Scoop Deck just spent an awesome week with the hard-working staff at Navy Personnel Command in Millington, Tenn. You’ll be seeing the fruit of this visit in coming editions of Navy Times. In the meantime, here are a few comments that really caught our attention:
- “We receive and process 7 million record updates annually.” – Dwight Stanton, deputy, Personnel Info Management Department. (For the record, that’s more than 19,000 letters every day. The personnel bubbas told me this mail alone weighs in at 130,000 pounds annually. That weight is equal to 356 links of anchor chain, 52 Humvees, three pre-boneyard F-14s, or one Trident II missile. So if they don’t get your fix in 24 hours or less, well, just keep that in mind.)
- “During boards, we only work half-days. That’s 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.” – Capt. Eric Anderson, director of Officer Career Progression
- “We must have rock-solid integrity in the promotion system.” – Capt. Leo Falardeau, a 38-year Mustang who heads up Career Progression.
- “Eleven ensigns are needed to build one captain.” – Capt. John Schultz, head of Military Community Management.
- “Comparing the Navy’s promotion system to the other services is like comparing apples to bicycles.” – Katie Suich, Public Affairs Office
- “Why do we treat people like they’re going into a different Navy?” – Cmdr. Daniel Harris, director of the Career Transition Office, describing new efforts to make the active-to-reserve transition easier.
- “Up until 1996, everyone was a water-walker.” – Chris Zaller, director of the Selection Board Support Division, on changes made to correct grade inflation.
