The Navy is hoping to enter the 21st century with a new information technology system. But what does that mean for sailors? A new mobile app that will let them do everything from filing paperwork to choosing a duty station, all with a simple swipe. It’s like Tinder for enlistment. Swipe right for yes, left for no.
Okay, it’s not that simple. The app, called “My Navy Portal,” is still just a concept, but the plan is to offer a number of features that simplify processes into an easy-to-use mobile app, including filing a marriage certificate, requesting leave, or tracking training history.
The Navy claims the beta version of the app could be rolled out by summer 2017; however, the actual app doesn’t exist yet. The Navy says it will work with the private sector tech companies to adopt an already-existing system that fits with the Navy’s infrastructure for a more immediate rollout. It’s to be determined how quickly this will happen.
“Sailors have been asking for a platform that allows them to access their personnel information in one location,” Vice Adm. Robert Burke, chief of Naval personnel, said in a release.”While there is still much work to be done on My Navy Portal, this is the first step in providing a consolidated one-stop shop for Sailors’ personnel information. Our Sailors deserve a modern personnel system and we are committed to giving it to them.”
Burke hopes the system will provide incentives that will change the way sailors view reenlistment bonuses and incentives.
Because the sailors’ information will all be archived in one database, the Navy expects to better balance its needs with the desires of the sailors themselves. Burke believe this will make for a stronger service because Navy personnel skills and needs will be taken into to consideration and weighed more heavily.
The IT systems overall update will consolidate more than 50 existing databases under the service’s purview, according to Navy Times.
“We’re going to roll this out pretty quickly,” Vice Adm. Robert Burke told Navy Times. “We are going be able to make all of our transactions services completely mobile accessible.”