what is a2p in my navy assignment

Advancement and Incentive Programs

Advancement

Advancement News

Invalid rss feed url..

Enlisted Store

• Boots & Shoes
• Challenge Coins
• Folding Knives

Official Pages

• Meritorious Advancement Program
• Senior Enlisted Marketplace
• Detailing Marketplace Assignment Policy
• My Navy Assignment (MNA)

Current Enlisted Programs

The Navy has modified the way enlisted Sailors advance in rate. Part of the goal is to replenish hard to fill billets, especially at-sea billets. The other goal is to advance Sailors who are committed to the Navy.

Billet based advancements will place the qualified Sailors in billets that have critical gaps at sea. This is a competition based selection whereas the Sailor is competing for a particular job that allows for advancement once the requirements have been met and the Sailor has reached his new destination.

Meritorious Type advancements allow the commanding officer to advance the most talented Sailors in pay-grades E5 and below to the next higher pay-grade. Quotas are allocated to commands based on authorized billets E3 through E5.

Incentive programs inlude priority shore duty placement and monetary compensation while still being eligible for career sea pay (CSP) and sea pay premium (SPP) if eligible.

Meritorious Advancement Program (MAP)

The purpose of MAP is to advance the most qualified Sailors to the next pay-grade outside of the advancement cycle. Through MAP, deckplate leaders have a voice in helping select the most qualified Sailors in their command. MAP currently comprises of 20% of total advancements.

Paygrades: E5 and below

• Meritorious Advancement Program - Official Website
• Question of the Day: How does MAP work?

Senior Enlisted Marketplace (SEM)

SEM is a program that will ultimately include all Chief Petty Officers. Currently only E-8 are being screen in this phase. To advance to the next higher pay-grade, successfully screened Chiefs must be matched to a position via MyNavy Assignment (MNA). The goal is to better align qualified Chiefs with command requirements and to advance those Sailors committed to staying in the Navy.

• Senior Enlisted Marketplace - Official Webpage
• SEM Flowchart
• Senior Enlisted Marketplace Fact Sheet - May 2023
• MyNavy Assignment (MNA) - Official Webpage
• NAVADMIN 261/22 - Senior Enlisted Marketplace - E-9 Billet Based Advancement
• Secure MNA website - view your MNA

Detailing Marketplace Assignment Policy (DMAP)

DMAP is a set of personnel policies designed to improve fleet manning in sea-intensive ratings. Its goal, through various programs, is to reward Sailors in sea-intensive ratings to stay in the Navy and stay on sea duty.

DMAP 4+3 benefits apply to Sailors who complete a 4-year Apprentice (E4 and below) Sea Tour followed immediately by a 3-year Journeyman (E5) Sea Tour.

Incentives Include:

Additional Money Through Detailing Marketplace Incentive Pay ( DMIP )

Paid monthly throughout entire 3 year Journeyman tour. $200 to $800 per month depending on location and sea duty type.

Early Advancement Through Advance to Position ( A2P )

A2P: E4 eligible (PNAed on E5 exam) applies for 3 year Journeyman assignment and advances upon arrival.

Early Advancement Through Command Advance to Position ( CA2P )

CA2P: An E4 eligible (PNAed on E5 exam) Sailor is nominated by their CO to fill a vacant or soon to be vacant PO2 billet onboard the current sea duty activity. All CA2P requests will be submitted in MNA via a Member Realignment Request (MRR).

Priority Follow-on Shore Duty Assignment Through Continuous Sea Duty Credit ( CSDC )

CSDC: Adds 1 credit per month of sea duty. Resets to 0 upon transfer to shore duty. Provides priority in the detailing marketplace.

All incentives can be combined with Career Sea Pay, Sea Pay Premium and SRB.

• Detailing Marketplace Assignment Policy - Official Website
• NAVADMIN 280/21 - Detailing Marketplace Assignment Policy (DMAP)
• DMAP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) MAY 2023
• My Navy Assignment (MNA) User's Guide (14 FEB 2022) Version 3.0i

Detailing Marketplace Incentive Pay (DMIP)

DMIP is a monetary incentive payable to Sailors that execute the DMAP 4+3 sea duty option. Sailors eligible for DMIP will earn additional monthly pay for the entire 3-year Journeyman (E5) Sea Tour. DMIP payments will begin on the 49th month of sea duty and continue each month through the 84th month. Initial DMIP rates will range between 200 dollars and 800 dollars per month. A Sailor who is earning the average DMIP rate of 500 dollars per month would receive $18,000 in additional incentive pay over the 3-year journeyman (E-5) sea tour.

