European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 21, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday november 21, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 3navy offers mid Grade incentives sailors e-5 through e-7, must act before nov. 30 by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a the Navy has opened the two voluntary separation pay plans to almost 20,000 mid Grade noncommissioned officers including chief Petty officers for the first time. A total of 19,279 sailors in grades e-5 through e-7 in 22 overcrowded ratings Are now eligible to apply for the voluntary separation incentive or the special separation Benefit. The Navy would like to get 3,420 voluntary separations in fiscal 1993. Interested sailors will need to act quickly said capt. Ron Peterman chief of the enlisted Community management Branch for the Navy Bureau of personnel. The window of Opportunity closes nov. 30, and it is unlikely the Vii and sub programs will be reopened to enlisted Navy personnel again this fiscal year Peterman said. A a lot of things can happen but if i was a Sailor thinking about taking this offer or waiting for the next one i would take this one a he said. Sailors whose applications for the latest offering of Vii and sub Are approved will separate by Jan. 31. Peterman said requests Are being handled on a first come first served basis. Vii is paid in an amount equal to 2.5 percent of monthly base pay times 12, multiplied by years of service. It is paid in equal annual instalments starting on the separation Date and continuing on its anniversary each year for twice the total number of years of Active duty service. The second option sub is a Lump sum payment made at the time of separation. The amount is equal to 15 percent of monthly base pay times 12, multiplied by years of service. Chief Petty officers e-7s, Are eligible in 14 of the 22 ratings listed a the first time the programs have been opened to that Grade. That decision was almost solely a function of the Navy a shrinking requirements Peterman said. All the services arc bound by Law to maintain Caps on the number of people in grades e-8 and e-9 As a percentage of the enlisted Force Structure. The Navy must pare Down the population that will be moving into those higher ranks Over the next few years to keep the promotion flow moving in its upper enlisted grades Peterman said. Most of the eligible chiefs have Between 14 and 17 years of service but the threshold goes As Low As 12 years of service in some ratings. Force Structure changes arc playing a Large role in driving the Vii and sub programs in terms of what ratings arc being opened to the programs Peterman said. For example the machinists mate rating is overstocked because of decommissioning of some older steamships. The same situation has occurred in ratings associated with the submarine Community because of the Early retirement of strategic subs. A ships have been decommissioned Way ahead of schedule a Peterman said. A we thought some of these ships would be around until the year 2002.�?� the result is that requirements in some ratings have dropped by As much As 15 percent to 20 percent across the pay scale. Since most chiefs arc not eligible for retirement opening Vii and sub in some ratings for that Grade is a Way for the Navy to give those sailors a especially those who arc not on the fast track for promotion a the Chance to separate without walking away empty handed Peterman said. Other ratings on the current list Cross the spectrum of Navy jobs among them aviation technicians cryptography technicians and boiler tenders Peterman said. Since the Navy first used the voluntary separation pay programs last fiscal year More than 62,000 enlisted personnel have been eligible and 5,519 applications have been approved Peterman said. The Navy has not had to resort to reductions in Force of its enlisted ranks and none is planned. But the first Navy enlisted selective Early retirement Board or Navy benefits Here Are Navy ratings now eligible Lor the voluntary separation incentive or the special separation Benefit also included Are the eligible ranks within those ratings As Well As the upper and lower limits on years of service that applicants must have As of Jan. 31. Other restrictions can apply to specific categories. Sailors should Check with their local servicing personnel offices for More detailed information years of service 10-17 years 9-17 years 15-17 years 9-17 years 12-17 years 9-17 years 14-17 years 11-17 years 12-17 years 8-17 years 14-17 years 8-17 years 12-17 years 15-17 years 9-17 years 12-17 years 9-17 years 8-17 years 12-17 years 8-17 years 14-17 years 8-17 years 12-17 years 12-17 years 8-17 years 14-17 years 917 years 12-17 years 12-17 years 1517 years 10-17 years 8-17 years 14-17 years 9-17 years 12-17 years 8-17 years 12-17 years