High-Year Tenure Adjustments - HYT - new pay grade limits for senior sailors - Brief Article

All Hands, Feb, 2001

Our Navy currently possesses the most talented and experienced enlisted workforce in our history. Need for this talent and experience increases as we embark on a steady-state force after years of downsizing.

As the Navy evolves with more complex technology throughout our platforms, we will need a greater depth of enlisted supervisors and managers. Retaining more senior Sailors reflects our new strategy to increase aspects of retention with the intent to lower our reliance on recruiting. To strike this better balance to retain Sailors with more than 10 years of service, an adjustment to some enlisted high-year tenure (HYT) service limits is necessary. This applies to USN, USNR(TAR) and USNR personnel serving on active duty (minimum two-year obligated service). New limits for affected pay grades are as follows:

To ensure rating advancement does not stagnate in the near term, as more experienced Sailors are retained, the Navy has recently obtained the authority to increase the number of Sailors in the senior enlisted pay grades (E-4 to E-9) to accommodate these HYT additions. This plan will allow our personnel several more opportunities for advancement while retaining Sailors with the talent and experience the Navy needs for the future.

For E-7 and E-8 personnel, staying on active duty past 24 and 26 years respectively, is something we want you to consider as your rating and leadership skills provide our Navy with unique benefits. Your waiver request will be considered on the basis of our mutual agreement that (if applicable) a new set of orders is desired and/or the manning levels and health of your respective rating can accommodate such.

Personnel in receipt of Fleet Reserve authorizations due to HYT and who desire to remain on active duty must request cancellation from CNPC (PERS-823) within 30 days of this NAVADMIN and cite same as authority. Personnel offices and servicing PSDs should make every effort to inform all HYT affected Sailors on terminal leave of the specific opportunities authorized by this NAVADMIN.

HYT waiver requests will still exist for personnel to exceed these new limits. Waivers will be considered on a case-by-case basis and given approval only when deemed in the Sailor's and Navy's best interest. Procedures are defined in Para. 5E of Ref. A.

Pay Grade  Old Limit  New Limit
E-4        10 Years   12 Years
E-5        20 Years   No Change
E-6        20 Years   22 Years
E-7        24 Years   24 Years with
                      Para. 3 guidance
E-8        26 Years   26 Years with
                      Para. 3 guidance
E-9        30 Years   No Change
This change will be reflected in the
next update to Ref. A.