Sea duty is a Navy billet classification for assignments that require operating away from the duty station more than 150 days per year, typically aboard commissioned vessels, deployable squadrons, or embarked staffs. The Navy tags every billet with a Sea/Shore Type Duty Code, and codes 2 and 4 are the ones that count as sea duty. That single classification decides whether you earn Career Sea Pay, how your rotation clock runs, and when protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act kick in.
How the Navy Classifies Sea Duty
The 150-day threshold is the line that separates sea from shore. If a command requires its members to operate away from the duty station more than 150 days per year, it generally qualifies as sea duty. The Type Duty Codes break down as follows:
- Type 1 is shore duty inside the United States, including long-term schooling of 18 months or more.
- Type 2 is sea duty on commissioned vessels, deployable squadrons, or land-based activities and embarked staffs homeported in the United States that cross the 150-day threshold.
- Type 3 is a remote overseas land assignment that counts as sea duty for rotation purposes because of the undesirability of the location, even though it may not cross the 150-day line.
- Type 4 is sea duty on vessels, squadrons, and qualifying overseas commands homeported outside the United States.
- Type 6 is overseas shore duty, credited as shore for rotation purposes.
Type 3 catches people off guard. It is not a ship. It is a land billet overseas that the Navy treats as sea time because the location is considered hardship-level undesirable. Type 6 is also overseas, but counts as shore duty.1MyNavy HR. Type Duty Codes These codes appear in your personnel record and drive both your pay and your rotation eligibility.
How Long a Sea Tour Lasts
The Navy manages career balance through Sea/Shore Flow, which prescribes tour lengths by rating or specialty. Tours vary a lot across the fleet, and your rating detailer can give you the exact figures for your community.2MyNavy HR. Sea Shore Flow Tour Lengths
Your sea duty counter accumulates while you hold a Type 2 or Type 4 billet. Once it reaches the prescribed length for your current tour, you become eligible to rotate ashore.
When the Consecutive Counter Pauses Instead of Resets
A separate counter tracks consecutive sea duty, and it controls your eligibility for the Career Sea Pay Premium. Certain interruptions pause it without wiping it out. If your ship is deactivated, if you go ashore for limited duty or a humanitarian reason for less than a year, or if you attend a training school of less than 18 months between two qualifying sea tours, the counter idles rather than restarting from zero.3Department of the Navy. OPNAVINST 7220.14 – Career Sea Pay and Career Sea Pay Premium Travel time and leave between qualifying tours also idle the counter. The distinction matters because a true reset sends you back to month one of the 36-month clock, while idle time simply pauses it.
What You Get Paid
Career Sea Pay is the main financial incentive for sea duty. It is authorized by federal statute for any uniformed service member entitled to basic pay while serving on a qualifying sea assignment.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 37 USC 305a – Special Pay: Career Sea Pay The monthly rate depends on your pay grade and your cumulative years of sea duty. Rates run from $50 per month at the low end to $750 per month at the statutory ceiling.
Some reference points from the current rate table: an E-5 with over three years of cumulative sea duty draws $350 per month. An E-7 at that same milestone gets $381. An O-4 with over twelve years of sea time receives $419.5Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Career Sea Pay – Navy/Marine Corps Senior enlisted and warrant officer brackets can reach the $750 statutory cap at the top of the experience scale.
Career Sea Pay Premium
After 36 consecutive months of sea duty, you become entitled to a Career Sea Pay Premium on top of your base rate. The premium is currently $200 per month and starts with the 37th consecutive month.5Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Career Sea Pay – Navy/Marine Corps The statute caps the premium at $350, leaving room for the rate to rise in future years.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 37 USC 305a – Special Pay: Career Sea Pay
Submarine Duty Pay
Submarine duty pay is a separate entitlement under a different statute, and submariners can receive it alongside Career Sea Pay. The rates run higher than surface Career Sea Pay at equivalent grades. An E-5 with over three years of submarine service draws $275 per month in sub pay alone, and an O-4 with over six years receives $655.6Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Submarine Duty Pay (Monthly) Stacked on top of Career Sea Pay, the combined figure for submarine billets is materially higher than for surface assignments.
Family Separation Allowance
If you have dependents and your ship is away from home port for more than 30 consecutive days, you qualify for Family Separation Allowance. The statute sets the allowance at no less than $300 and no more than $400 per month.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 37 USC 427 – Family Separation Allowance Once you cross the 30-day mark, the entitlement is backdated to day one, so you do not lose the initial month. It applies whether you are underway on deployment, on temporary duty, or assigned to a location where dependent travel is not authorized at government expense.
