PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - U.S. Pacific Fleet established new civilian Human Resources (HR) offices at three fleet concentration areas in late April as part of a Department of the Navy (DON) approach to delivering HR services across both the Navy and Marine Corps.

The opening of the new Pacific Fleet HR offices in San Diego, Bremerton, Wash., and at Pearl Harbor was part of an initiative that was two years in the making. The move represents the most dramatic change in and transformation of the Department of the Navy's human resources services in a decade.

"Under the new approach, major commands and the USMC will own and operate their own HR offices, returning strategic HR functions and decisions back to the commander," said Douglas Lundberg, director of the DON's Office of Civilian Human Resources. "Each major command and the Marine Corps will be aligned to a single Office of Civilian Human Resources (OCHR) Operations Center which will provide support in hiring and processing actions. These realignments will enable us to better understand and provide a greater focus on command needs and mission requirements."

The Secretary of the Navy Instruction (SECNAV) on civilian human resources cemented the realignments and provided the technical authority for the DON's HR community. "We have clearer lines of accountability within the Commands and the DON enterprise," said Patricia Adams, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Civilian Human Resources). "The SECNAV also identifies the Directors, Civilian Human Resources (DCHRs) as the Commands' technical authority for HR, with a direct line of accountability to the DASN (CHR) and Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)."

DON's new approach to HR will also simplify the deployment of common policies, processes, tools and systems. "Given the current fiscal climate, the new and streamlined approach to the way we deliver HR is critical to optimizing resources," Lundberg added. OCHR provides the support for the policies, systems, program management and assessment for the DON's entire civilian workforce.

DON is one of the largest and most complex organizations in the federal government, demanding a large depth and breadth of occupations.