One of the initiatives involves transferring Sailors who must wait up to 5 months for their advanced specialized training. These Sailors will be assigned temporarily to fleet concentration areas to begin their initial fleet training. Under this initiative, these Sailors will be immediately directed to fleet units to fill critical undermanned general detail billets. These training management initiatives will provide roughly 700 additional junior Sailors for general shipboard assignments in the fleet. Evidence shows these advances in technology significantly reduce student attrition.
Additional funding is required to support enhanced training methods.
Modernized training facilities will reduce student attrition, increase the number of students undergoing training and fill manning shortfalls at sea. The Navy has recently embarked on a number of programs to attract and recruit qualified young men and women. As a result of increased advertising, a larger recruiting force and increased incentives, we expect a surge in the number of recruits undergoing training at RTC Great Lakes. This surge will require new management initiatives and increased training resources, including money and trained instructor and support personnel. We expect to achieve a surge capacity of 16,000 recruits in training at RTC Great Lakes during the peak summer months.