JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sailors spoke and leaders listened. Effective immediately, sailors will no longer be required to log onto Navy Knowledge Online, Navy eLearning or My Navy Portal to complete General Military Training (GMT) for any topic -- except Cybersecurity.
Vice Admiral Robert Burke, Chief of Naval Personnel, says that during Fleet visits, he often hears sailors say online training is ineffective and impersonal. He says this effort is aimed at improving leader engagement opportunity, reducing administrative distractions and addressing sailor's frustration with current online training products.
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"I want Sailors to know we've heard them," Burke said. "This is about restoring an important leader engagement opportunity - an opportunity to talk about integrity, accountability and character, something today's online products are missing. There is no doubt this approach will yield an even greater competitive edge for the Navy."
There are still annual GMT requirements, but individual commands now have the flexibility to complete required training when and how they see fit. Existing training materials will remain on Navy eLearning and My Navy Portal, providing an outline for commands to use.
According to Burke, the Navy plans to overhaul GMT and other online eLearning products to make them more engaging and personalized, but not at the expense of leadership engagement.
The Navy says while Suicide Awareness, Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response training may require a more formal setting, and may benefit from supplementation by existing seminar discussion material available from "Chart the Course" or "Full Speed Ahead" training, other topics such as Records Management, Operations Security, and Privacy and PII, can be conducted at quarters, all-hands calls, divisional training using existing learning objectives and material to elicit discussion to the point that the leader is satisfied that the learning objectives are understood.
For more information on the Navy ending most online GMT requirements, it is outlined in NAVADMIN 072/17.