THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160667
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
The opening of combat ships to women is prompting the Navy to create its first new officer community in eight years, and men may turn out to be the biggest beneficiaries.
The Fleet Support Officer Community, which will open formally on Jan. 1, already is attracting a steady stream of inquiries from officers in existing communities, said Cmdr. Anita Baivier, who will be its manager.
Baivier had the same job in the General Unrestricted Line Community, known since the 1950s by its acronym ``GURL.'' The fleet support group replaces her old community - a change reflecting ``a recognition that we need to have skills and expertise to support the Navy as we downsize and move into the 21st century,'' she said.
The new community includes career paths such as personnel management and development, security, facilities management, strategic planning and political/military affairs. It also includes an already important growth industry throughout the military - space and electronic warfare.
None of the jobs are new, but before combat ships were integrated by gender, those jobs and the General Unrestricted Line as a whole attracted lots of women, Baivier said. She estimated that more than 85 percent of the billets in the General Unrestricted Line are occupied by women.
Many women no doubt will remain on those career paths, Baivier said, but with at least some moving into combat roles, men seem to be showing fresh interest in the fleet support jobs. ``If phone conversations are any indicator, we have lots of interest'' among men, she said.
The calls, she added, are not just from officers who see fleet support as a more stable, less risky, career path than such high-profile communities as surface or undersea warfare. Most of the callers are officers with demonstrated skills and a long-term interest in the kinds of jobs that will be included in fleet support, she said.
``Standing up this new competitive category will ensure we continue to meet increasingly demanding fleet support requirements,'' said Vice Adm. Skip Bowman, the chief of naval personnel. ``At the same time, we will ensure current officers will continue to have a viable career competing with officers who follow a similar career path.''
For now, the new community will be staffed by the lateral movement of officers from the General Unrestricted Line and other existing communities. Ensigns will have to start their careers elsewhere and move into the fleet support community later.
That ensures that the new community will have experienced, well-qualified officers, Baivier said. She expects the community will have around 1,700 billets, roughly the same number as the current General Unrestricted Line, by the end of the decade, she added. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
BILL TIERNAN/Staff
Lt. Cmdr. Corinne Segura is in charge of the Personnel Support
Activity Detachment for Norfolk Naval Station. Her post, which is
now in the General Unrestricted Line Community, will become part of
the Fleet Support Officer Community when it formally opens Jan. 1.
Graphic
FLEET SUPPORT SPECIALTIES
The fleet support community will be built around four core areas,
with specialties in each. Officers can move around, working in
several specialties. The core areas and specialties are:
Manpower, personnel and training: Manpower, personnel and
training analysis, personnel management, personnel procurement,
personnel development
Space and electronic warfare: Space projects, operational
intelligence, communications, automated data processing
Activity management: Port services and operations,
administration/fiscal responsibilities, security and law
enforcement, facilities management
Technical support: Logistics, strategic planning, operations
research and analysis, political/military affairs.
by CNB