The organization that I have chosen to talk in my action plan is the 31ST Seabee Readiness Group (SRG). The 31ST SRG is a command under the US Navy and its mission is as follows; The mission of the 31ST SRG, under the direction of FIRST Naval Construction Division (1NCD), is to train, mobilize and equip all Pacific Fleet Naval Constructions Forces units for the purpose of attaining the highest possible state of readiness and ensure they are equipped and posture for mission success. The action plan that I have created is to implement more training for the Logistic Specialists (LS) attached to the Seabee battalions. Seabees are a known force within the department of the Navy. Their missions consist in deploying into remote sites and establish a camp with all the required assets and establishments for other forces to come in and take over the camp and fulfill their mission or tasks. However, the LS lack the necessary training to set up and operate a post office, and this is becoming a burden to some by not having postal services while in the war zone. This is a major deterrent to the morale of the unit.

Issues

The LS stationed within the Seabee units are not being provided with the necessary training to fulfill their duties while import or on deployment. After every deployment my office conducts a meeting with the battalion and we discuss the issues, lessons learned from the deployment and what needs to be done to assist them on having a successful deployment. Their main issue is lack of training. In October 1, 2009, the US Navy decided to remove the Postal Clerk (PC) rate (job specialties) (navy.mil) from its job structure or Navy Enlisted Classification system (NEC). The PCs were responsible for manning all post offices within the department of the Navy, handle all postal duties and be familiar with the guidance and federal regulations that pertain to operate a post office. Ever since the US Navy dismissed the pc rating the duties and responsibilities were given to the LS under NEC-3001 Independent Duty Postal Clerk (Powers). When this change took place the navy planned to provide the LS the training required to operate a post office and to comply with all the federal regulations while operating a post office. The PC training was incorporated into the LS’s initial school and also a two weeks “C” school was established for senior Sailors to acquire the training.

Stakeholders

The problem the LS are facing is that all LS have not been given the opportunity to attend training to operate a post office and when they report to a new command as the Seabee battalions the Leadership assumes that their LS are properly trained to operate a post office. However, some of these LS don’t have the knowledge or proper training to perform the duties of a PC. The LS have to work harder and longer hours while deployed in order to familiarize themselves with the operation and programs used in the deployment sites. The chain of command within a Seabee unit is not allowing the LS to go to a Navy “C” school to acquire the required and necessary NEC to perform the duties of an Independent Duty Postal Clerk NEC-3001. Their claim is that they do not have enough LS man power to do the logistic work and can not afford to let go of their LS to attend school for two weeks. The other training that the Navy offers for STORES, DTS and financial required the LS to be in temporary duty status attach to Navy schools in other areas of the country, creating cost for school, lodging and meals for the individual that the battalion has to pay for.

Data Collected

During a period of twelve months I conducted about twelve interviews, an average of three LS per battalion stationed locally in Port Hueneme, CA. the outcome of these interviews let me determine that the LS were lacking knowledge and experience in the same areas and the 31ST SRG as the command responsible to train the Seabees needed to take some sort of action and establish a training designed for the LS. My office put a plan together and it was brought up the chain of the command and to the training office.

Need For Change

After the data was collected by my office Logistics Division (R-41) at the 31ST SRG and identified some of the deficiencies in the LS’s training the senior LS of each battalion was contacted and the data was made available to them and also a plan was worked out among the leadership and my office to provide the battalions’ LS with the necessary training for their upcoming Field Training Exercise and the future deployment. The senior LS agree to it and also made mention of being aware of some deficiencies in training and the lack of support from the battalion chain of command to send the LS to attend “C” school at acquire the necessary training. The leadership of the battalions do not see this specific training as a requirement because it has not been mandated by higher authority.

Change and the Stakeholders

The office of supply forces for the Seabees at FIRST Naval Construction Division (1NCD) in Little Creek, Virginia has identified the lack of training for the LS within a Seabee command and has identified these areas in a memo send a few months back. These areas are post office operations, STORES, Defense Travel System (DTS), and Financial records. By 1NCD sending this memo out it has created a sense of urgency on the need for a change and we hope the battalion’s CO will push this issue among their leaders and have got them ready to move (Kotter, 2002). Before this memo came out my office had already identified some of these deficiencies and had made a recommendation to the battalions on how to incorporate this training for their LS. But, due to the chain of command’s lack of support and not urgency on sending their LS to attend “C” school they are not supporting their LS to attend a local training provided by my division. The problem is that the Seabee leadership and training department does not recognize the opportunity we are providing them as mandatory training therefore they are reluctant to send their LS on temporary duty status to my office for this training. “ The difficult behavior that emerge during a change process often take the form of resistance and a fear that change will lead not to improvement but loss, insecurity, and fear, and these often translate into anger and resisting behaviors”( Cloke. 2005pg 92). Role Orientation and Action Plan

The plan that my office created consisted on putting a team together of LS who have the experience and knowledge of the necessary training to offer the training for the battalions here locally, however the time that we recommend for the battalion LS to attend this training is 14 days in length and it will cover all areas of LS training to include DTS, STORES, financial records, and a basic PC training. We have established a vision and now is a matter of getting others to view it as we do and share the same ideas. According to Kotter “The guiding team develops the right vision and strategy for the change effort” (Kotter, 2002 pg 7). In order for my office to get this plan in action we need the battalion Commanding Officers to buy-in in the importance on allowing their LS to attend the training. In order to do so my office have approached the Training department within the 31ST SRG and informed them of the memo originated from 1NCD and ask them to acknowledge the training we have put together as a mandatory training for the LS and to implement an Operational Order (Op Order) to the battalion’s CO to recognize the training we are offering as a mandatory training for all LS in the battalion. By the Training office making this training mandatory for the battalions we are communicating for buy–in. Kotter mentions that when “communicate for buy-in; people begin to buy-in in to the change” (Kotter, 2002 pg 7). Once the Op Order is in place the battalions will have to comply with it and send their LS in a temporary duty status to the Logistics Division at the 31ST SRG were their LS will receive the necessary training to afford them the opportunity to have a successful deployment. At the moment we are offering the training to the LS during their lunch time, the LS from the battalion and my office’s training team get together and go over the training. We see this as a short term win because the units are getting some of the training and is making their daily tasks easier to handle, giving them more time to take on other tasks. By doing this short term win we are generating a momentum and more people are trying to fulfill the vision until the Op Order becomes official (Kotter, 2002 pg 7). The senior LS in the battalions are seeing the changes and improvement their LS are making by attending the lunch time training sessions and they all agree on pushing this training as a full time evolution for the 14 days time period, which will make their LS better professionals and more successful in their daily tasks and during their deployment period.
Reference:
Cloke, K. and Goldsmith, J. (2005) Resolving Conflicts at Work: Eight Strategies for Everyone on the Job. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Kotter, J.P and Cohen, D.S.(2002) The Heart of Change: Real-life Stories of How People Change Their Organization. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing
Powers, R. Postal Clerks: Navy NECs. Retrieved from http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navynecs/a/postal.htm
Thorpe, D.: Storekeeper, Postal Clerk Ratings to Merge into Logistic Specialist Rating. Retrieved from http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=40993.