Starting July 8, Navy recruiters’ work week will get a day longer.
Navy Recruiting Command is temporarily extending recruiters’ work week to six days to address recruiting shortages, Lt. Cmdr. Richard Parker, the spokesperson for Recruiting Command told USNI News in an email.
Parker did not have current recruiting numbers, citing a number of ongoing recruiting efforts preventing finalization of the numbers. However, in April, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti said the Navy was expected to miss its recruiting goal by 6,000 sailors.
The Navy currently has more than 3,900 recruiters, Parker told USNI News in an email. Navy Recruiting Command is still working out the details of the work week change, Parker said in his email. The change will likely affect recruiters from the top down.
“While CNRC is aware this decision may be met with some hesitation, our duty is to bring the best and most qualified recruits into the Navy,” Parker said in the email. “The quality of recruits joining the Fleet is one of our top priorities.”
Screenshots of an email from Rear Adm. Alexis Walker, who leads the Recruiting Command, started circulating on social media, according to Military.com, which first reported the work week change.
In the email, Walker writes that the change to a six day work week cannot wait because the shortage in recruiting affects the Navy’s ability to fight, according to a screenshot of the email posted to an Instagram account.
Another post to Reddit suggested that future recruiters could be pulled from their commands early. An official policy change has not been made about duty orders, early transfers or extensions, said Lt. Rachel Maul, spokesperson for the Chief of Naval Personnel office.
“The Navy is considering all available options in order to fully man our recruiting stations as we continue to address the projected recruiting shortfalls for 2023,” Maul said.
