Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus visited the Navy's largest training installation, Naval Station Great Lakes (NSGL), Oct. 25, to speak with Sailors and Marines about current issues facing today's Navy and Marine Corps forces during an all-hands call inside Ross Theater.

More than 1,000 Sailors from NSGL and various tenant commands attended the event, where Mabus emphasized the importance of having a strong naval presence around the world, transitioning to more efficient energy use, and how the new Navy Occupational Specialty (NOS) Rating Modernization will assist Sailors in both their Navy and future civilian careers.

"The reason we are doing the NOS Rating Modernization system is to make careers more flexible, to make promotion easier, and allow more flexibility in duty station selection," he said. "Sometimes we can't promote in certain rates, because we get too many people at a certain rank, which creates a bottleneck. Within this system, if you can't get promoted in one community, you can possibly be promoted in another community if qualified."

The visit also included a question and answer session, where service members were allowed to directly address their concerns to Mabus. He continued to field further concerns about the NOS Rating Modernization system, as well as questions about paternity leave for men, and how the rapid increase in ships added to the fleet will effect sea and shore rotation.

"Yes, we have been adding a lot of ships, with the Navy commissioning a new ship almost every week," he said. "The ships we are commissioning now have much smaller crews when compared to today's current ships. We are trying to get Sailors to sea more, and to shore less. We are the Navy, and Sailors go to sea. But with that, we have increased career sea pay. Also, if you are in a sea billet more than three years, you are going to get paid more, and if you are at sea more than 220 days, you will be paid more. We are trying to make sea duty more attractive."

Mabus also took the time to reenlist Sailors, recognize NSGL service members and civilians with various awards, and took pictures with attendees after the event.

Mabus is the 75th United States SECNAV, and the longest to serve as leader of the Navy and Marine Corps since World War I. He is scheduled to retire at the end of 2016 after eight years of service.

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