New Assignment Incentive Pay lets Sailors name their price - Around the Fleet

All Hands, Sept, 2003

You can now earn extra money and improve your career opportunities just by taking orders to some overseas locations. Under a new pilot program known as Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP), Sailors being detailed to certain assignments in Misawa, Japan; Naples, Italy; and Sigonella, Sicily, may be eligible for up to $450 per month.

And here's the best part: you get to name your "price" by bidding for the amount of AIP you would be willing to accept to take those orders.

Simply log on to Super JASS, the Web-based Job Assignment and Selection System, at about the nine-month window before your scheduled permanent change of station move to view current jobs, hot jobs and fill dates. The newest addition to this screen is the incentive column. If there is an asterisk in that column, the job comes with a monetary incentive.

Clicking into the incentive column displays the details of the AIP pay cap for that assignment and suggestions for bidding. Bids are in $50 increments. Simply select the amount of AIP you would be willing to accept from the pull down menu. Incentive pay amounts will vary by location and position.

The detailer will make the final selection based on the range of qualified bids, relocation costs and additional factors pertaining to each job. Sailors rotating to sea duty must bid for sea billets and follow their proper sea/shore rotation.

Sound easy? Applying for AIP is, but it is important to remember that other Sailors may be competing for the same assignment and may submit a lower bid. The system will favor the most qualified Sailor with the lowest AIP bid. Not quite Ebay, but close.

"AIP is an integral part of Sea Warrior and a truly a transformational way of doing business," said Chief of Naval Personnel VADM Gerry Hoewing. "Essentially, what we are doing is creating a dynamic incentive--one the Sailor has a hand in actually determining--all the while getting talented people assigned to places we really need them. It's good for the Sailor and good for the Navy, too."

AIP is being tested for commands in Misawa, Naples and Sigonella to measure its effectiveness. If it proves successful in attracting skilled Sailors to these assignments, it could be expanded to other overseas locations, such as Iceland, Guam, Cuba and Korea.

To be eligible for AIP, Sailors must:

* Be U.S. Navy or U.S. Naval Reserve active-duty Sailors. Reserve SELRES (selective Reserve), TAR (Training and Administration Reserve), IRR (Individual Ready Reserve) and ADSW (Active Duty for Special Work) Sailors are not eligible for AIP at this time.

* Be fully qualified for the job requested--proper rating, pay grade, NEC (Navy Enlisted Classification), etc.

* Be in a sea/shore rotation rating. Sailors under CONUS/OUTUS rotation are not eligible.

* Apply for the job via JASS.

* Be eligible for assignment in a "FOR DUTY" status.

The pilot program also comes with a change in duty codes for commands in Naples and Sigonella from Type 3 (remote land-based sea duty) to Type 6 (overseas shore duty).

That's by design, says Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/AW) Terry D. Scott.

"The manner in which we used sea duty credit as an incentive may have been hurting a Sailor's career in the long run," he said. "They had to compete on selection boards against folks who were actually at sea in sea duty billets, and that can be tough. Plus, the use of sea duty credit for overseas shore tours has occasionally resulted in fewer people available for important deck-plate assignments at sea, where we really needed them.

"This way, with AIP, we're using the right kind of incentive without hurting a Sailor's chances for advancement or our readiness," he continued.

Hoewing agreed. "This is another great opportunity to improve quality of service for our Navy families and help us shape the force by getting the right Sailor, at the right time, in the right job, with the right skill," he said.

For more information on Assignment Incentive Pay, see NAVADMIN 161/03, available soon on the Web at www. bupers.navy.mil/. NAVADMIN 163/03 includes details about the Type 3 to Type 6 enlisted type duty code change. Other information on force shaping initiatives is also available at www.staynavy.navy.mil.

For related news, visit the Chief of Naval Personnel Navy NewsStand page at www.news. navy.mil/local/cnp.

Story courtesy of the public affairs office, Chief of Naval Personnel