The Navy has announced the procedures by which sailors who are part of a program that ensures a short stint of active duty can transition into the Reserve.

Under the National Call to Service program, sailors serve 15 months of active duty, go into the Reserve for 24 months, and then decide whether to return to active duty, continue in the Reserve or go into the Peace Corps for another 24 months, said Chief Petty Officer Toni Banks, the program manager.

About 5,000 sailors have been recruited under the program since its inception in fiscal 2004, Banks said. Now many of those sailors initially recruited are facing the end of their 15 months on active duty, so the Navy has made it clear what they have to do before they go into the Reserve, she said.

Banks said that under the guidelines:

Six months before leaving active duty, sailors’ career counselors will notify Recruiting Command that the sailors are joining the Reserve, so that the sailor can be helped in finding a Reserve location closest to the sailors’ homes after leaving active duty.

Four months before leaving active duty, sailors will be briefed on their obligations in the Reserve.

Three months before leaving active duty, sailors will be notified what they will be doing in the Reserve.

Two months before leaving active duty, sailors will be given a sponsor to help them get to know their new command.

Upon leaving active duty, sailors will be entered in a database of all Reserve sailors, allowing the Navy to recoup sailors’ bonus for completing active duty if they fail to show up for weekend drills.

On the last point, Banks said the Navy has not had a problem of sailors failing to show up for drills, but, “We are trying to be proactive in ensuring that we don’t have a big problem in the future.”

For more information on the program, go online to www.npc.navy.mil and click on the “New Messages” link on the right. From there, go to “NAVADMIN” message No. 189/06.