Alternative Sea Manning Concepts: Practices and Policy Implications

In recent years, the Navy has undertaken a number of alternative sea manning initiatives and experiments aimed at improving the speed and agility of Navy forces by increasing their operational availability. Through these initiatives, the Navy is developing new sea manning concepts to support the recently institutionalized Fleet Response Plan. In this paper, we examine the recent inventory of alternative sea manning initiatives and experiments that the Navy has been exploring. These alternative sea manning initiatives fall under two broad categories: rotational crewing, and optimal manning and extra manning pools. We present the evidence regarding how these initiatives work in practice and their relative impact on Sailors. We also consider the potential implications of these initiatives with regard to current manpower, personnel, and training processes and policies, the Sea Warrior program, and meeting surge demands under the newly institutionalized, Fleet Response Plan (FRP).