"New" Service Numbers

Here's one that'll get a bit of quality moaning going...

Just heard that Service Numbers unique to Service, Officer/Other Rank or Sex have been done away with.

In this great new world of JPA, if you were to join any of the Services today you would instead get a JPA number. This is "generic" in that you couldn't tell whether someone's RN, Army or RAF from their number - neither could you tell if they were male or female or Officer or Rating.

Those of us lucky enough to have "proper" Service numbers will keep them, thankfully.

Progress is great, isn't it?

 

next you'll be able to chose your own number!

 

The way they`re cutting the manpower it will be back to, not needed, we know each other.

 

I'l stick to my own one , never forget your number will you ,

 

Pick a number, any number between 1 and 10!

 

No problem with service numbers. The way the government is cutting numbers you will all know each other and be on first name terms.

 

Couldn't agree more, but who is the lucky number1??

 

He's the one who'll get to steer the boat whilst the other six row.

 

I think you've got the balance wrong, for every one afloat, there'll need to be two ashore trying to justify why they need ever larger staffs forgetting that the primary role of a navy is to go to sea!

 

You may have seen this before, but it's still pertinent.

The Boat Race

The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force decided to have a competitive boat race at Peterborough rowing club. Both teams practised long and hard to reach their peak performance, and on the day of the race both teams were as ready as they could be.

The crabs won by a mile.

Afterwards the Navy team became very discouraged by the result and moral hit an all time low. Senior management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found, and a special committee was set up to investigate the problem and recommend appropriate remedial action.

Their conclusion: the problem was that the crabs had eight people rowing and one steering, whereas the Navy had one Petty Officer rowing and eight officers steering.

The Navy board immediately hired an expensive city consultancy company to carry out a study of the team structure. Millions of pounds of Defence budget were spent, and many months later the consultants conclude that “too many people were steering and not enough people rowing.â€

To prevent losing to the Air Force again the following year, a Regional Organisation Review was undertaken, and the team structure was changed to four “Steering Managersâ€, three “Executive Steering Managersâ€, and one “Senior Executive Steering Managerâ€. A new Quality Performance System was introduced for the Petty Officer rowing the boat to give him greater incentives to work harder and become a “Key Performerâ€

“… give him empowerment and job enrichment – that should do itâ€.

The next year the crabs won by two miles.

The Navy made the Petty Officer redundant on the basis of his poor performance, sold the boat and blades to the Indian Navy, cancelled all capital investment in new equipment, halted the development of “canoe 2006â€, promoted three of the officers and awarded the others with a consolation MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

 

All new joiners are getting numbers starting with 300000 so there will be no number 1, but someone will have 300001!

I still don't know how they will resolve issues of drafting or appointing without knowing male, female, officer etc. I assume DNCM will have access to that info.

 

The RAN went down this path a few years ago. I went back for some Rocky time and upon posting in was surprised to see a new number on my paperwork. Gone was my well remembered Official Number, instead I had an 'Employee Number' that made no distinction between officer or sailor, male or female, cvilian DOD employee or proper serviceman.

It was soon realised that a ships regulator needed to know if a new post in was male or female to ensure the correct mesdeck allocation etc. and indeed if there was space for that sailor. Dickhead public servants in DOD had not thought of that of course, when anyone with half an ounce of CDF could have told them. There is now an unofficial M or F prefix to every number. :roll: