Enlisted sailors who go downrange as individual augmentees will soon be able to take temporary duty leave to help with family moves and take 60 days of rest time at the end of the assignments under a new program introduced Wednesday by the U.S. Navy.
Those benefits will take effect Nov. 1 and are among changes designed to make the enlisted IA program more family-friendly following a recent policy review and input from sailors, the Navy said.
A new category of duty called “overseas contingency operation support assignments” has been created to replace the existing “global war on terrorism support assignments” duty category.
Meanwhile, naval officers will continue to deploy under the GSA program, the Navy said.
The Navy said a recent review of the IA program found that enlisted sailors were concerned about family support and equal entitlements when pulled from their units to perform duty in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The new program will provide a “clearly defined support structure for IA sailors and their families,” the release said.
Here are some highlights from the OSA program:
* Parent commands will maintain a command relationship for sailor and family support.
* Sailors can request intermediate temporary duty orders to facilitate relocation of their family while serving on the OSA tour.
* Enlisted sailors can apply for an IA assignment through the career management system nine to 12 months prior to their projected rotation date and prior to negotiating permanent change of station orders.
* Sailors can talk directly with a dedicated OSA detailing team to discuss opportunities and details of specific assignments.
For complete details, go to the NAVADMIN: http://www.public.navy.mil/ia/Documents/IA_GRAM_08.htm.
