December 28, 2011
By Susan Henson, Center for Personal and Professional Development Public Affairs
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) — The Navy’s General Military Training (GMT) requirements have been set and were announced in Naval Administrative message 386/11, released December 19, 2011.
GMT is developed for all uniformed Navy officer and enlisted Sailors. The core GMT lessons, which are top priorities of the Chief of Naval Operations as well as statutory requirements, fall under the areas of Responsible Use of Alcohol, Responsible Personal Behavior, Ask-Care-Treat, Improving Personal Financial Management and Operational Stress Control.
These core lessons include Equal Opportunity, Sexual Harassment and Grievance Procedures; Sexual Assault Prevention and Response; Suicide Prevention; and Operational Stress Control. Because of the critical nature of these topics, the core GMT lessons must be delivered in instructor-led training sessions by command leadership.
“It is absolutely imperative that leaders are involved in delivering the content of the core GMT lessons,” said Capt. Chuck Hollingsworth, the commanding officer for the Center for Personal and Professional Development, which has responsibility for maintaining and updating the Navy’s GMT lessons. “This is an issue of unit readiness. We see too many shipmates impacted by senseless acts such as suicide, sexual assaults and alcohol abuse.
Sailors need to know and see that their leaders are personally engaged in ensuring the health and well being of each and every person in the command.”
Core lesson materials are available for download on Navy Knowledge Online at http://www.nko.navy.mil, click on the Personal Development tab, then GMT link on the left side of the screen, then select the lesson from the Core GMT Lessons channel.
In addition to required GMT lessons, the NAVADMIN details recommended lessons for which commanding officers are highly encouraged to establish a recurring refresher training plan for their command.
These GMT lessons include Anger Management; Operational Risk Management; Drug Abuse Prevention and Control; Tobacco Prevention and Cessation; Physical Readiness; and Code of Conduct. Lesson materials are available on the NKO Personal Development GMT page in the Commanding Officer Training Library channel.
Re-enlisting Sailors are required to complete some lessons upon their re-enlistment. These lessons include Hazing Policy and Prevention, Fraternization Awareness and Prevention, and the Family Readiness Program. This training is available only online via Navy ELearning under the “Department of the Navy (DON) Training” category, and the “General Military Training” subcategory.
All recurring GMT lessons from previous years have been reviewed and the content updated as needed, according to Hollingsworth. “We at CPPD want to ensure we’re delivering the best possibly training to meet fleet and leadership requirements,” he said. “All feedback is good information, so please let us know how we’re doing.”
For more information about the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD), visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/cppd/.