Publication:Sea Talk Spring 2004/Management of the Naval Reserve members

The Director-General of Navy Personnel and Training, Commodore Matt Tripovich, has issued detailed instructions on management of Naval Reserve members.

In his signal DGNPT WLC/ WLR/WLZ 070223ZSEP04, CDRE Tripovich covers training days, continuous full time service and performance reporting 'to reinforce to all Permanent Navy (PN) supervisors and managers their roles and responsibilities in the positive management of Navy Reserve personnel'. The signal also outlines some responsibilities of Reservists themselves.

Training days CDRE Tripovich reiterates the Navy Reserve training day limit (TDL) is 150 days in any financial year. "A TDL is an administrative ceiling which does not express any an automatic right of access to the full TDL allocation in any financial year," he says. "Active Reserve (AR) members are required to monitor their use of training days to ensure their TDL is not exceeded. "PN supervisors and managers must liaise with AR members to ensure TDLs are being adhered to, in particular when AR members move between positions.

"Should an AR member predict he or she will exceed the training day allocation, their PN supervisor or manager must gain prior approval for them to do so from either the Directorate of Officers or Sailors Postings or the approving authority for senior officers.

Under normal circumstances the approving authority expects the PN supervisor or manager to have managed AR members time so that tasks can be completed within each members TD allocation.

"Extensions to TDLs will not be granted retrospectively and service rendered beyond the TDL ceiling will be considered to be voluntary unpaid service." CDRE Tripovich says an increase of training day limit does not increase the number of funded days allocated to a funded Reserve commitment (FRC) position and an increase of funded days allocated to an FRC position does not increase the TDL of the person in it.

"This highlights the requirement for PN supervisors and managers to actively manage tasks given to AR members against FRC positions," CDRE Tripovich says.

He adds:

Requests for an extension to a TDL will not be considered before February 1 each year'

• Regardless of the circumstances, Navy Reservists are not authorised to render service beyond their TDL without having first lodged a formal TDL extension request, received confirmation that the extension has been approved by the delegate and a new posting has been promulgated by the Career Management Authority; and
• Reserve Pay will reject any claims for payment over 150 training days unless approval by the delegate has been received and a new posting has been promulgated.

Continuous full time service CDR Tripovich says continuous full time service (CFTS) is used to fill either a vacant Permanent Navy (PN) position or a limited tenure PN project program position.

The procedure according to DGNPT, if a PN position is unable to be filled by career managers and the owner of the position requires it to be filled, is for career managers to liaise with their Reserve Regional Pools to advertise for Naval Reserve volunteers to fill the position.

" Career managers will liaise with PN supervisors and should not canvass Naval Reservists directly nor entertain direct approaches from Naval Reserve personnel," CDRE Tripovich says.

" If an area requires a position to be stood up for a specific tenure and tasking, then the PN supervisor or manager should approach the Director of Navy Workforce Management to get the position established.

" As these positions are of specific tenure, on completion of the incumbent's CFTS, the position will fold.

" PN supervisors and managers must not use these positions for routine tasks and reasons for extension requests will be critically analysed to ensure business rules for the positions are being adhered to."

Performance reporting CDRE Tripovich reminds Permanent Navy supervisors that it is important to report on the performance of all Navy Reserve subordinates.