In 1946, Congress created the Board for Correction of Naval Records as a means for Sailors and Marines to correct injustices in their military records, which impact future jobs and retirement benefits.

In November, nearly 3,000 Sailors, who were still under contract with the United States Navy, were informed that their services were no longer required by their country - more precisely by the organization/corporation acting on behalf of their country. These sailors are still in shock over the news from the Enlistment Retention Board and the stigma attached with the perception that something was wrong with their performance. Despite recent re-enlistments, many sailors with 7 to 15 years of service will be denied the chance to fulfill their dreams of a career in the Navy. Many will be denied the option to serve out their current contracts. They are simply being "let go" or downsized.

Many sailors have stated they do not fit the stated criteria outlined by the ERB. Sailors Against ERB and Navy ERB Sailors are two Facebook pages are dedicated helping sailors and their families not only cope with this decision, but to fight for the right to retire as planned or have their records restored.

Sailors Against ERB urges:

There are THREE things that EVERY ERB sailor must do ASAP!
1. Write both your senators & US Representative.
2. File a BCNR. 3. File an IG grievance.
If you have any questions on how to do any these or if you want a template to get you started on writing your congressmen, write me at sailorsagainsterb@yahoo.com.

Many news outlets are eager to speak with ERB sailors or their families. Check with your local newspaper or television news anchor to see if there is any interest in covering your story.

• Why does the Navy no longer need the service of the skilled men and women who have faithfully served their country for at least 7 years? 
• Why was this method chosen to downsize the Navy, rather than seeking volunteers at any level in the over-manned rates? 
• Why not allow these sailors the option to retire early? 
• Where is the money that was being set aside to cover the pensions of these sailors?
• Why does the Navy not make it clear that those who must leave involuntarily are not trouble-makers or miscreants?

Do you think online petitions don't work?

In 2007 Snopes debunked the idea that online petitions were worth the time it took to forward an email.

A misdirected petition is of no more use than an undirected one - though the voices it contains may be shouting, they won't be heard.

According to Snopes.com, the average e-petition isn't worth the pixels used to create it, but stated the popularity of online petitions comes from the instant sense of relief for people who otherwise feel helpless to impact the world or its policy makers.

A popular online petition site is change.org. It addresses concerns about the validity and potency of online petitions this way:

...what if you started to receive emails from each of your neighbors asking you to mow your lawn more often? Or, what if your company received thousands of emails from valued customers asking you to use a different supplier for your parts? How quickly would you act? That’s the unique thing about creating an online petition on Change.org: when you specify an email address for your target, each time a supporter signs your petition, an email is automatically sent directly to that person. Governments, companies and individuals value their reputations and feel accountable to their neighbors, constituents and customers. When hundreds or even thousands of emails arrive in their inboxes, the message is very hard to ignore.

iPetitions.com states:

Online petitions can be a very effective way of gathering support for a cause you care about and drawing attention to that cause. Many of our petition hosts have gathered tens and even hundreds of thousands of signatures on their petitions—petition recipients have had to stand up and take notice! To be truly effective in creating change, however, you need to be actively involved in promoting your petition.

Both sites emphasize the need for the petitioner to move beyond creating the document. If the petition is not promoted and promoted and promoted, it truly is worth no more than the pixels from which it came. Email, social networks and word of mouth are all necessary to make a petition take precedence when the emails do reach the inbox of the person working on behalf of the organization targeted for action. The sites also stress the importance of reaching out to officials through personal emails and even postal mail - yes, the old fashioned kind of mail that is written on paper and sent through the USPS inside an envelope, paid for with a postage stamp. Phone calls are also effective. If you wish to reach someone and draw attention to your concern, don't stop until you have exhausted all of your options.

The beauty of online petitions is that sometimes, the media picks up on these issues and runs a story. Sometimes, the media runs a story that leads to the petition. Often, if the issue affects enough people, these events run simultaneously.

Such is the case with the United States Navy and its enlisted personnel. Media knows, the sailors know and now, thanks to online petitioning and social networking, many more civilians know that during the final months of 2011,  two enlisted retention boards evaluated nearly 15,386 sailors ranked E-4 through E-8, who have served between seven and 15 years in 31 overmanned ratings. The week after Thanksgiving, 2,947 sailors learned they will be involuntarily separated from the Navy on Sept. 1, 2012.

Some have resigned themselves to finishing out their broken contracts, but many are outraged. They had planned their lives around retiring from the Navy after serving 20 years. Some bought homes after their most recent re-enlistments, certain they would retire and settle down in their current locations and expecting to receive military pensions and continued benefits for life. Instead, during the height of the holiday season, they discovered they have until the end of August to adjust to the idea of being a civilian , through the summer to attend classes and transition to a new way of life - and look for employment.

