Navy Personnel's Ship Duty Hours to Be Reduced

Red Light on Troop Recruitment Due to Navy Support Rate Shortfall

The service period for naval personnel assigned to ships will be shortened. This is due to repeated shortfalls in Navy enlistment rates, raising red flags for manpower recruitment.

According to the Navy on the 9th, starting with the 692nd class of naval recruits enlisting in June, the mandatory ship duty period will be adjusted from the current 6 months to 4 months as part of "extraordinary measures to secure talent." The recruitment period for the 692nd class began on the 28th of last month and ended on the 7th, so the shortened ship duty period will apply to recent applicants.

On the afternoon of the 4th, naval vessels from the Navy's 2nd Fleet participating in a maritime maneuver exercise in the western waters of Taean conducted tactical maneuver training. The exercise, simultaneously held by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Fleets located in the East, West, and South Seas, involved 13 ships including destroyers and frigates, as well as 4 aircraft, conducting live-fire drills and tactical maneuvers. Photo by Joint Press Corps

The decline in Navy enlistment rates is mainly due to the naval service period being 20 months, which is 2 months longer than the Army, and the low preference for ship duty. Naval personnel are assigned to ships for 4 months, after which they can request reassignment to land-based duties.

For naval personnel wishing to continue ship duty, improvements in treatment will be implemented, including changes to leave policies, increased ship duty allowances, and discounts at Navy welfare facilities. The Navy plans to pilot the shortened mandatory ship duty period until October next year before deciding on its continuation. The basic training period will also be shortened from 6 weeks to 5 weeks starting with the 692nd class. Additionally, to stabilize recruitment, the number of recruitment rounds will be increased from 9 times a year to 10 times this year, 11 times next year, and 12 times by 2027.

Measures to secure non-commissioned officers and officers will also be implemented. Priority will be given to selecting long-term service NCOs upon commissioning of Navy Reserve Non-Commissioned Officer Candidates (RNTC). The range of majors and departments eligible to apply for each branch of the Officer Candidate School (OCS) will also be expanded.

Meanwhile, targeting the MZ generation, the Navy has established its own metaverse platform called 'Navy Universe' to increase understanding of the Navy and secure outstanding personnel. Visitors to Navy Universe can create personal characters, visit Navy units, experience various ships, and obtain information about Navy recruitment.

A Navy official explained, "We are proactively responding to the decrease in manpower resources and implementing 'extraordinary measures' to secure excellent human resources."