That is on top of the $21,300 in career sea pay (CSP) and sea pay premium (SPP) for Sailors assigned to ships company for their 3-year journeyman (E-5) sea tour. In total, a Sailor who executes the DMAP 4+3 sea tour option could earn an extra $39,300 or more in DMIP, career sea pay (CSP) and sea pay premium (SPP).

Advance to Position (A2P)

A2P Program allows for Active Component E-4 and E-5 Sailors to apply for select E-5 and E-6 jobs when in their detailing window. This program does not allow for rates listed in DMAP. Sailors selected for A2P will be permanently advanced and paid upon reporting to an A2P job at their ultimate duty station, following successful completion of any required en-route training.

Sailors selected for A2P also maintain eligibility for all other advancement programs that they would be eligible for even after selection for A2P, and may advance sooner via any other advancement program for which they are selected. Sailors selected for an A2P assignment will receive permanent change of station (PCS) orders, if required, in line with current detailing business rules.

• NAVADMIN 172/22 - Active Duty Enlisted Advance-to-position Program Update
• Navy Updates Advancement-to-Position Program July 2022

Command Advance to Position (CA2P)

CA2P allows commanding officers to retain their top performing E-4 Sailors who are eligible for advancement to E-5 PNAed by permanently advancing them to E-5 to fill a vacant, or projected to become vacant, E-5 position within their command before entering MNA. Sailors must obligate to sufficient service, through extension or reenlistment, to complete a minimum of seven years at the command.

This consist of a 4-year apprentice (E-4 and below) sea tour plus a 3-year journeyman (E-5) sea tour (DMAP 4+3 sea duty option.) This is in addition to any associated training required to transition from apprentice to journeyman. CA2P replaces the Meritorious Advancement Program (MAP) for E-4 advancement to E-5 in the four DMAP Phase I ratings and will only be available to afloat commands. CA2P provides Sailors additional opportunity to remain in the same geographic location.

Continuous Sea Duty Credit (CSDC)

CSDC is a non-monetary incentive that will accrue as a Sailor remains on sea duty. All sailors on sea duty now earn CSDC and start accruing credits when reporting to sea duty. Initially, one (1) month on sea duty equates to one (1) CSDC. Sailors with the most CSDC will have priority over Sailors with less CSDC when applying for a shore duty assignment giving them an edge in shore duty assignment. CSDC is reset to zero once they have reported to their shore duty command. CSDC pauses if a Sailor goes on Limited Duty (LIMDU) or due to pregnancy.

• Question of the Day: What are Continuous Sea Duty Credits (CSDC)?

Senior Enlisted Advancement-to-Position Pilot Program (SEA2P)

SEA2P offers advancement incentive to active component E-7 and E-8 willing to take critical at-sea billets. The goal is to keep deploying units mission-ready by filling billets in Naval Air Forces and Surface Forces. Senior Fleet and type commander staff will convene a selection board to select those who are best and fully qualified Chiefs and Senior Chiefs for priority sea billets primarily within the Nimitz Strike Group, the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, and USS George Washington.

• NAVADMIN 178/22 - Senior Enlisted Advancement-to-position Pilot Program
• See Your Advancement Now - with SEA2P August 2022

Tonyo Site Map Privacy Statement

Facebook | Twitter | Bluesky

Advancement Career Guide & NPC News for Enlisted Sailors, Veterans, Spouses & Family

Contact Me NavyAdvancement.com Copyright © 1998 - 2024

• Navy Advancement Results, Exam, Bibs Forum
• Remember me Not recommended on shared computers

Forgot your password?

