Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Juan Garcia held a town hall meeting at Naval Base Coronado, Feb. 22.
Sailors from the area attended the meeting, which covered a range of topics including Enlisted Retention Board (ERB), transitioning Sailors as well as Perform-to-Serve (PTS).
“We want to get the word out in what’s been a year of change,” said Garcia. “There’s a new defense strategy, new budget, and a number of major policy changes, we want to get the message to every Sailor.”
One of the main topics of the meeting was the effect of the ERB, a program for retention in the Navy, and what it entails for the future of the Navy.
“After going through a very painful policy decision like the ERB, we want to make sure that any Sailor that has to separate is availing themselves of the opportunities we have created to have as soft a landing as possible,” Garcia said.
The Navy has hired contractors to help Sailors transitioning into the civilian workforce to help with job finding skills and job placement in order to make the transition easier.
“We want those who were retained to know that going through an effective ERB has left us in the position of being able to say that we don’t think there will be an ERB for the next two years or possibly even three, and that retention and advancement are going to increase significantly,” said Garcia.
Garcia also thanked those attending for their service during this time of high op-tempo and challenges including PTS and ERB.
After speaking to Sailors, the Assistant Secretary opened the floor for questions and addressed the concerns in attendance.
The town hall meeting on Coronado was one of several speaking engagements for Garcia in the San Diego area to spread the word to Sailors on news of PTS, ERB and transition programs.
PTS and ERB are force-shaping tools used by the Navy to determine whether a Sailor can reenlist or must transition back into the civilian sector.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , February 24, 2012; Image: navy