Sailors due to transfer this fiscal year may have their move put on hold, the Navy announced Tuesday.
Those who are due to transfer but not currently under orders are being delayed until next fiscal year in an attempt to remain within budget restrictions, according to a news release from the Navy Personnel Command.
The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
"Delaying these moves will help us live within the manpower resources we have been allocated," Rear Adm. Don Quinn is quoted as saying in the release. "We have chosen this path instead of other more painful options, such as involuntary separations."
The change is expected to affect around 14,000 sailors scheduled to transfer in the remainder of fiscal year 2009, officials said.
According to the release, the only exceptions to the hold include sailors separating from the service, individual augmentees and Global War on Terrorism support assignments, special assignments, organization moves, those selected for Joint Professional Military Education, graduate education moves and readiness moves.
"Is it going to affect us — yes," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Johannes Gonzalez, the Navy’s regional career counselor at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan.
Gonzalez, who has seen similar delays twice before, said that although the delays are temporary, the placement of Navy personnel ultimately comes down to cost-effectiveness.
"There are going to be sailors who are disappointed, but right now it’s about the needs of the Navy," Gonzalez said.
One Yokosuka spouse, who asked not be named, said the delay was affecting her whole family.
"I’ve got a kid supposed to be starting college, and we’re stuck here," she said.
According to her, the only option for their family is for her to travel back to the States ahead of time with her kids and then return to Japan to assist her husband with the permanent-change-of-station move.
"We fully understand the impact on our sailors and their families," Quinn said. "But this was clearly the best option in these extraordinary times."
Gonzalez said he already knew of cases where sailors who were "penciled in" for orders but didn’t have the hard copies in hand were informed by their detailers that their move was put on hold.
Sailors who have questions about possible PCS delays should contact their detailer, Gonzalez said.