Sea Duty Incentive Pay
Sailors who voluntarily extend their sea tours beyond the prescribed rotation length may qualify for Sea Duty Incentive Pay. Unlike Career Sea Pay, SDIP is paid as a lump sum, calculated by multiplying a monthly rate by the number of additional months you agree to serve. The monthly rate varies by rating, pay grade, and the geographic location of the command.8MyNavy HR. SDIP Eligibility Chart
A few conditions worth knowing. You have to be posted to an active-duty billet. If your command undergoes a homeport change after you sign the SDIP contract, your payment stays at the original rate. Sailors on decommissioning vessels or in non-operational squadrons without assigned aircraft are ineligible.
Tax Treatment
Career Sea Pay, the Premium, submarine duty pay, and Family Separation Allowance are all included in gross income for federal tax purposes under normal circumstances. The IRS classifies them as special pay in its Armed Forces Tax Guide.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 3 – Armed Forces Tax Guide The exception is combat zone service. A single qualifying day in a designated combat zone during a calendar month excludes your pay for that entire month from taxable income. Enlisted members and warrant officers get an unlimited exclusion. For commissioned officers, the exclusion is capped at the highest enlisted pay rate plus hostile fire or imminent danger pay for that month.10Military Compensation and Financial Readiness. Combat Zone Tax Exclusions (CZTE)
What You Have to Clear Before Reporting
Before you report to a vessel, you have to clear a readiness screening. It covers medical fitness, dental status, security, and family logistics. The paperwork is not just formality: failing to complete it can delay your orders, and in some cases it can disqualify you from the assignment.
Medical and Dental Clearance
The NAVMED 1300/1 is the screening form. A medical provider evaluates whether you have chronic conditions, mental health needs, or ongoing treatment requirements that the gaining command cannot support. A dental officer separately checks whether your dental needs can be met by the ship’s medical department or the nearest treatment facility.11Headquarters Marine Corps. NAVMED 1300/1 – Medical, Dental and Educational Suitability Screening If something flags as unsupportable, the gaining command’s medical department is contacted to see whether an exception is warranted.
Family Care Plan
Single parents and dual-military couples with dependents must have a current Family Care Plan on file before deploying. The plan documents who will care for children in your absence, including legal custody arrangements and powers of attorney. The Navy treats this as a hard requirement. Service members who fail to maintain a current plan, or who refuse to establish one, face administrative separation processing.12Secretary of the Navy. OPNAVINST 1740.4E – Family Care Plan When your circumstances change, you have 60 days to submit a new or updated plan, with a possible 120-day extension if you are actively working through court orders or custody agreements.
Exceptional Family Member Program
If you are enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program, your detailer coordinates with EFMP case managers to confirm that your assigned location can meet your family member’s medical or educational needs. The Navy tries to align your career path with your family’s requirements, but you are still expected to maintain worldwide assignability. That sometimes means an unaccompanied tour while your family remains in a location that supports them.13MyNavy HR. Exceptional Family Member
Your Legal Rights Once Orders Drop
Sea duty orders trigger several protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. They are easy to miss in the rush to deploy, and they can save you thousands of dollars in lease penalties, interest charges, and termination fees.
Terminating a Residential Lease
If you receive PCS or deployment orders for 90 days or more, you can terminate a residential lease without paying an early termination fee. You deliver written notice to the landlord along with a copy of your orders. For a monthly lease, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent payment is due following delivery of notice.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases There is no mileage requirement between your current residence and the new duty station. Landlords who try to recover rent concessions or move-in discounts as a condition of early termination are violating the SCRA.15U.S. Department of Justice. Financial and Housing Rights
6% Interest Rate Cap on Pre-Service Debts
Any debt you took on before entering active duty is capped at 6% interest during your service. That includes credit cards, car loans, student loans, and mortgages. To activate the cap, send written notice and a copy of your orders to the creditor no later than 180 days after your service ends. The creditor must forgive interest above 6%, reduce your monthly payment by the forgiven amount, and refund any excess interest already paid.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3937 – Maximum Rate of Interest on Debts Incurred Before Military Service For mortgages, the 6% cap extends for an additional year after your service ends.
Cell Phone and Other Service Contracts
The SCRA also covers commercial mobile service, internet access, multichannel video, gym memberships, and home security contracts. If your orders relocate you for 90 or more days to a location that does not support the contract, you can terminate without an early termination fee by providing written notice and a copy of your orders.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3956 – Termination of Certain Consumer Contracts The provider must refund any prepaid fees within 60 days. If the relocation period is three years or less and you resubscribe within 90 days of returning, you can keep your original phone number.18Federal Communications Commission. Military Service Members and Wireless Phone Service Family plan members relocating with you get the same termination rights.