A2P Program a Win for Sailors & Recruit Training Command

By Tony July 26, 2021 in Navy Advancement Results, Exam, Bibs Forum

• Reply to this topic
• Start new topic

Recommended Posts

From Alan Nunn, Recruit Training Command Public Affairs

Long before either of them arrived at Recruit Training Command (RTC), Capt . Jeffry Sandin helped make it possible for Hull Maintenance Technician 1st Class Ali Tolinos to earn advancement and extend his Navy career. Tolinos, a Recruit Division Commander (RDC), is now helping Navy recruits begin their careers at RTC, where Sandin recently became the commanding officer. Tolinos’ gateway to RTC, the Navy’s only boot camp, was through the Active Duty Enlisted Advancement-to-Position (A2P) program. GREAT LAKES (NNS) -- Long before either of them arrived at Recruit Training Command (RTC), Capt . Jeffry Sandin helped make it possible for Hull Maintenance Technician 1st Class Ali Tolinos to earn advancement and extend his Navy career.

Tolinos, a Recruit Division Commander (RDC), is now helping Navy recruits begin their careers at RTC, where Sandin recently became the commanding officer. Tolinos’ gateway to RTC, the Navy’s only boot camp, was through the Active Duty Enlisted Advancement-to-Position (A2P) program.

The A2P program offers active duty second class petty officers the opportunity to advance to first class petty officer by filling priority billets and successfully completing any required training or schools. The program is intended to improve fleet readiness and manning through better distribution of personnel.

Candidates are selected for A2P billets on a competitive basis. They have to take the most recent E-6 Navy rating exam and have a record of sustained superior performance.

On March 12, 2020, Tolinos graduated from RDC “C” School and advanced to first class petty officer, becoming RTC’s first A2P program graduate.

 “Many people try to apply for it, but they don’t meet all the criteria to make it,” Sandin said. “To get somebody to apply for it and be accepted is a pretty big deal.” 

Tolinos has served in the Navy for 17 years and said he was facing high-year tenure for the third time in his career when he received his orders to RTC and acceptance into the A2P program.

It was the first time Tolinos considered becoming an RDC.

“It wasn’t even on the radar,” he said. “I was still hoping I could make first class by my tests. I’d come up shy by a few points. I was trying. I just couldn’t make the quota.”

Tolinos said he would have run out of time without the A2P program opportunity.

Permanently established on Oct. 7, 2019, the A2P program was advanced by Sandin, who was then Navy Personnel Command ( NPC ) Director of Enlisted Distribution. He credits his NPC staff for developing a program that provides a pathway to become an RDC or fill other demanding first class petty officer billets and earn advancement.

“There was an A2P program graduate in each of my first four weekly “C” School graduations,” said Sandin, who took command at RTC in May. “It showed there were people taking interest in the program and people benefiting from the program. I was just coming out of [ NPC ], where I was trying to sell that and I saw here on the recipient side that it’s working.”

Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Quincy O’Bryant, who was pinned by Sandin during a “C” School graduation ceremony July 8, is the most recent of nearly two dozen A2P Sailors to earn their red rope and become an RDC.

“The A2P program helped get me to the point I felt I was at already,” O’Bryant said. “With the responsibilities I took, even prior to being here at Great Lakes, A2P put me in the position as far as rank goes. I’ve always held myself to a standard higher than was expected and the program puts you where you deserve to be.”

O’Bryant has embraced one of the Navy’s most arduous and difficult assignments and is ready for the challenge.

“The A2P program itself is absolutely a blessing, especially for this billet,” O’Bryant said. “There are other billets that have this program as well, but I chose this one mainly because I knew it would be a challenge. I didn’t want to just be given something – I came here to actually work for it.”

The A2P program has become an important tool in helping RTC attract distinguished Sailors to train the future of the Navy.

“Getting Sailors and their families up to RTC Great Lakes is not an easy chore from a detailing perspective,” Sandin said. “Just communicating that effectively out to the fleet, saying ‘Hey, we need good quality staff members, is not enough.’ So when those opportunities become available, and there’s a billet here at Great Lakes that somebody can jump on, and get promoted once they’ve completed RDC “C” School, or instructor school, that’s a big win for us.”

It’s also been a big win for the Sailors like Tolinos, who did five division pushes on the front end of his tour at RDC.

“When it’s all said and done, I know I’ll be proud,” Tolinos said. “For 10-15 years, you accept everything the Navy gives you, and then it’s your chance to give back and train somebody to replace you somewhere down the road. I can see how beneficial that is and how it’s fulfilling as a career. I’ll look back and take pride in being an RDC.”