specially Grade aviation electrician s mate e-5. E-6 aviation electronics technician. E-5, e-6 boiler technician e-5 cryptographic technician maintenance. E-5, e-6 engineering aide e-6 electrician s mate e-5, e-6 e-7 engine Man e-5 e-6 electronics technician e-5. E-6 e-7 electronics technician special weapons e-5. E-6 e-7 a c electronic warfare technician e-6 e-7 fire control Man e-6 fire control technician ballistic. E-5, e-6 e7 fire control technician guns e-5, e-6 e-7 Interior communications electrician e-5, e-6 e-7 instrument Man e-7 machinist s mate e-5, e-6 e-7 missile technician e-5, e-6 e-7 optical Man e-7 Ocean systems technician e-5 e-6 radioman e-5, e-6 e-7 sonar technician submarines e-5, e-6 e7 weapons technician e-5, e-6 e-7 source Navy serb was recently held for the top three enlisted grades and chose 720 sailors with at least 20 years of service for Early retirement within the next few months. As of nov. 17, the Navy had 460,790 enlisted members Down from a 1989 High of almost 516,000. Planning numbers for the next few years could in Angl under the new Clinton administration. But the Navy currently is moving on a downward slope toward an enlisted Force of about 422,000 sailors by fiscal 1995, Peterman said. The Navy faced a slightly smaller proportional Cut than the other services to Bce in with a about four percentage Points smaller than the army for example he said. In addition the Navy benefited irom leaning on More than 40,000 of its reservists during the persian Gulf War. That allowed personnel planners to continue drawing Down the Active duty enlisted Force All during that mobilization Peterman  reports More recruits earned diplomas tested Well recruiting. By the numbers in fiscal 1992, the military services recruited 200,810 new members of those by Ray Rowden Washington Bureau Washington despite continuing Force reductions the Pentagon recruited virtually the same number of people in fiscal 1992 As the previous year. But it took in More High school graduates than in fiscal 1991. The percentage of women Rose from 13 to 15 percent of new recruits while the number of Blacks was virtually unchanged at about 17 percent. Blacks and women Are the Only groups specified in the recruiting report. Statistics released thursday show the services recruited 200,810 people in the fiscal year that ended sept. 30. They recruited 200,727 the previous year. While the recruiting goals have dropped from the 224,080 brought into the services in fiscal 1990, Pentagon officials continue to argue that deeper cuts in recruiting would Hurt readiness. A we cannot Cut accessions too dramatically or we 99 percent had High school diplomas 74 percent of those with diplomas scored above average on military Entrance exams 15 percent were women 1 7 percent were Black Soj be Depa Myrff of amps risk having an Overly senior stagnant Force in the Short term followed by severe seniority deficits in the Long run a said Christopher John the Pentagon a manpower chief. Unless they Are forced to reduce the proposed troop strength set for 1.6 million in 1995, officials estimate they will need 210,000 recruits each year. Officials pointed to improvements in both areas they use to measure recruit Quality. The percentage of recruits with High school diplomas was up from 97 percent to 99 percent for fiscal 1992. Recruits who had diplomas and scored above average on Entrance examinations Rose from 72 percent to 74 percent of the total. A drop in the percentage of Black recruits in fiscal 1991 raised concerns that a traditional door to Opportunity for Young Blacks was closing As the military raised standards and reduced numbers of  sub reportedly docked at Gulf port Manama Bahrain apr an iranian sub Marine has been docked since last week at the persian Gulf port of Bandar a Abbas a Western military source said t thursday. The source said the russian made submarine arrived last week at the base which overlooks the strategic Strait of Hormuz the Only Gateway to the Gulf. The United states and Iran s Arab neighbors believe the sub acquisition could tilt the balance of Power in the Region toward Iran. T he Oil Rich nations of the Gulf already Are among the biggest spenders on arms. The . Navy tracked the iranian boat As it sailed through the red sea on the last leg of its voyage from set. Petersburg which it left sept. 23, but has provided no new information on it for More than a week. The kilo class sub is the first of two bought from Russia to arrive in the Region and the first submarine Ever acquired by a Gulf nation. Iran a second sub is under construction and Tehran maintains an option to buy a third. Jane a defence weekly reported thursday that Iran was building a naval base at Chah Bahar 63 Miles from Pakistan where the subs would be based. T hat would enable it to operate in the deeper Waters of the arabian sea