CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED// ROUTINE R 272032Z JAN 23 MID200080689541U FM COMUSFLTFORCOM NORFOLK VA TO NAVADMIN INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC SECNAV WASHINGTON DC CTF 80 BT UNCLAS NAVADMIN 015/23 MSGID/GENADMIN/COMUSFLTFORCOM NORFOLK VA/N00/JAN// SUBJ/U.S. FLEET FORCES COMMAND LIMITED DUTY AND DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT SPRINT// REF/A/DOC/COMNAVPERSCOM/090518// REF/B/DOC/OPNAV/25SEP18// NARR/REF A IS MILPERSMAN 1300-1400, LIMITED DUTY. REF B IS OPNAVINST 1300.20, DEPLOYABILITY ASSESSMENT AND ASSIGNMENT PROGRAM.// RMKS/1. Chief of Naval Operations has designated Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (COMUSFLTFORCOM) as the supported Commander to lead a SPRINT addressing the number, distribution, and care of the Navy's Limited Duty (LIMDU) and Disability Evaluation System (DES) Sailors throughout the Navy. The SPRINT will work in parallel to an existing OPNAV N1 led effort to address LIMDU and DES, and will focus on taking immediate action to improve the oversight and management of LIMDU personnel and alleviate the friction in the LIMDU process. In order to achieve the desired end state, a Cross-Functional Team (CFT) of stakeholders is working to identify specific actions to improve our LIMDU process and will report back to me no later than 28 February 2023. In the interim, the following guidance will empower commanders (CDRs), commanding officers (COs), and officers-in-charge (OICs) to set the foundation for positive Navy-wide actions targeted at the LIMDU Sailor population. 2. The Navy must shift from a passive to an active posture on both LIMDU and DES management. LIMDU and DES Sailors are a valuable and permanent part of our Navy. Their primary mission is returning to full duty or departing the service with dignity. They deserve the full support and focused commitment of their leadership team. In all cases, when Sailors either become LIMDU or are assigned to a new command in a LIMDU status, leadership must fully integrate these Sailors into all aspects of the command to the maximum extent practical. CDRs, COs, and OICs remain responsible to facilitate and ensure LIMDU Sailors attend all of their necessary medical and administrative appointments, which is their primary mission. As such, leadership must be thoughtful and deliberate in assigning duties, which can be completed between appointments, actively support the command's mission, and reinforce the importance of each Sailor to the command. Active case management will require action from Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) and Navy Personnel Command (PERS) to provide proper training and education on LIMDU and DES management and increase precision in the distribution of LIMDU and DES Sailors as vetted by the TYCOM and ISIC. Finally, in instances where command leadership is charged with the responsibility of leading Sailors requiring added support (e.g., non-ambulatory, acute treatment requirements, out-of- rate with no employment opportunities, etc.), it is imperative that the chain of command elevate concerns in a timely manner, for barrier removal and resolution by higher echelon. 3. Immediate actions assigned by COMUSFLTFORCOM as the Supported Commander to be completed NLT 28 February 2023: a. Per ref (a), all commands are required to appoint a Deployability Coordinator (DC). b. Effective with the release of this message, COMUSFLTFORCOM directs that all Navy commands with a LIMDU population in excess of 50 Sailors SHALL appoint a DC as a primary duty. c. For Navy commands with a LIMDU population less than 50 Sailors, the DC may be appointed as a collateral duty. d. Commands SHALL appoint additional primary or collateral duty DCs as necessary to ensure that the ratio of DCs to LIMDU Sailors does not exceed 1:50. e. Commands SHALL review both refs (a) and (b) to ensure full compliance with the current policy regarding LIMDU and DES Sailors. f. Commands SHALL proactively update their command manning documents to accurately reflect the status of LIMDU and DES Sailors. Leadership SHALL coordinate with Navy Medical Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) and PERS- 45, the subject matter experts on policy matters, in updating their command manning documents. This will remediate a significant factor in the enterprise-wide confusion regarding the number and distribution of LIMDU Sailors that arise when Sailors are assigned incorrect accounting category code (ACC) or Navy enlisted classification (NEC) codes. g. To help in executing the above actions, CDRs, COs, OICs, and other triad members are required to review the existing CO's Tool Kit for Non-Deployability located on the MyNavyHR website, located at the following: https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Detailing/Deployability/. Awareness of available resources, the common lexicon and terminology, and basic deployability determination process will empower CDRs, COs, and OICs to more effectively manage their LIMDU and DES Sailors. h. Reporting instructions on completion of steps in paragraphs 3a through 3c will be promulgated SEPCOR. 4. Next steps: a. The LIMDU and DES CFT will examine areas of the LIMDU and DES process that are outside of the CDRs, COs, and OICs' ability to control. The first challenge for the CFT is to look at the distribution of LIMDU and DES Sailors with the goal of improving the precision of the LIMDU distribution process. Additionally, the process for placing LIMDU and DES Sailors in-rate must be scrutinized. Factors such as rank, berthing accommodations, command mission, opportunities to conduct in- rate work, and the ability/inability of the individual to conduct such work must be assessed by respective TYCOMs/ISICs in conjunction with PERS-40/PERS-45 as appropriate, to be validated by the receiving command prior to Sailors arrival. b. For the command DCs, the LIMDU and DES CFT will direct that formal education be established and standardized by BUMED and PERS to be facilitated by NMRTC no later than 28 February 2023. At a minimum, the training will cover the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidance, Privacy Act guidance, and guidance for frontline supervisors on how to engage their Sailors without violating confidentiality standards. The purpose of the training is to ensure that DCs have the necessary tools to help their LIMDU Sailors return to service, not to further restrict information from the command. In addition to the formalized training, the NMRTC will establish and promulgate a training plan no later than 28 February 2023 for DCs to develop the ability to review current cases with enough information and detail to assess the progress of LIMDU and DES Sailors in their path to recovery or separation in accordance with ref (a). 5. The LIMDU and DES CFT has already started gathering data from the Fleet on the challenges faced by the CDRs, COs, and OICs in executing the LIMDU and DES process as currently established in policy. This CFT will conduct a SPRINT to refine and improve areas accessible in the short term and then hand off the long term process improvements to the OPNAV N1 led effort. 6. Points of contact for the LIMDU and DES CFT are CAPT Darren T. Dugan, COMUSFLTFORCOM N01SAP, via e-mail at darren.t.dugan.mil(at)us.navy.mil or CDR Nathan M. Williams, COMUSFLTFORCOM N01SAP Deputy, via e-mail at nathan.m.williams.mil(at)us.navy.mil. 7. From Foundry to Fleet, Forged to Fight! ADM Caudle sends.// BT #0009 NNNN CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//