Continuation Board Keeps Best Sailors in the Fleet

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (AW) LaTunya Howard, Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- The Navy announced the fiscal year 2011 (FY-11) performance-based board for continuation, which will convene Sept. 20 to review senior enlisted (Active/Reserve) personnel with more than 19 years of service.

The focus is performance within the last five years or since advancement to current grade (E-7 through E-9), whichever is later. According to NAVADMIN 276/10, an amplified update to NAVADMIN 180/10, documented misconduct, sub-standard or marginal performance will be the primary reason board-eligible Sailors will not be continued in the Navy past the 20-year mark. Among the specific performance indicators the board will consider are:

* Documented misconduct involving either Uniform Code of Military Justice (non-judicial punishment) or civilian offenses.

* Moral or professional dereliction such as relief for cause or detachment for cause.

* Continuity gaps in evaluation/fitness report of greater than 90 days.

* The Sailor's evaluation/fitness report during the period reviewed includes marks showing sub-standard or marginal performance of duty.

The board will consider these factors and others within the entire record and use its judgment to select Sailors for continuation whose service is in the best interest of the Navy. NAVADMIN 276/10 contains the complete list of board consideration factors. "This is a performance-based board, and I have extreme confidence that the senior enlisted leadership who sit the board are focused on fairness and proper adherence to standards," said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON)(SS/SW) Rick D. West. "This is a move in the right direction, so we are retaining the best people possible for our Navy."

Commands may re-verify their FY-11 enlisted continuation board eligibility listings weekly until Sept. 1.

For Sailors being reviewed, the board correspondence submission deadline has been extended to Sept. 1. Board-eligible Sailors must submit any correspondence to the board with a postmark by this date.

West said this is the second year of the Senior Enlisted Continuation Board, but the first year Reserve chiefs will be looked at.

"The continuation board has expanded from last year," West said. "More people are being looked at across the Navy's Total Force including reserves and some communities that were exempt last year."