Chief of Naval Personnel Visits Naval Special Warfare

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Les Long, Naval Special Warfare Group 2 Public Affairs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va (NNS) -- Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP) Vice Adm. Bill Moran visited Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Sailors during an all hands call on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, October 21. Moran discussed a variety of topics, including enlisted retention boards, retirement, and compensation.

"I don't often get to see and talk with NSW Sailors for a lot of reasons, mostly because you're always deployed," Vice Adm. Moran said. "I have enormous respect for this community, from the enablers to the tactical guys to the boat drivers."

One of the topics Moran addressed was Sailors' concerns about the possibility of another enlisted retention board (ERB). The ERB was a manpower reduction tool that resulted in a force reduction of nearly 3,000 Sailors in 2011.

Moran said, "We didn't do a very good job communicating about the ERB and the program was not executed very well. I can stand here and confidently tell you we don't have another ERB planned because we've stabilized as a force."

Discussions in Congress regarding changing the current retirement system for military members has service members across all branches worried that their benefits will be changed or reduced.

"If there's a change to the Navy's retirement system in the future, it will only affect Sailors who join after the system change. If we come up with a better system in the future, you will have the opportunity to opt-in, but you will never be forced to opt-out of the current system."

Moran also responded to rumors that service members were facing a possible pay cut.

"Your pay will continue to increase, but it's not going up as fast as many of us have seen over the last 13 years. Over time, our pay has caught up to and jumped slightly ahead of our civilian counterparts," said Moran.

Moran said, "My role and commitment to you is to ensure, the best that I can, that you're properly compensated, you're properly taken care of, and, most importantly, your families are properly taken care of."

As the Chief of Naval Personnel, Vice Adm. Moran answers to the Chief of Naval Operations on matters of the Navy's manpower readiness. He also serves as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel, Training Education/N1) and oversees the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Navy Personnel Command and the Navy Manpower Analysis Center.