TRICARE Pharmacy Program at January Webinar]

FALLS CHURCH, Va.  –  What do recent changes to the TRICARE Pharmacy Program mean for you and your family? Do you need to take any action? Learn more during a webinar, “What’s New in the TRICARE Pharmacy Program,” on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. Sign up now to attend.

[Cycle 258 (E-7 AD & TAR) Reminder]

All Cycle 258 (E-7 Active Duty/ Training and Administration of the Reserves) candidates will take their advancement exam Jan. 19, 2023. 

Remember that EAWs will close one week after the exam date listed on the worksheet. For more information, see NAVADMIN 226/22.

['Stick Around, We Need You': The Navy's Top Officer Opens Up About His Worry Over Suicide]

The Navy's top uniformed officer told a packed crowd of largely fellow Navy leaders and retired officers that one of the biggest problems that keeps him up at night is not Ukraine or Russia but the service's suicide problem.

"I think it's the same thing that keeps [the master chief petty officer of the Navy] awake at night: It's suicides," Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, told an auditorium of more than a hundred people at the annual Surface Navy Association conference held in Alexandria, Virginia.

[Pentagon drops COVID-19 vaccine mandate for troops]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon formally dropped its COVID-19 vaccination mandate Tuesday, but a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also gives commanders some discretion in how or whether to deploy troops who are not vaccinated.

Austin’s memo has been widely anticipated ever since legislation signed into law on Dec. 23 gave him 30 days to rescind the mandate. The Defense Department had already stopped all related personnel actions, such as discharging troops who refused the shot.

[😮 Meeting In Washington, U.S. Surface Navy Mulls Lost Mojo]

As the U.S. Navy surface warfare community convenes in Washington for the Surface Navy Association’s 35th National Symposium, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro will preside over a joyless gathering, helping America’s once-intrepid warriors contend with their dwindling relevance—due, in no small part, to the surface Navy’s overall lack of leadership, vision, and strategic drive.

[US Navy considers Cold War-era squadrons to boost readiness]

WASHINGTON — In 2009, the U.S. Navy faced a readiness crisis.

The cruiser Chosin and destroyer Stout were both deemed unfit for combat operations by the service’s Board of Inspection and Survey, which at the time checked ships’ material conditions every five years.

[2,100 Sailors in Limbo as Pentagon Grapples With End of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate]

The Navy separated 25 active duty sailors between Nov. 28 and Dec. 28 due to their failure to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the service told USNI News. Those sailors are likely the last sea service members to receive approved separations over COVID-19 vaccine refusal under the Pentagon’s prior vaccination mandate.

A provision in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 23, removed the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for active-duty service members.

[Veterans Benefits Newsletter - January 2023]

Veterans Benefits Newsletter - January 2023

[US military enters new era of expanded parental leave]

Military parents of newborns are entitled up to four times more parental leave, depending on their roles, under the recently authorized National Defense Authorization Act.

Birth parents can now claim a maximum 18 weeks of nonchargeable leave, six more weeks than their previous benefit; non-birth parents are entitled to 12 weeks, up from three.

[FY-24 Board Schedule]

FY-24 Board Schedule

[Senators Pressuring Navy to Improve Conditions in Shipyards in the Wake of Suicides]

Congress is increasing pressure on the U.S. Navy to make changes to the environment sailors face when the ship they are assigned to is undergoing long periods of shipyard work.

[TNR Almanac: Readiness]

Dec. 30, 2022

The Navy Reservist Almanac is an annual guide providing Navy Reserve Sailors with a foundation to help understand and manage a part-time military career alongside a full-time civilian life...

 

[Resolve To Quit Tobacco With TRICARE’s Help]

FALLS CHURCH, Va.  –  Is quitting tobacco your New Year’s resolution? TRICARE and YouCanQuit2 have resources to help you start—and finish—your journey to be tobacco-free.