Author: Joel Schofer, MD, MBA, CPE
Consolidated Special Pays
I recently attended a brief where we were given an update on the upcoming change in how we receive our special pays. This new plan is called “Consolidated Special Pays” or “CSP”. Many of the details of the new plan are not finalized or available yet, but here are the highlights:
- All of the different special pays we received will be consolidated into three pays:
- Incentive Pay (IP) – This will replace Variable Special Pay (VSP), Additional Special Pay (ASP), and Incentive Special Pay (ISP). Currently ASP and ISP are paid in lump sums, but the IP will be paid monthly.
- Retention Bonus (RB) – This will replace Multiyear Special Pay (MSP) but will continue to be paid as a lump sum.
- Board Certification Pay (BCP) – This will change to a flat annual total of $6K instead of varying based on how long you’ve been in the Navy. It will be paid monthly.
- The current plan, always subject to change, is for everyone to convert to the CSP in FY17. Officers under an existing agreement (such as a MSP contract) will be allowed to remain under that agreement for the duration of agreement.
- The Navy is still working out the details and the answers to detailed questions may not be available. Because of this you won’t find any details yet on the BUMED Special Pays page. Despite this, they have been briefing these changes for a while at AMDOC and in other settings, so I think it is important to get the word out even if all the details have not been worked out.
September 2016 Naval Postgraduate School Executive MBA Distance Learning Program
Here is the NAVADMIN that announces the procedures to apply for the September 2016 Naval Postgraduate School Executive MBA Distance Learning Program. This is the program I used to get my MBA, so I can answer any questions. Just use the Contact Me tab.
UNCLASSIFIED
ROUTINE
R 081524Z JUN 16
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS
PASS TO OFFICE CODES:
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
NAVADMIN 134/16
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/JUN//
SUBJ/EXECUTIVE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISTANCE LEARNING DEGREE
PROGRAM FOR SEPTEMBER 2016//
REF/A/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/061710ZAUG07//
AMPN/REF A IS NAVADMIN 195/07, OFFICER GRADUATE EDUCATION SERVICE
OBLIGATION.//
RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN announces application procedures for the September
2016 distance learning Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA)
program. The program will be taught in the fleet concentration areas
(Norfolk, Washington, DC, and San Diego) and other eligible sites.
2. The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) defense-focused EMBA is a 24-month,
fully-funded, part-time graduate program focused on resource management. The
program prepares middle to senior grade active-duty officers, lieutenant
commander (select) and above, whose career paths do not support in-resident
graduate education.
3. The program begins with a one-week temporary additional duty (TAD)
resident program at the NPS campus in Monterey, CA. Official travel orders
and funding for TAD travel will be provided by the student’s parent command.
If command funding is not available, students may fund their own travel and
utilize no-cost TAD orders from their command. During resident week,
students will take a two-credit hour course in managing teams. Additionally,
students will interact with the faculty who will be teaching throughout the
program and master the skills required to learn via distance learning
methods. The NPS program is scheduled for the week of 19-24 September 2016.
A block of rooms has been reserved at Navy Lodge, Monterey, CA for attendees.
Optionally, the NPS bachelor officers quarters on campus may be utilized on a
space available basis. Transportation by bus will be provided to and from
the Navy Lodge for daily classes on the NPS campus to minimize TAD costs.
4. NPS faculty use video teleconferencing (VTC), and other distance learning
modes to teach the follow-on courses. Students meet in VTC capable
classrooms once a week during normal duty hours for six to seven hours of
instruction, taking two classes per quarter for eight quarters. Students
enter the EMBA program as a cohort and will take all courses together as a
learning team (minimum 5 personnel). All students must recognize that
attending classes with their respective cohort is mandatory to complete the
degree requirements. VTC instruction will begin during the week of 27
September 2016.
5. Eligibility requirements include an undergraduate degree from a
regionally accredited 4-year college or university, academic profile code of
245 (2.6 grade point average or higher on a 4 point scale) and 2 pre-calculus
courses with a grade average of B or better. A commanding officer
endorsement letter is required to participate in the program. Department
head or similar mid-level management experience and strong potential for
promotion are preferred. Participants must have a projected rotation date no
earlier than September 2018. The Graduate Management Admission Test is not
required.
6. Graduates will be awarded an EMBA degree from NPS and the Navy
subspecialty code 3100P, Financial Management Defense Focus. Per reference
(a), officers participating in this program must agree to remain on active
duty following completion of graduate studies for a period of three years.
This obligation is discharged concurrently with any other service obligation
already incurred. This agreement does not obligate the Navy to retain the
officer on active duty.
