As part of the Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (MPT&E) transformation efforts, the Navy announced Thursday that it began a field test of its new integrated pay and personnel system Aug. 1, for approximately 1,000 recruits entering Boot Camp at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois.

"This field test is an important step in our transformation efforts," said Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke. "Our goal is to develop a modern, Sailor-friendly streamlined pay and personnel system that will ultimately help us enhance Fleet readiness, improve customer service, reduce operating costs and better manage our organizational data and programs. Our Sailors deserve a modern personnel system and we are committed to giving it to them."

Over the next six months, these recruits' information will be entered simultaneously into the test system and the Navy's current pay and personnel system, which will provide a simultaneous, non-disruptive, side-by-side comparison of various transactions that are conducted.

This field test is the first in a series of assessments that will grow in complexity over time and ultimately build on each other. Each field test will compare the efficiency and accuracy of the test system and inform the need for additional testing or modification before being implemented Fleet-wide.

Once complete, the Navy's integrated pay and personnel system will result in significantly improved business processes and integrated personnel, learning, recruiting, pay, financial management, and data systems. It will also allow Sailors to upload documents such as marriage and birth certificates to their personnel files, have award and performance records in one place, see where their orders are in the release process, and have 24/7 customer service support through call centers and mobile applications. This effort will also help provide real time data to the Navy, which will help transform Navy's manpower analysis capability.

As part of its MPT&E transformation efforts, the Navy's goals are to:
- Improve Fleet Readiness - predictive analytics will enable better Sailor fit, talent matching, improved retention, and agile responses to meet dynamic Fleet needs
- Dramatically improve the way we support Sailors and their families
- Create call centers and mobile/online self-service portals for Sailors to access their personnel information, and provide 24/7 customer service where the majority of personnel transactions can be done online or via mobile devices like many banks and companies today
- Reduce cost without loss of output via a new operating model and modern IT system
- Transform, standardize and automate labor intensive, antiquated processes such that they require less management oversight
- Provide accurate, auditable and timely personnel and pay actions
- Have a seamless data environment accessible throughout the enterprise

The Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (MPT&E) enterprise is responsible for manning the Fleet and making sure that our Sailors are ready for the litany of jobs and tasks they will be asked to undertake in the Navy. This responsibility includes finding and recruiting talented individuals to serve, executing training pipelines that take young Sailors through their initial education and beyond, and ensuring that our ships, squadrons, and submarines are fully manned.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Chief of Naval Personnel, visit http://www.navy.mil/.