Please note: Recruiter impropriety is a relatively rare occurrence committed by a very small number of those serving in the billet. The vast, overwhelming majority of Sailors who serve in recruiting proceed with the professionalism you should expect by members of our armed forces.

Beginning earlier this month, Navy Recruiters have been provided with “Recruit with Integrity” cards that must be provided to all applicants at their initial face to face contact.

The front of the card;

The card’s reverse;

Additionally, each Recruiter’s business card will now be required to have the following information on the reverse;

From COMNAVCRUITCOMNOTE 1133 dated Jan. 4, 2012;

Action. In order to ensure prospects, applicants, future sailors and their families understand that they will be treated with dignity and respect throughout the enlistment process, the recruiter will provide the “Recruit with Integrity” Card to prospective applicants at first contact.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

The video tells the thought process that went into the design for each door;

The work was masterfully completed by The Sullen Art Collective. Nice work, gentlemen.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

Last year, all the ratings were eligible for LRP at the time of one’s enlistment, but now, only the following ratings are eligible for the Navy’s Student Loan Repayment Program.

Air Traffic Controller(AC), Air Rescue Swimmer(AIRR), Cryptologic Technician(CTI-ATF and CTN-ATF), Engineering Aid(EA), Explosive Ordnance Disposal(EOD-ATF), Information System Technician(IT Surface and Submarine), Mass Communication Specialist(MC-5YO), Missile Technician(MT-ATF), Musician(MU), Navy Diver(ND-ATF), Nuclear Field(NF), Submarine Electronics & Computer Field(SECF), Special Warfare Boat Operator(SB-ATF), and Special Warfare Operator(SO-ATF).

The ratings that are currently eligible for the program are subject to change at any time.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

The Navy’s policy includes the use/misuse, possession, promotion of all substances recognized as illegal by the federal government and the controlled substance analogues (synthetic/designer drugs), natural substances (e.g., fungi, excretions), chemicals (e.g., chemicals wrongfully used as inhalants), propellants and/or prescribed or over-the-counter drugs or pharmaceutical compound with the intent to induce intoxication, excitement, or stupefaction of the central nervous system – Products that contain synthetic cannabinoid compounds, such as Spice, Genie, Blaze, Dream, Ex-Ses, Spark, Fusion, Dark Knight, Yukatan Fire, and K2. Natural substances such as salvia divinorum and mushrooms. Common items abused by inhaling or huffing, such as dust off, glue, paint thinner and gasoline. Over-the-counter products such as Robitussin and Coricidin HBP.

If you are thinking about joining the Navy, you must understand that this is not a joke – think about it, if you get kicked out for drugs, more than likely your parents won’t want you living in their house (make sure you ask before you join, “hey, Mom and Dad, if I get kicked out of the military for drugs, can I have my old room back? I suggest you stand at more than arms length when you ask), employers won’t hire you, and you won’t even get an unemployment check – your best hope is that somebody left a semi-intact refrigerator box laying around you can live in. Then in a couple of years the box will wear out and you’ll be hungry and cold, you will go to your local recruiting station or come on to sites like this one and ask how you can get back in, and how you shouldn’t be penalized for life because of one stupid mistake, and how you’ll never let it happen again, blah blah blah. Pitiful. Move along.

The crap ain’t worth it. You’ve been warned.

Navy’s YouTube Video Warns Against ‘Spice’ Drug:

A related video produced by ETSN ET3 Geoff Breedwell (congratulations on the promotion!)

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

Along with those who lost their lives or injured, the memory I have of that day is the heroic way the crew fought to save their ship. A testament to their leadership and training. Never forget.

Thirty nine Sailors were injured by the blast; the following is Chief Taitt’s personal account of that day’s events.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

Navy Recruiting Command’s active duty accession mission for FY-2011 was 33,400.

For the first year in the history of Navy Recruiting Command while attaining it’s mission, the percentage enlisted in the upper-mental group category was an astounding 88.2% (50 to 99AFQT on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)); furthermore, 98.7% of those accessed were of Tier I education status.

During this period of a lofty unemployment rate and floundering economy, and with the benefits a more mature, intelligent force brings, I expect the Navy to continue the enlistment policies of 2011, such as an upper-mental group attainment of at least 70%, a 95% Tier I education attainment, and the moratorium on any Major Misconduct waivers, not to mention further restrictions that may be adopted at the local Navy Recruiting District level.

Our Sailors are doing an amazing job, but those policies, and the fact that Forty three percent of the projected fiscal year 2012 active duty accession requirement has yet to be filled, mostly in the challenging to fill fields of medical, nuclear engineering, and naval special warfare and special operations, will make for a challenging recruiting environment. Our Sailors tasked with finding the “best and brightest” need your help and support.

