Do you think the Navy will become grossly undermanned even after the policy changes with the PRT, EAOS/PRD, etc?

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 17:18:56 -0500

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Jan 31 at 2018 7:20 PM

SSG Edward Tilton — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 19:20:12 -0500

It may stop the listing to one side on many vessels

Response by Al Reynolds made Jan 31 at 2018 10:40 PM

Al Reynolds — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 22:40:07 -0500

I don't know what 'Grossly undermanned' is and I don't know what the PRT, EAOS/PRD is but I remember having to stand a few four on/four off watches and a few times when we just turned our hats around and maintained.... Because there was no gear adrift we could train to stand watches... And another time when I realized why the navy has ships .... 'It's harder to go UA when you have ships at sea'.... So .... no, the Navy will not be grossly unmanned if they keep their ships at sea and restrict access to fleet landing... See: Two Years before the Masts, Richard Henry Dana Jr. for more brilliant insight.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 2 at 2018 12:08 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 12:08:13 -0500

I think the whole military will become grossly undermanned at the middle-management level with BRS. If not undermanned, then will at least suffer a competence vacuum.

With the exception of those few hardcore types who do this for love of country alone, no one worth a damn is going to stick around beyond 10 years. Think about it-- most of us join in our late teens/early 20's and get married and/or have children shortly after that. Fast forward 20 years: those kids are entering college. Sure, GI Bill will buffer some of the damage, but who in their right mind is going to start off at ground zero of a new career when their kids are entering college without the financial security of the retirement check that accompanied 20 years of service under the old system? Now all you get is a 401K. Not nothing, but not worth sticking around for.

I predict that people will continue to join for the same reasons they do now: family tradition, getting a leg-up on life, the GI Bill, Veterans benefits, etc., but they will depart in droves around the 10 year mark-- when both officers and enlisted are around the mid-level management range and the work shifts more from the 'fun' stuff you get to do when you are young to the necessary but boring, desk-bound administrative stuff.

The only people who are going to stick around are the ones that KNOW they aren't competitive in the civilian world, so will ride it out for a paycheck as long as they can while all of the responsible types hang up their boots for a jacket and tie and start building a second career in order to be halfway to management (and management salaries) by the time they need to put their kids in college. The military will no longer have the option of promoting who is best. They'll be promoting among who is left and the end result will NOT be pretty.

Call me pessimistic, but that's my prediction.

I would prefer they end the lavish retirements of the geniuses in Congress who felt compelled to 'fix' something that wasn't broken rather than save money on the backs of the servicemembers.