7. Officers interested in the EMBA program can visit the NPS EMBA home page
for detailed eligibility and application process information. Deadline for
the application process is no later than 8 July 2016. The EMBA program
homepage can be found at www.nps.edu/emba.
8. Point of contact is the NPS EMBA program office and they can be reached
at (831) 656-2562/DSN 756, or fax at (831) 656-3630/DSN 756, or via e-mail at
emba(at)nps.edu.
9. This message will remain in effect until superseded or 30 July 2016,
whichever occurs first.
10. Released by Vice Admiral R. P. Burke, N1.//
BT
#0001
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UNCLASSIFIED//
Pay, Housing, Healthcare, Retirement: Congress Faces Thorny Military Decisions
This Military Times article summarizes all of the issues currently being debated in Congress, almost all of which would affect our pay and military medicine:
Pay, Housing, Healthcare, Retirement: Congress Faces Thorny Military Decisions
Chief of Naval Personnel’s Message Regarding PCS Orders Delay
Here is a link to the CNP’s message regarding delays in people receiving their orders:
http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2016/06/22/pcs-orders-lead-times-three-things-you-need-to-know/
The most pertinent part of the message for us is this portion below (if you are having issues with your orders, you will need to contact your Detailer):
“However, given the current fiscal constraints, the Navy is prioritizing PCS moves in order to remain within budget. Highest priority moves are those to fill critical gaps at sea, billets for individual augmentees, force protection, humanitarian, safety and overseas billets – they will be issued first. All other orders will be released following a sequenced move schedule to ensure the Fleet is manned properly.
We have released priority one moves (individual augmentee, immediate and OFRP deployers, numbered fleet staffs, overseas billets) and must-moves (safety, early return of dependents, humanitarian) with estimated detach dates through the end of July, and are now working on August orders and beyond.
Also, to help alleviate some pressure, Navy Personnel Command will continue to issue letters of intent for overseas moves. That way, while orders may not be in hand, individuals can start the process of doing overseas and medical screenings, dependent entry approval, passport applications and security clearance requests.”
Proposed Modifications to the Officer Promotion System
There’s been a lot of recent articles about proposed changes to the officer promotion system. There are some references as the end of this post, but the summary is that all of the following are being considered but would require legislative change by Congress:
- Incentivize our best performing officers by authorizing the services to establish policies to determine rank order for promotions based upon an individual’s superior performance, instead of promoting based on the date which the officer was initially commissioned.
- Providing the option for an officer to defer when they are considered for a promotion, giving officers and the services flexibility to pursue career-broadening opportunities that benefit the force without jeopardizing their career progression.
- Officers in a “critical career field” would be offered the chance to continue to serve beyond the current maximum terms (20 years as a LCDR, 28 years as a CDR, 30 years as a CAPT). It is not clear whether medicine would be a “critical career field.”
Here are the references:
Fact-Sheet-The-Next-Two-Links-to-the-Force-of-the-Future
Memorandum-The-Next-Two-Links-to-the-Force-of-the-Future
The 4 big takeaways from Ash Carter’s new push for military personnel reform
Summer PCS Orders Release Update
Here is a summary of some issues that have arisen at Navy Personnel Command (PERS) for people awaiting their permanent change of station (PCS) orders:
- Last week PERS became aware of severe financial constraints slowing the normal rate of order release.
- As a result they have assigned a priority to all unreleased orders. Operational and OCONUS commands, as well as Global Support Assignments (GSA), are given priority.
- Orders will continue to be released, albeit at a slower rate and in a prioritized order.
- As this new process goes forward, we will get an idea of how quickly orders will start being released. In other words, PERS cannot give ETAs yet.
- There are no plans to remove funding from orders that are already released.
As a former Detailer, I can tell you that this kind of thing is frustrating for both the officers moving and the Detailers, so please…be nice to your Detailer!
Resignation and Retirement Requests Transitioning to Online Process
Here is an article that discusses a change in the way we’ll be requesting resignations and retirements:
Requests for Separations, Retirements Move to Online Process
FY17 O6 Selection Stats Broken Down by Specialty
Here are the FY17 O6 selection stats broken down by specialty:
BUMED M7 (Education & Training) Deputy Position – O5/O6
Position: BUMED M7 Deputy Position
Description: Position description is here
Traits: Staff education and training experience (typicall NC or MSC, but open to all corps)
Rank: 0-5/0-6
Fill date: Summer 2016
Time on Station Requirements: PRD or at least 2 years time on station for CONUS members
POC for CV/BIO: Your Detailer
OIC Opportunities
Here is the list of OIC opportunities to go along with this post/announcement:
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 