MB is 100% spot on for retention. I've met several DH's and future DH's in the school pipeline. The VAST majority were prior enlisted close to 20 years, tempted by the bonus, and more recently, worried about economic prospects on the outside/family support issues.
Let me put it this way...if you get a SWO pin (and that is sadly, no longer the distinguished accomplishment it was meant to be), the DH selection process is whoever raises their hand.
They offer 75K off the bat just to commit. To bribe us further, we get offered choice shore duty billets, NPS at Monterey, MBA programs at Harvard, Penn, etc., some seriously FANTASTIC opportunities...just to convince you to TAKE A BONUS AND FOUR YEARS OF SEA DUTY. And like MB said, it still doesn't convince many to stay.
O-4 selection is even more ridiculous...94% last cycle.
This makes DH's and XO's a pain in the ass to deal with. The DHs who are supposed to "mentor" JOs often arrive at the ship struggling to stay afloat and get up to speed themselves.
The community brief at SWOS was trying to sell JO's(an audience of JOs who were ready to get their pins upon returning to their ships and complete their 1st tour shortly) with the great selection rates...personally I found it discouraging.
The surface fleet's issues also extends far past JOs. If you just think the SWO side is jacked up, it's less than half the picture.
I have seen countless fantastic, highly intelligent sailors leave the Navy. On the way out, the attitude always reflects, "I'm so glad I'm done with this shit." Even worse, similar to the SWO community, the brightest stars choose to move on, while the mediocre types are more likely to stay...especially the ones who learned the "system" and know how to scrape by on mediocrity.
Money's getting cut, making repairs painful to accomplish. We also use ridiculously antiquated shit...the first time I was shown a burnt out circuit card assembly I was horrified...we use 1970's type CCAs, not microchips, and they cost THOUSANDS of dollars for each CCA. Oh, and the fuckers love to burn out constantly, and are highly finicky to power fed.
Training in rate for maintainers has been cut, so the shore maintenance activities are getting overloaded, and now jump from fire to fire...ie the next ship to deploy, do INSURV, etc.
Underway time has been cut, this kills training opportunities at sea...even worse, if you DO go to sea, it means you cram a ridiculous number of things into a single short underway. That's how the 48hr no sleep marathons happen. We're going to go from Main Space Fire, to GQ, to Cruise Missile scenario, to ASW scenario, a fantail gun shoot to get gun quals up, a VBSS drill/MOB drill while the RHIB is out, a Surface/Air scenario simulating Iran, shoot Countermeasure Washdown, do a high speed run, and finish off with a Sea and Anchor detail coming home. And yes we REALLY did something like that in 48hrs.
Manpower's been cut, making OJT training more difficult to accomplish...you can't "build up" watchstanders. I know a ship about to deploy with 4 QMs. Only one will be fully qualified. One is a Signalman who crossrated (Signalmen knew nothing about Nav Plotting). Two arrived on their first ship. One is TAD to the mess decks. I wished my buddy luck and hope they don't hit anything when he's OOD.
Said ship also has TWO trained mount captains for the 5" gun.
Said ship apparently had to hold a guy past PRD to go on deployment to be 1 of 2 5" gun shooters.
When they're in an area where the 5" has to be ready to go at all times, those guys are going to be running ragged.
Oddly enough, as far as training goes, I also find that the air side types seem to be the most up to date...ASTACs and AICs who are incompetent are threatened with having their quals pulled from off ship, something I never see anywhere else.
I could go on and on, but I don't think I have enough room.
