May 20, 2006: The U.S. Navy is in the midst of cutting about 20,000 shore based jobs. This means many sailors will spend more time at sea. About twenty percent of all navy job types will see an increase in time spent at sea. For years, sailors had complained of how many navy personnel seemed to be permanently assigned to pleasant shore jobs. The navy has finally changed that, putting a lot of more sailors on ships, for longer periods. However, the ships are spending less time at sea, courtesy of the new "surge" doctrine. This involves more ships being kept in port (or close, as they still got out for a day or two of training every week or so), so many more ships can be sent off to a hot spot, and kept there as long as needed.