How can you help? You can help spread the word that the Navy is hiring! If you know anyone that meets the basic requirements for enlistment, point them in the direction of the local Navy Recruiting Station.

This post focuses on the enlisted active duty mission, but rest assured that Navy Recruiting Command’s mission does not stop there. Many opportunities are available Reserve affiliation and in programs that lead to a commission in the Navy Reserve and active duty. Statistical data mentioned in this post was obtained with appreciation from Navy Recruiting Command’s Public Affairs Office.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

Veterans with an RE-4 discharge code, if it was received solely due to DADT, will be treated the same as any other Veteran that received an RE-1/RE-R1; unless there was any other misconduct that was a basis for the discharge, and/or if the discharge was not characterized as honorable.

No preferential treatment will be provided. That means that just like all other qualified Veterans seeking reenlistment, the only approvals to come back into the service will be given based on the service’s openings/billets for the rating/MOS and paygrade the veteran may be eligible. Currently, the Navy is having a hard time getting any prior service back in. Right now, the most commonly approved Navy ratings/programs for reenlistment are in the Navy Special Warfare and Navy Special Operations programs.

If you are a Veteran discharged with an RE-4 due to DADT who does not want to seek reenlistment, but does wish to upgrade their RE-Code, I suggest applying to the appropriate service board of corrections once the repeal goes into affect. For the Navy and Marine Corps, make application to the Board of Correction of Naval Records.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

I was a recruiter in New Jersey in 1986 when the REDUX plan was being implemented. Most applicants were oblivious to the change, as a matter of fact, most applicants didn’t know there was a retirement program of any sort, let along the details of it, but some did and the change mattered to them.

Recruiting in the mid-1980′s was about as tough as it could be. The parents of the applicants we sought were draft eligible during the Vietnam War – the last thing most wanted was to see their child join the military, but when the REDUX change was announced, Veterans were dragging their kids into the recruiting station to make sure they didn’t miss an opportunity to be eligible for the High Three retirement and not be forced into what was proving to be the very unpopular, REDUX. Those that did join were very likely to join anyway, they just pushed their decision up a few months to join before the deadline – if I recall correctly, I alone contracted 8 people in July 1986, a few of which because of the pending retirement changes.

Fast-forward to today. The winds of change are blowing once again, hard enough to fill the sails and potentially move the ship.

The Defense Business Board put together a task group (7 white males, wait till the diversity folks get a hold of that) to review the Defense Department’s current retirement system and to “provide recommendations that will enable the system to be fiscally sustainable and recruit and retain the highest personnel required for our nation’s defense.” The actual report is due out sometime this month, but this advanced brief was released during their public meeting on July 21st.

When I joined the Navy, it was common knowledge that if one stayed in the service for 20 years, you would get a retirement benefit of 50% of the base pay you were making during the last full month of active duty for the duration of your life, and that it also included free medical and dental care. While I was a recruiter, I informed applicants of the military’s retirement system and informed them that they would be able to use the military’s healthcare system while in retirement, there was many more military clinics and hospitals back then, or where no clinic or hospital was available, the retiree and family could use CHAMPUS (Civilian Health and Medical Program Uniformed Services). CHAMPUS has since evolved into Tricare.

Now the “free” healthcare “promise” is gone. Space available at military treatment facilities seems to be a thing of the past, and there are calls to raise the current Tricare premiums as much as 8 times the current rate. This issue is and will continue to be a battle, and a topic for another discussion.

The current law dictates that the President propose a minimum adjustment to military pay at the rate of the private sector Employment Cost Index, for 2012 it is a 1.6% raise. Military pay has seen additional increases over the first decade of the new millennium of a half percent beyond that of the current mandatory pay adjustments in order to close the pay gap between the military and the private sector pay. The gap was considered closed before the 2011 pay amount was legislated, and for the first time, at least in congress, they believe the military enjoys pay parity with civilians. The report that will be delivered by the Defense Business Board will cite a report by the RAND National Defense Research Institute that the military’s pay has actually propelled past that of civilians, ignoring a report by the Government Accounting Office that implies pay parity, and also states that establishing a system of evaluating and comparing military and civilian pay is near impossible because of transfers and salary vs overtime pay potential. I guess you pick the report that best fits your desired outcome…

According to the Congressional Research Service, “Estimated future retirement costs are arrived at by making projections based on the past rates at which active duty military personnel stayed in the service until retirement, and on assumptions regarding the overall U.S. economy, including interest rates, inflation rates, and military pay levels. Approximately 30% of military basic pay costs must be added to the DOD personnel budget each fiscal year to cover the future retirement costs of those personnel who ultimately retire from the military.” —It is the main reason any increase of base pay comes under strict scrutiny by DOD officials, and just as influential in the establishment of other pay and allowances; bonuses and allowances used to increase a members compensation without increasing the pay that will have a longer term affect on the budget of the department.

