After the Navy let go 3,000 sailors it says it didn't need, the service announced it was hiring again, looking for 9,000 new recruits. In a video link from the Pentagon, we asked Rear Admiral John Kirby to justify that.
“That sounds contradictory, to let 3,000 mid-career sailors go, but then say you`re hiring three times that number. Can you explain that to me?” asked NewsChannel 3’s Mike Mather.
“This wasn`t about fiscal sense, frankly. It was about making sure we had the right fit at jobs at sea, and the right fill at jobs at sea, so that we`re putting sailors where they need to be, and giving them opportunities that they didn`t have before,” explained Kirby.
Kirby says Navy leaders have been studying which jobs have too many sailors and which jobs need more. Not surprisingly, Kirby said, sailors were needed most at sea.
“Yes, there were some sailors let go by this enlisted retention board. These were difficult decisions. Nobody wanted to make them. Nobody liked making them, and we don`t have any plans to do it again,” says Kirby.
But sailors let go say the whole process was unfair.
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