Boot camp is approximately eight weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Training includes physical fitness, seamanship, firearms, firefighting and shipboard damage control along with lessons in Navy heritage and core values, teamwork and discipline. More than 40,000 recruits are trained annually at RTC and begin their Navy careers.

Link to comment

Share on other sites, join the conversation.

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

×   Pasted as rich text.    Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.    Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.    Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

• Submit Reply

👉 Latest News

New voluntary education presentation.

By Tony , 1 hour ago in Navy Training and College Forum | Education

FY 25 CPO (E7) Selection Board

By Tony , April 11 in Chief Selection Board Forum | Results, Preparation, Records

• 11,719 views
• 2 hours ago

For Enlisted - NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE UNIVERSITY

By Tony , May 8 in Navy Training and College Forum | Education

CFL/ACFL’s PRIMS-2 Updates - May 01, 2024

By Tony , May 7 in Navy Evals, Awards, PRT, Uniform & Grooming

Lawmakers want DOD to provide data on troops’ tuition assistance complaints

By Tony , May 2 in Navy Training and College Forum | Education

🧧 Activity Stream

Navy sailor on trial in japan recalls little about injuring people at popular beach, pentagon lax in following transfer policy for sexual assault victims, ig says.

• Existing user? Sign In
• Online Users
• All Activity
• My Activity Streams
• Unread Content
• Content I Started
• Leaderboard
• NavyAdvancement.com
• Exam Results
• Chief's Board Prep
• Enlisted to Officer
• Create New...

• Cover Letters
• Jobs I've Applied To
• Saved Searches
• Subscriptions

Marine Corps

Coast guard.

• Space Force
• Military Podcasts
• Benefits Home
• Military Pay and Money
• Veteran Health Care
• VA eBenefits
• Veteran Job Search
• Military Skills Translator
• Upload Your Resume
• Veteran Employment Project
• Vet Friendly Employers
• Career Advice
• Military Life Home
• Military Trivia Game
• Veterans Day
• Spouse & Family
• Military History
• Discounts Home
• Featured Discounts
• Veterans Day Restaurant Discounts
• Electronics
• Join the Military Home
• Contact a Recruiter
• Military Fitness
• Marine Corps Combat Instructor Role Once Again a Special Duty Assignment

Combat instructors -- Marines who teach entry-level devil dogs basic warfighting skills -- are once again a special duty assignment.

As of May, the combat instructor, which is open to infantry Marines, is again one of these assignments after it was dropped from the criteria several years ago. The change was announced by the service's Manpower and Reserve Affairs division earlier this month.

Special duty assignments, or SDAs, are billets outside of a Marine's primary job and include being a recruiter , drill instructor and security guard. Sometimes those assignments are voluntary, but other times Marines are ordered into them.

Read Next: Army Identifies Explosive Ordnance Officer Who Died After a Fall During Training at Fort Johnson

"I went through combat instructor school back in 2015," Gunnery Sgt. Tyler Stokes, an enlisted assignments monitor for combat instructors, said in a video released by the service. "It's an extremely rewarding duty because you actually get to affect and to teach the warfighting skills that all Marines learn through the entry-level training pipeline, and it's really critical for the operational readiness of the force."

Stokes said that the commandant of the Marine Corps , Gen. Eric Smith, issued guidance earlier this year that said the combat instructor role would once again be a special duty assignment.

Combat instructors teach Marines weapons handling, employment of automatic weapons, the nuances of munition types, land navigation, communications, tactics and patrolling, among other tasks critical for young troops entering the Corps.

Typically, tours for combat instructors, and other special duty assignments, are three years. Marines coming back for a second tour may have their assignment shortened to two years, according to a previous Marine Corps message.

Marines assigned to the combat instructor role are primarily sent to the Corps' two infantry schools, located on each coast. Specifically, they are assigned to Camp Pendleton , California, or Camp Lejeune , North Carolina.

Prior to being assigned to the installations, prospective combat instructors go through the Marine Combat Instructor School, or MCIS, a nine-week course that includes written exams, combat conditioning, employment of different weapons systems and other tasks that Marines will be expected to hand down to future generations of infantrymen.