I do think the military retirement system has got to change in order for those entering the service today to receive the compensation they will richly earn, but with that said, lets get back to the report and what is fair; for the first time, a proposal is being made to change the retirement system for servicemembers while they are under contract.

-Preserve accrued benefit from “old plan” but no further accrual
-For those with less that 20 years –proportional benefit under “old plan” if they stay for 20+ years (example: 10 years of service would result in 10/20 of the old plan benefit at old vesting date or 25% of pay at retirement)
-All active duty personnel start to accrue new benefit for the balance of their service payable under new terms (age 65 nominal)

All servicemembers currently serving were told by me, and every other service recruiter in this great nation and reenforced by leadership, that they too could serve a minimum 20 year participate in DOD’s retirement system as it exists today – hell, it’s currently the law!

As I said, I think we all understand that a change in the system ultimately has to happen, we are on an unsustainable course, but if the new plan must include those currently serving, provide them with the option of selecting the new program or staying with the program they were promised. Keep the full faith and credit of the U.S. government in tact, it is a promise made and those serving this great country deserve it.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

The former USS Forrestal (CV-59) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) await their fates in the Philadelphia shipyard. (photo: Elliot Kolner)

Both the Forrestal and the Kennedy are awaiting their next set of orders – Forrestal is set to be sunk as an artificial reef – the Kennedy is on hold, as the Forrestal once was, to become a floating museum.

The Forrestal was decommissioned all the way back in 1993, and she looks just as presentable as one of our newer ships in the fleet, it’s a shame.

Looking closer at the photograph, the barge in the foreground is named “The Recycler”, it should be used to turn the LCS into beer cans while it still has some usable aluminum left.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.

Not surprisingly, the requirements for joining the Afghan military are really not all that different from that of the United States military. The Afghan National Army has a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) where a basic literacy test is administered (we utilize the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)). The MEPS also has doctors and a medical staff that perform physicals, provided required immunizations and even make a determination whether the recruit is actually the age his or her documents indicate. There is an oath of enlistment, but it is taken during the second week of training with their kandak (battalion).

The Afghan National Army Oath (Female Officer Example):

ANA Military Oath
In the name of God
I’m a loyal daughter to the people of Afghanistan with my admission to the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA).

I take this oath in the name of God. I will be a well disciplined officer of this country; I win be loyal andhonest and follow all roles and regulations of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA). I will obey orders and instructions of my superiors and commander under any circumstance and condition.

My priorities will be defending territorial integrity. national freedom. and values of Islamic revolution: I will even spill my blood in serving my country.

My violation to this oath should be strictly punished based on the legislations of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA). May God help us to succeed.

So what are the basic enlistment requirements?

The applicant must be an Afghan citizen, 18-35 years of age, with a valid Taskira (identity document that shows birth date) and be loyal to Afghan territorial integrity, national independence, and the instructions of Islam. Additionally, the applicant must be physically and mentally healthy, with no infectious diseases or disabilities/handicaps which would prevent them from carrying out their duties. One must have a clean criminal background, and cannot already be serving in, or assigned to, any other armed force. The religious requirement aside, the Afghan and United States military enlistment requirements are fundamentally similar.

Afghan women are recruited into the army, but are limited to service in non-combat vocations such as logistical, medical and administrative.

According to ANAREC surveys, the primary reason people enlist into the Afghan National Army is for service to Allah, as indicated by every respondent. Most respondents also cite pay and or service to country with a strong desire to improve their life and the life of their family.

How is a member of the Afghan National Army compensated?

Here is the current ANA Base Pay and Incentive chart; for comparison, here is the 2011 US Military Basic Pay chart. When the pay scales are contrasted, one must take into account that, just as the countries of the United States and Afghanistan seem a world apart, the same can be said of their economies.

Due in part to the assistance of the NATO Training Mission and the United States Army recruiting personnel, the Afghan Armed Forces are developing upon a foundation which harbors an organizational structure similar to that of the United Sates Armed Forces, a military paradigm that has proven successful for generations.

The approved 2012 Military Pay Chart for basic pay, effective January 1, 2012.
The 2013 Military Pay raise estimation based on ECI - Title 37, US Code.