NOTIFICATION ON MANNING OF AFLOAT NAVAL FORCES.

SEC. 525. NOTIFICATION ON MANNING OF AFLOAT NAVAL FORCES.(a) In General.—The Secretary of the Navy shall notify the congressional defense committees, in writing, not later than 15 days after any of the following conditions are met:(1) The manning fit for a covered ship is less than 87 percent.(2) The manning fill for a covered ship is less than 90 percent.(b) Notification Required.—The notification required by subsection (a) shall include, with respect to a covered ship, the following:(1) The name and hull number of the ship.(2) The homeport location of the ship.(3) The current manning fit and fill of the ship.(4) The lowest levels of manning fit and fill projected for the ship and the date on which such levels are expected to occur.132 STAT. 1758(5) The projected date on which the Navy will achieve a manning fit and fill at least 87 percent and 90 percent, respectively, for the ship.(6) The projected date on which the Navy will achieve a manning fit and fill of at least 92 percent and 95 percent, respectively, for the ship.(7) A description of any reasons the Navy will not achieve manning fit and fill of at least 87 percent and 90 percent, respectively, for the ship, including a detailed description of the specific ratings or skillset areas that must be manned to achieve those percentages.(8) A description of corrective actions the Navy is taking to improve manning fit or manning fill on the ship.(c) Special Rule.—For purposes of determining whether a percentage of manning fit or manning fill has been achieved, a sailor in a more senior paygrade may count as filling the billet of a more junior paygrade, but a sailor in a more junior paygrade may not count as filling the billet of a more senior paygrade.(d) Definitions.—In this section:(1) Manning fit.—The term “manning fit” means the skills (rating), specialty skills (Navy Enlisted Classifications), and experience (paygrade) for the ship as compared with the billets authorized for such skills and experience.(2) Manning fill.—The term “manning fill”, in the case of a ship, means the total number of military personnel assigned to the ship by rating when compared with the billets authorized for the ship by rating.(3) Covered ship.—The term “covered ship” means a commissioned battle force ship that is included in the battle force count of the Naval Vessel Register.