The job is open to volunteers, a spokesperson from Manpower and Reserve Affairs wrote in an email to Military.com on Tuesday.

"However, it may be staffed with involuntary assignments to fill vacancies and achieve maximum billet fill," Capt. Sarah Eason, the spokesperson, added. "Unlike the other SDAs, there are only a limited number of combat instructor billets open to any primary military occupational specialty (MOS), and these routinely fill with volunteers."

The special duty assignment also comes with some perks, Eason said, including special pay , the Marine Corps Combat Instructor Ribbon, promotion board precepts, and a "choice of specific geographic area for the next duty station following tour completion," she said.

Related: Marine Corps Offering Thousands of Dollars in Bonuses in Push for More Intelligence Specialists

Drew F. Lawrence

You May Also Like

The two ships will join the thousands of Israeli Defense Forces soldiers -- plus Israeli navy ships and Israeli air force...

The pilot's death marks the latest incident with the T-6 and comes on the heels of a grounding of the aircraft two years ago...

Joshua Cobb, 23, was arrested Friday and charged with transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce after...

Jack Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, is facing three charges in the military justice system: one alleging he...

Military News

• Investigations and Features
• Military Opinion

Select Service

• National Guard

Most Popular Military News

The military relies on noncitizens to fill its ranks. No one is sure how many are later banished from the country they fought...

The Alan Shepard was launched in 2006 and has space for a crew of more than 120, all of whom are typically civilian mariners...

The recommendation from the House Armed Services Committee in its draft version of the National Defense Authorization Act, or...

The Air Force special operations wing in Florida where Senior Airman Roger Fortson served before he was shot and killed by...

The Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General found that the VA paid $1 million more in bonuses to senior...

Latest Benefits Info

• VA Fertility Benefits for Military Veterans
• Virginia Veterans Rally the Troops, State Leaders in Support of Education Benefits
• Burial at Sea: A Time-Honored Tradition
• 4 Tips for Flying Space-A
• The Mental Burden of Using Military Benefits

More Military Headlines

The April issue of the Defense Department's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, published last week, was focused entirely on...

• Military Hearing Officer Deciding Whether to Recommend Court-Martial for Pentagon Leaker
• Willys Jeep: How the US Army Created the Greatest Military Vehicle of All Time
• Army Identifies Explosive Ordnance Officer Who Died After a Fall During Training at Fort Johnson
• Ejection Seat Misfire Kills Air Force Instructor Pilot at Texas Base
• Biden Blocks Chinese-Backed Crypto Mining Firm from Land Ownership near Wyoming Missile Base
• 'It's OK Not to Be OK': Special Operations Wing Orders Stand-Down After Roger Fortson's Police Killing
• Navy Veteran and 'King of B-Movies' Roger Corman Dies at 98
• Tustin Follow-Up Study Finds No Asbestos or Lead Contamination Caused by Hangar Fire
• Families Suing over 2021 Jet Fuel Leak into Navy Drinking Water in Hawaii Seek $225K to $1.25M

Military Benefits Updates

• Fertility Benefits for Active-Duty Service Members
• 'Erase Them': Former Marine Charged for Allegedly Planning Attack on 'White People'
• Marines Suffer Most Cases of 2 Life-Threatening Conditions Related to Exercise and Heat, Report Finds
• Man Accused of Aiming Laser at Coast Guard Helicopter Trying to Land at Massachusetts Hospital
• Controlled Demolition of Key Bridge Piece atop Dali Delayed by Lightning, to Take Place Monday
• Upcoming Detonation Should Free the Ship that Hit the Key Bridge. What’s Next?

Entertainment

• A Ronald Reagan Movie Inspired the Secret Service Agent Who Would Save the President's Life 42 Years Later
• The Best Games to Buy Right Now, No Matter Your Current Pay Level

Advertisement

Supported by

Army Officer Resigns in Protest of ‘Unqualified’ U.S. Support to Israel

While assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency, Maj. Harrison Mann said he was enabling policies that violated his conscience.

• Share full article

By John Ismay

Reporting from Washington

An Army officer assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency has resigned in protest over the United States’ support for Israel, which he said had “enabled and empowered” the killing of Palestinian civilians.

