By Erin O’Neill

Chances are, when your loved one selected to join the United States Navy, both of you thought they were signing up to serve in, well, the Navy. You both probably expected that he’d spend his career alongside fellow sailors, and likely be supporting and deploying with naval, on-ship operations.

But as the Global War on Terror slowly morphs into the Overseas Contingency Operation, the Navy’s role in our global conflicts continues to evolve, and increasingly finds itself relying upon the Navy’s IA and GSA program to assist them in doing so.

What’s an IA Tour?
Across the military, an Individual Augmentation tour refers to a situation in which the military temporarily reassigns a service member to a different unit—or even a different branch of the military—to assist in a mission where his or her particular rank and skill-set are needed, individually.

For example, a Navy doctor may temporarily be assigned to an IA tour in Iraq where they’ll be on the ground, in-country, working in field medical situations with the Army. Or a sailor may be taken off a ship in San Diego, and posted to an installation in the Horn of Africa, helping with humanitarian aid needs, alongside other sailors and Marines.

Recently, the Navy has also added GSA tours, which are similar to IA tours, but specifically support the Global War on Terror, and are filled largely by volunteers, drawn in by their PCS-friendly time-frame, rather than sailors that are ‘pulled’ from their unit, mid-mission. For example, a sailor may volunteer to receive GSA orders, in order to avoid having an IA, which runs the risk of appearing at inopportune times, without much input on the part of the sailor. Many times sailors who volunteer for GSA orders are able to arrange for them to fall at the end of their current missions, but before they head to their next duty stations, making it much more similar to a typical deployment cycle, and often making the trainsition and planning for it easier for their loved ones and family.

Both IA tours and GSA tours are considered ‘non-traditional deployments’ by the Navy and have similar support systems in place for managing them.

What Happens Next?
In the Navy, when a sailor receives IA or GSA orders, they detach from their parent Command, and are reassigned to the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center (ECRC) at Little Creek, Virginia. These orders, like any orders, can be used to break rental agreements or contracts, if necessary, on the part of the service member or their family. Once assigned to ECRC, instead of preparing for a traditional deployment—which usually entails reporting for duty with a ship or squadron, then spending months training and getting to know their fellow sailors with whom they’ll be deploying—Individual Augmentees report to a Naval Mobility Processing Station (NMPS) first, where they’ll receive their Noble Eagle number (NE) and meet other IA sailors preparing for a variety of missions.

An NE is a four-digit code assigned to IAs that indicates their assignment and mission, followed by an additional four-digit number, identifying them, individually during the mission. For example, explains Senior Chief Delmar Kluball, USN (Ret.) who completed an IA tour in 2007, “If a sailor receives NE number 1234-0005, that would mean he’s one of at least five sailors attached to mission 1234. While at NMPS, if he were to meet another sailor with NE number 1234-0150, they could reasonably assume they’d be going on the same mission as that sailor, along with at least 150 other IAs.”

What to Expect
In the Navy, IA tours are becoming increasingly frequent. In fact, according to Heather Martin, director of Regional Individual Deployment Support Coordinators (RIDSC), approximately 6,000 families of Navy Individual Augmentees were contacted last year in the Hampton Roads area.

And for many Navy families, IA tours come with a whole new set of unique challenges from typical Navy deployments. While the tours range from six to fourteen months, there really is no standard length of time, and it can be hard to determine the mission or location of the service member during a non-traditional deployment. “I think the biggest thing,” says Kluball, “is that when you’re on a regular deployment, you get used to that camaraderie. You’re with a crew that you’ve trained with for more or less the last twelve months, and you’ve always had an idea what your mission will be. With IA, that’s not the case.”

Martin explains, “It can be a hard transition. Many Navy families get used to relying on that big Navy network and family during traditional deployments. In the beginning, many families experiencing IA tours were discouraged by not having access to their standard support networks, which led to some families feeling alienated.”

To combat this, the Navy, along with Martin’s office based at Naval Air Station, Oceana, has created a support network dedicated specifically to IA tours. In Martin’s own words, “They’ve developed a curriculum and set of activities to bring IA families together, to get more information and support one another during an IA tour.”

Planning Ahead
As with any deployment, knowledge and preparation are the best tools to creating successful missions and smooth transitions. Currently, the Navy is making every effort to provide sailors and pilots with six- to nine-months notice, as well as a general idea of the length of their IA/GSA tour, before they detach from their parent command.

As soon as a sailor has IA/GSA orders, their family should immediately contact their local Fleet and Family Service Center to learn when the next non-traditional deployment briefs are scheduled. These sessions can provide families with valuable information and contacts, as well as offering a support network of other local families preparing for an IA tour.

This unorthodox Command situation often confuses veteran spouses as to where they should turn to for answers or support.  Officially, while a sailor is IA or GSA, they will report to the ECRC Command, but their spouse and family should continue to turn to their original parent Command’s ombudsman for help and advice during their deployment. “They can also go online, or request a written copy mailed to them of the IA Family Handbook,” recommends Martin, who encourages any spouses or family preparing for an IA tour to take advantage of this great resource.

Most IA spouses choose to remain at their last duty station, though some do go home during the absence. Since the family is still attached to the “parent” command from the previous station, it makes it an easier transition for some to just stay put.

While non-traditional deployments do pose unusual and often difficult challenges, they also offer sailors and their families an opportunity to grow and expand their knowledge and expertise in our military family. They provide a chance a serve in different situations and areas of the world than they ever dreamed they might. With a little preparation and flexibility, non-traditional deployments can be a rewarding experience both in the field and on the home front.

Resources
Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center
http://www.ecrc.navy.mil/

Spouse and Family Support for IA by Naval Station
https://www.nffsp.org/skins/nffsp/display.aspx?mode=user&ModuleId=8cde2e88-3052-448c-893d-d0b4b14b31c4&action=display_page&ObjectID=55460222-321b-4e05-bdf2-4f5fd63119ef