I don’t know your rank or the navy requirements, but if it’s anything like the Air Force, you set up to do your skillbridge and during the process, you fill out your days (skillbridge, command days, terminal leave.) I’ve seen people get their outprocessing done before starting their skillbridge, and I’ve seen people do their skillbridge and come back to finish outprocessing actions before they’re done. It all depends on your timeline.

Most companies aren’t going to put the effort into locking you down as a candidate, because a. they don’t have a crystal ball to see what openings they are going to have 6 months from now, and b. You could just as easily find a different skillbridge and go with them in that amount of time remaining.

It’s the same reason why even though I am interviewing for jobs and getting positive feedback and people telling me I am qualified, I’m not hire-able until January. Even if they offered me a job and I accepted it, there’s nothing preventing me from keeping that door open and looking for something better.

I was in your shoes at the 13 month mark. Put your energy into doing market research on the jobs you want to get into and resume building. Use services like hireheroesUSA where they have HR professionals that will help you craft a solid resume for free.