The officer, Maj. Harrison Mann, announced his resignation and explained his reasons for leaving the service in a post on the social media site LinkedIn on Monday. According to his biography on the site, he has specialized in the Middle East and Africa for about half of his 13-year career and previously served at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis.

“The policy that has never been far from my mind for the past six months is the nearly unqualified support for the government of Israel, which has enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians,” Major Mann wrote in the post, which noted that he had emailed his comments to co-workers on April 16. “This unconditional support also encourages reckless escalation that risks wider war.”

Reached by phone on Monday, Major Mann confirmed that he was the author of the post but declined to comment further, referring questions to the D.I.A.’s office of corporate communications.

It is unclear whether other military officers have resigned in protest of U.S. foreign policy since the deadly Hamas-led attacks in Israel in October ignited the war, but the resignation of an active-duty officer in protest of U.S. foreign policy is most likely uncommon — especially one in which the officer makes public the reasons for doing so.

A spokeswoman for the Army was not immediately able to confirm whether other officers had resigned for similar reasons since the war began.

As the death toll in Gaza has risen, the Biden administration has faced waves of internal dissent for supporting Israel in the war. In October, Josh Paul, a State Department official in the bureau that oversees arms transfers, resigned in protest of the administration’s decision to continue sending weapons to Israel.

Major Mann said that he had planned to leave the Army “at some point” but that the Gaza war led him to submit his resignation in November and leave his assignment at the D.I.A. early.

Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokeswoman, said his request was approved on Jan. 8 and would become effective on June 3.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Major Mann became an infantry officer after receiving his commission in 2011, then studied at the Army’s John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center in North Carolina and qualified as a civil affairs officer in 2016. About three years later, his biography states, he became a foreign area officer specializing in the Middle East.

Regional specialists are often posted at American embassies and may serve as defense attachés, who act as high-level liaisons between the Pentagon and the host nation’s military. Attachés also are trained to evaluate requests for weapons and training from foreign powers and make recommendations to State Department officials as to whether providing such aid is necessary and in line with federal laws on protecting human rights.

In his note, Major Mann said he had continued to carry out his duties at the Defense Intelligence Agency without voicing his concerns, hoping that the war would soon be over.

“I told myself my individual contribution was minimal, and that if I didn’t do my job, someone else would, so why cause a stir for nothing?” he wrote.

“My work here — however administrative or marginal it appeared — has unquestionably contributed to that support,” his post said. “The past months have presented us with the most horrific and heartbreaking images imaginable — sometimes playing on the news in our own spaces — and I have been unable to ignore the connection between those images and my duties here. This caused me incredible shame and guilt.”

“At some point — whatever the justification — you’re either advancing a policy that enables the mass starvation of children, or you’re not,” he added.

“I know that I did, in my small way, wittingly advance that policy,” the major wrote. “And I want to clarify that as the descendant of European Jews, I was raised in a particularly unforgiving moral environment when it came to the topic of bearing responsibility for ethnic cleansing.”

John Ismay is a reporter covering the Pentagon for The Times. He served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the U.S. Navy. More about John Ismay

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

President Biden’s national security adviser said that while the United States was committed to Israel’s defense, it had still failed to provide the White House  with a plan for moving nearly a million Gazans safely out of Rafah before any invasion of the city.

Israelis gathered  across the country for the first national day of mourning since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks, with protesters disrupting several ceremonies  as they demanded that government ministers do more to secure the release of hostages.

The United Nations said that a staff member was killed  when one of its convoys came under fire in Rafah. It was the first time an international U.N. staff member has been killed in Gaza since the conflict began in October.

A Key Weapon: When President Biden threatened to pause some weapons shipments to Israel if it invaded Rafah, the devastating effects of the 2,000-pound Mark 84 bomb  were of particular concern to him.

A Presidential Move: Ronald Reagan also used the power of American arms to influence  Israeli war policy. The comparison underscores how much the politics of Israel have changed in the United States since the 1980s.

Netanyahu’s Concerns: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, under pressure from all sides, is trying to reassure his many domestic, military and diplomatic critics. Here’s a look at what he is confronting .

Al Jazeera Shutdown: The influential Arab news network says it will continue reporting from Gaza and the West Bank, but its departure from Israel is a new low in its long-strained history with the country .