Sailors in ratings that are balanced will be screened according to their year group manning, and some will be approved on their first reenlistment application, but others may have to apply more than once. Sailors that are in skills that are in the competitive reenlistment category or that have special qualifications will be screened against others in their rating and year group who are applying to reenlist at that time. Even these Sailors will receive results sooner than under PTS.

"We have changed the criteria," said Fleet Master Chief April Beldo, fleet master chief for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education. "It is based on rank ... performance evaluations and critical NECs, so that has definitely changed from the algorithm that we used to use."

Some Sailors in the fleet are weary that a push away from PTS along with a final command-level approval for most will have negative consequences.

"The command already has a say on the member's PTS," said NCC Lailia Canlas, career counselor onboard USS Green Bay (LPD 20). "This may open up room for bias that cannot always be detected or controlled. By leaving the decision to someone who is not from the same command, the decision will be based on evaluations only, which is essentially a Sailor's resume. PTS holds Sailors accountable. The consequence of not performing was clear. Not everyone should be a Sailor."

The problem, said NCC Tim Hawkins, career counselor for the Navy Information Operations Command Maryland, is that people who should be Sailors were being denied reenlistment opportunities.

"If this new program will allow Sailors to be judged on their performance, and if COs aren't afraid to kick out a Sailor who is not performing, then I'm for it," said Hawkins. "Command approval was always needed, and there is a solid check list commands used to accurately determine a Sailor's eligibility, so as long as command career counselors are doing their jobs, this should be an easy transition."

However, Navy officials say the PTS program was a necessary tool that served a purpose during a time of extremely high retention and low attrition.

"Because of that we had 35 over-manned ratings that represented over 6,000 Sailors," said Beldo. "And PTS was the avenue that the Navy chose to utilize to get the force back into balance.... We now see our advancement at an all-time high. We are also now able to manage our ratings with the right skill sets for the right job with the right requirements."

CTI2 Jasmine Loran, with Navy Information Operations Command Texas, who has been denied reenlistment under PTS, is hopeful for the change.

"I'm in the 2008 year group, which has been completely dependent on PTS for orders and retention," said Loran. "I have seen phenomenal Sailors denied PTS [approval] because of the way the current system works. I was also denied on all three submissions despite having good evals, no PRT failures, and promoting early. Though I'm not sure a CO could be completely objective when it comes to approving or denying a [reenlistment] request, I do think having a more local system would be extremely beneficial. I love the Navy and I wish I could have stayed. I just joined in the wrong year apparently."

Click here to read more about CTI2 Loran's PTS experience.

Sailors with a soft EAOS of July 2014 and after will be the first to really be able to take advantage of this program. For Sailors who have an EAOS through June 2014, there is a small change affecting them, but they will still be using the old system.

With a November 2013 or earlier EAOS there won't be an impact. In these cases the member has already received final reenlistment determination, and there will not be a 'grand-fathering' of Sailors.

With a December 2013 through June 2014 EAOS there will be no change. The member is already in the application window and will continue the legacy process. However, the new business rules of screening Sailors based on Sailors screened using rank, evals, and critical NECs will be used instead of using the current PTS algorithm of rank, evals, critical NECs, PFA, and months to soft EAOS.

With this new design, which Sailors with a soft EAOS of July 2014 or after will truly be able to take advantage of, approximately 75 percent of Sailors requesting reenlistment will receive approval on their first application and all Sailors will know at least 10 months from the end of their contract whether they will be able to reenlist in their current rate. Sailors not approved to reenlist in rate will have additional time to apply to convert into another rating where opportunity exists.

All Sailors will have to indicate their intention to reenlist or separate with their career counselor 13 months in advance of the end of their enlistment contract. Sailors can still change their minds after this initial check-in. However, they should notify their career counselors as soon as possible regarding the change.

"Knowing Sailors' intentions is critical to accurately predicting how many Sailors we will have in each skillset, rate and pay grade going forward," said Beldo. "This ensures the maximum opportunity to reenlist in rate for those Sailors who desire to stay, offers opportunities for Sailors to convert to a new rate or transition between "active/reserve" components, and improves advancement opportunity."

Career Navigator will change how the Navy does business - placing Sailors at the helm and allowing them to choose their course between reenlistment, conversion, or transition. They will have access to research career options for themselves in order to make informed decisions based around available opportunities.

"We're simplifying the process and providing information sooner, while giving our Sailors interactive capability that will enable more transparency and feedback capability and ultimately allow Sailors to be more actively involved in managing their careers," said Beldo.

"I'm very excited about where we are going with Career Navigator. The program provides the Navy with tools to help better manage the professional development of our Sailors," said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Mike Stevens. "I would remind chiefs to continue taking an active role in assisting our Sailors and helping them stay informed of the career opportunities and career choices available."

Click here to see how a Sailor's reenlistment timeline under the Career Navigator program compares to the PTS timeline.

See NAVADMIN 149/13 and 150/13 for more information.

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