Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Eric Jensen fires a .50-caliber machine gun during weapons training aboard amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4). U.S. Navy photo by MCSN Robert J. Harris.

Sending Sailors overseas to fill these assignments often creates vacancies in key positions throughout the ship. The Navy has responded to this fleet-wide concern by implementing the Global War on Terrorism Support Assignment (GSA) detailing system.

Under GSA, a Sailor in their transfer window can choose an IA position online. In the past, Sailors had to interrupt their tours on short notice in order to fill a predetermined IA position.

''If IA now has to be what we’re going to accept as a norm for the Navy, it’s better if people have a choice of where they’re going to go,'' said Chief Navy Counselor (SW⁄AW) Andre Brown.

Brown will soon serve as a career counselor at Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center in Norfolk. Brown will support Sailors who are serving in locations such as Iraq, Djibouti and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On Boxer, he regularly informs personnel on IA benefits such as extra pay and advancement exam points for E-5 and below.

Brown said predictability will be a major GSA detailing incentive because the IA Sailor, their current command and their family all get time to prepare. It starts when a Sailor volunteers to go IA and then gets first choice of the duty station they will go to after completing IA duty. They then receive their orders, transfer and the command brings in a replacement. While the Sailor completes IA duty, their family can settle in at the next duty station early.

In Boxer’s case, GSA detailing may prove to be especially valuable because the ship’s manning and qualifications will no longer be affected by temporarily vacated billets.

''It’s going to help because IA [assignments] will no longer pull key people who are accounted for in our [current] training cycle,'' explained Brown.

Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class (SW) Andres Baron is one of Boxer’s first Sailors to go IA under GSA detailing and is waiting for official permission to go to Iraq or Afghanistan. He appreciates how GSA detailing keeps IA Sailors from working for two commands simultaneously. He also likes the advantages IA duty provides.

''It’s an adventure, something you can tell your grandkids about,'' he said.

Boxer leadership is developing training on GSA detailing for its division and department career counselors so that the crew is fully informed of this opportunity.