The Source for Navy News

Sponsor Assignment Aid Tool Connects Sailors, New Commands
Story Number: NNS070613-03
6/13/2007

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Ken Ingram, Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- As Sailors prepare for summer rotations, Navy Personnel Command is encouraging them to use the Web-based Sponsor Assignment Aid (SAA) tool in seeking a sponsor from their gaining command.

The online application, located at https://staynavytools.bol.navy.mil/SAA/, helps active-duty members with Permanent-Change-of-Station orders to get the answers they need before arriving at a new assignment.

“For young Sailors and their families who are relocating, and don't know anyone or anything about the area they're headed to - a move can be very intimidating,” said StayNAVY project manager, Randy Wyatt, who oversees the Sponsor Assignment Aid tool. “The SAA helps ease their anxiety by quickly connecting a transferring Sailor to their prospective command.”

After a service member submits a sponsor request, a notification e-mail is sent to the gaining command using the address on file with StayNAVY. For privacy's sake, the member’s personal information is not provided in the e-mailed notification. The coordinator must click on a link inside the e-mail and log onto the secure, password-protected BUPERS Online. The coordinator will then use the information provided to assign a sponsor and contact the Sailor.

The inbound Sailor can check the status of the request by using the Sponsor Request Inquiry (https://staynavytools.bol.navy.mil/SAA/default1.aspx).

To ensure Sailors receive a response within seven days of their request, the inquiry tool lists the contact information on file for the command. Sailors can then follow up directly with the coordinator.

To access the SAA from the Navy Personnel Command Web site (www.npc.navy.mil), click on 'Career Info,' then choose 'StayNAVY', then 'Career Tools.' Once in 'Career Tools,' scroll down to the SAA and Sponsor Request Inquiry links.

The Sponsor Coordinator Update is also accessible from this page. This is the tool commands should use to provide StayNAVY with their contact information. Commands are urged to participate in the program by maintaining a sponsor coordinator point of contact.

According to Wyatt, the SAA tool is valuable to gaining commands too. It promotes two-way communication. Once a sponsor is assigned, a command can better track its incoming personnel through the information provided.

Coordinators can review and update the information on file with StayNAVY by accessing the Sponsor Coordinator Update. The coordinator’s name, telephone number, and e-mail address are needed for every command. Since the tool uses e-mail to route a Sailor’s sponsor request to the new command, it’s essential that StayNAVY have a current e-mail address on file, Wyatt said.

“The full benefit of the SAA can only be realized if there is 100-percent participation from the sponsor coordinators at each command," Wyatt said. For added networking, the Sponsor Coordinator Update offers commands contact information for other coordinators as well.

For more news from Navy Personnel Command visit www.news.navy.mil/local/npc/.