Sailors Against ERB is a Facebook community page that decided to create petitions online at change.org and on the WhiteHouse.gov site, hoping to impact the policy makers at what sailors call "Big Navy" and within our government. The group is taking the petitions straight to the Commander in Chief. The group is also encouraging the thousand or so members to share the word, spread the word, and talk the words to their families, friends, colleagues and elected officials. It even has links to the House of Representatives and Congress, as do I in a previous post.

Whether or not you believe in the cause of Sailors Against ERB, whether or not you believe in the power of online petitions and whether or not you decide to sign a petition, I urge you to find that within you that makes you want to take action and do so. Find a cause worth supporting and support it with all your being. Seek out that which brings you joy or riles you. Take steps to spread the joy or soothe the anger. Do something. Let people know where you stand. If you're not sure, come stand beside me. I tend to get things done!


  

The Navy's Quota-Based Enlisted Retention Board

Navy parents, spouses and friends do not like what is happening with our sailors who are affected by the Quota-Based Enlisted Retention Board. It hurts when dreams are dashed and plans are thwarted by down-sizing, regardless of the organization making the changes.

When our loved ones joined the Navy, their families also joined. We felt their pre-deployment jitters and even though we couldn't go with them, we felt every day of every deployment as keenly as they. While our family members were securing the seas, preparing for war and planning for peace, those left at home assumed their domestic duties. They sacrificed comfort and convenience; we sacrificed our time with those we cared most about. No longer able to discuss family matters or share jokes, we did what we could to "hold down our forts" without our helpmates.

Even Navy moms and dads felt a sense of loss with deployments. Parents have always suffered when their children struggled. The tears of our offspring stain our hearts, if  not our faces. As berthing and barracks filled with our sons and daughters, our nests emptied. Proud that our sailors were serving our country and protecting our rights, we lived vicariously through their journeys and we ached for them, when their careers adversely affected their relationships, sleep habits or living arrangements.

It's natural for the families of those sailors who have been involuntarily separated from the United States Navy to be outraged.

According to the Bureau of Naval Personell:

   UNPRECEDENTED RETENTION AND REDUCED ATTRITION RATES ACROSS THE NAVY HAVE  RESULTED IN A REQUIREMENT TO REBALANCE THE FORCE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOARD  IS TO REDUCE OVERMANNING IN RATINGS PROJECTED TO BE OVER 103% MANNED IN  FY-12.  REBALANCING OUR MANNING WILL IMPROVE ADVANCEMENT RATES AND INCREASE OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGH PERFORMING SAILORS TO RECEIVE IN-RATE REENLISTMENT  QUOTAS BY REDUCING THE STRAIN ON PERFORM TO SERVE.

The document states that personnel chosen for early separation are encouraged to apply for conversion to an undermanned rating.

  SAILORS SELECTED FOR CONVERSION WILL RECEIVE PCS ORDERS TO TRANSFER TO  A-SCHOOL OR TO FILL A VACANCY IN THEIR NEW RATING BY THE END OF FY -12.  APPLICATIONS FOR CONVERSION MUST BE RECEIVED BY 15 JUNE 2011 TO BE  CONSIDERED.

 These sailors are also encouraged to "affiliate with the Navy Reserve," according to the document; this is little relief to those sailors who joined the Navy with plans to retire with benefits after 20 years.

SAILORS SEPARATED BY THIS BOARD WILL HAVE ACCESS TO
THE NAVY'STRANSITION ASSISTANCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (TAMP),
PER REF L, WHICH PROVIDESEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE, RELOCATION
ASSISTANCE FOR SEPARATING MEMBERSSTATIONED OVERSEAS, AND
OTHER BENEFITS FOR MEMBERS WHO ARE INVOLUNTARILY SEPARATED.

SAILORS INTERESTED IN AFFILIATING WITH THE RESERVES MAY ALSO
TAKE ADVANTAGE OFTHE SERVICES OFFERED BY THE CAREER
TRANSITION OFFICE.

This knowledge is of little comfort to the families of sailors who will now have to join the hundreds of thousands of other unemployed people in a world of jobs that have already scaled back and are working skeletal crews.

THE DECISION TO CONDUCT THIS BOARD WAS MADE AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION  OF ALL OPTIONS FOR REBALANCING THE FORCE.  WE ARE COMMITTED TO RETAINING OUR  VERY BEST SAILORS WITH THE PROPER BALANCE OF SKILLS, SENIORITY AND EXPERIENCE  TO MEET THE NAVY CHALLENGES OF THE FUTURE. LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS MUST BE ENGAGED TO ASSIST SAILORS WITH CONVERSION AND  TRANSITION OPTIONS.

Best wishes to the sailors who have served faithfully, expecting to retire in a few years. You do have experience and skills to offer employees that many other candidates might not possess. Stay strong!