It was included to help officials manage the number of officers within any respective community. Chief warrant officers, lieutenant commanders, commanders and captains with at least two years time in grade were eligible for involuntary retirement under the program. Although the program has been approved for use since 1980, the Navy didn't conduct its first SER boards until FY- 91. Since then the boards have occurred every year, with a total of 2,537 officers retiring under the program. This year will be the first in nine fiscal years SER has not been needed to help shape the officer force.
Flow points are the average time in service for officers being promoted to a specific rank.
However, there are no plans to convene any SER boards in the near future. While nearly 19 percent of selection board eligible first class petty officers will pin on chief's anchors this September, the Special Operations and Fleet Diver group selection rate was nearly twice the Navy-wide percentage of 18.9 percent. Of this group, the SEAL opportunity for selection fared best. It rose more than 20 percent from the previous year to an opportunity rate of 43.6 percent this year. Divers did nearly as well with a selection rate of 31.7 percent, an almost 14 percent increase in opportunity.