I read this thread with interest:
I found the thread after seeing this recent news story:
The thread above was insightful but mostly from mid and upper level view points.
I joined MSC after 1yr working shoreside under a navy contract in Supply. I joined as an Asst Storekeeper and went through NEO January 2020. Great timing, eh?
The above thread mentioned work schedules a few times and I raised my eyebrow about time off. My intention was to bank some $$$ then travel during my time off.
In my initial contact with the Detailer she told me the MAX she could give me was 10 days off. MAYBE she could make it 2 weeks but no gaurantees. So, after being on a ship 4-6+ mos I’d get less then 2 weeks off then back out? Yep.
Well, right there had they been upfront about that staffing issue I’d never had joined.
COVID hit and my class was the 1st NEO class to deal with it. The shenanigans were wide and deep. We were “Bubble #1” to get from Norfolk to Singapore (ended up being Guam). I could write a book on the poor logistics handling but suffice it to state it was pure Fed Gov stupidity across the board at every possible step.
After arriving on the ship, we were restricted to the ship 100%. while in port we could see the USNS walking to the NEX that we couldn’t go to. If we got off the ship we would be terminated.
We were short staffed. As I recall we should have had 6 AK’s and we had 3 including myself. Only 2 of us worked. The other lady who was about 200lbs overweight immediately had problems with our Supervisor. Paperwork flew making an already uncomfortable environment far more tense.
We did 12hr days 7 days a week. I was a state Corrections Officer for 7yrs and it felt like I was working in a Prison. After we took on ammunition my paychecks were nominally better then my shoreside job, but I gave up my housing which was the point of the job and the primary thing that made it “worth it”.
While shoreside with MSC during training I made $11/hr, as I recall. The hotel in Norfolk while not the best wasn’t as bad as some made it out to be. I was able to watch drug deals go down from my window with my phones zoom which was fun.
To back up a second, I dropped off an AB at the airport who was flying to Singapore to our ship. I was suppose to fly out the next morning. I said my goodbyes and stored my vehicle in a storage unit. I gave away extra food and misc shit I had in my hotel room.
After checking out of my hotel room, I arrived at Norfolk airport prepared to take the 15hr journey. I was literally the only person at check-in. The light at the guys terminal goes Red and he asks where I got the ticket? I tell him it’s from the US GOV as I’m a Federal employee. He informs me the ticket was CANCELLED!
I call the detailer. She literally LAUGHED as she said…Oh yes…all gov flights were cancelled that morning. She told me I can just go back to the hotel and wait further instructions.
I didn’t even ask why I wasn’t informed as I’d get more annoyed. Luckily, I was able to get my room back without hassle.
Now, I’m older and fine putting in my dues and rolling with the punches understanding people were in trying times during peak COVID stupidity. However, MSC revealed itself to be a cavalcade of comedies to me. I later learned that people literally just went AWOL as long as they wanted once they got back without repercussions in order to get the time off they wanted.
Sorry for rambling.
I wanted to reply to the above thread and it was closed. The primary reason for this thread is to share my thoughts about why staffing is so poor. It’s pretty simple, really.
GIG ECONOMY.
At the lower end positions like mine MSC shows an AK making $73k a year all in. Sounds about right. Shows a YK at $87k al in. Also, probably about right. However, that’s pull 12hr days 7 days a week probably 10mos of the year with all the various add-on payments.
In the Hampton Roads area one can make $70k+ doing Uber/Lyft and other Gig work pretty easily. I went back to my old job and we ended up having unlimited OT due to staffing issues. I ended up making over $62k for very easy work from my primary job and over $15k doing Uber part time. All very stress free.
I work directly with Naval Supply and have for 6 years. The standards have gotten far lower in all ways for the Navy side. There’s near zero discipline through the entire chain of command on the supply side. Come late, leave early, deflect responsibility, be on the phone 100% of the time…that’s the current Naval Supply ethos and it’s only getting worse as recruiting standards have gotten lower recently. Blockbuster Video was run more professionally. The entire DEI nature of how contracts were allocated has rotted the core of the supply system. There are a lot of factors going into a lot of degradation in many systems. And then there’s Uber where one can make the equivalent of GS8 income pretty easily. I know Fed workers who left to do Uber full time.
At my current work place we have an annual attrition rate of 70%. Standards have gotten lower to hire people. Those people constantly take Leave without pay as gig jobs pay better.
No position at MSC should be under 85k per year BASE. Young people today are addicted completely to their phone apps. The lack of internet would make most young people not consider the position. It’s a broken system not getting fixed anytime soon.
One can tread water just so long then at some point drown to death. There are a lot of systems taking their last gasps. Between DEI and AI it’s inevitable the way things are will be the way things were.