Navy Force Cuts to Hit Hard

By: fedweek

As the Navy slashes its billets by almost 18,000 during the next six years, it will leave fewer shore-duty slots and, in many cases, slower advancement opportunities. Some 14,300 billets will be cut by the end of fiscal 2009, with 4,000 of them disappearing in fiscal 2008. Half of all billets cut will hit the personnel specialist rating, while the other half will impact engineering and engineering and combat systems billets in regional maintenance centers. In addition, the number of active-duty billets at the following regional maintenance centers will be halved during the upcoming two years: Norfolk, Va.; San Diego; Bremerton and Bangor, Wash.; Mayport, Fla.; and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Navy expects to reach an end strength of 322,000 by 2013.