The Navy is expanding its Detailing Marketplace Assignment Policy (DMAP), an enlisted career management tool aimed at reducing manning gaps at sea, to include sailors in the damage controlman and aviation boatswain's mate ratings. DMAP allows sailors in sea-intensive ratings E-6 and below, who complete a four-year apprentice sea tour, to receive certain benefits and opportunities for promotion if they commit to another three-year sea tour.
To compete for higher billets starting in June, sailors must pass a Rating Knowledge Exam in March and then apply for jobs in the MyNavy Assignment marketplace or be selected by their commanding officer for an open billet. Once matched to a higher rank billet, sailors must obligate service for the full tour in the new rank and billet, and may be frocked 30 days prior to transfer. They will be officially advanced by the gaining command upon arrival and after completing any required training.
This latest phase of DMAP focuses on promotion to E-5 and E-6 in the damage controlman and aviation boatswain's mate ratings. Rear Adm. James Waters III, director of the Military Personnel Plans and Policy Division, stated that this will pave the way for the final stage of DMAP for Operations Specialist (OS) and Fire Controlman- AEGIS (FCA) ratings, which have longer training pipelines.
Sailors who sign up for 3-year journeyman sea tours can receive bonus pay, with incentive bonuses ranging from $200 to $800 a month, averaging out to approximately $500 a month. The aim is to incentivize more sailors to serve at sea, as both the damage controlman and aviation boatswain's mate ratings currently have a high overall fill but only about 80 percent sea duty fill, leading to imbalances in the ratings.
DMAP was first rolled out in December 2021 to gradually replace the Sea Shore Flow policy, which had a maximum sea tour length of five years and allowed sailors the option to extend. DMAP eliminates this maximum sea duty tour length constraint, addressing gaps at sea and challenges related to circadian rhythm watch bills, degraded materiel readiness, and limited training times.