4-1 CHAPTER 4 CAREER INFORMATION The U.S. Navy is a highly complex organization. It is   complex   not   only   because   of   its   ships   and sophisticated equipment but also because of its Sailors and their many occupational fields. As a Sailor and a future petty officer, your leadership will help to keep our Navy the greatest Navy in the world. Nowhere in society today can you advance as fast and as far as you can in the Navy. The opportunities for you to have a successful naval career are limited only by your abilities and efforts. This chapter is designed to get you started on the path to a rewarding naval career. The first section of this chapter deals with the Navy enlisted classification structure. This system is covered because it provides the framework for your career development. The   next   sections   contain   information   on   duty assignments to special programs and projects and the enlisted warfare specialist program. The last section provides information on enlisted service records. You might be asking yourself, why do I need to know this information? The answer is simple—many Sailors know little about the administrative details that affect their careers. The information contained in this chapter is vital to a successful naval career. It deals with the factors used, in part, to determine where you will be assigned, when you will advance, and what special programs you are qualified to enter. If you have any questions, contact your leading petty    officer,    division    or    department    career counselor, command career counselor, or educational  services  officer  (ESO).   Because   of frequent changes to personnel policies by both the Navy and the Department of Defense, some of the information provided here may have changed by the time you receive this manual. THE NAVY ENLISTED CLASSIFICATION STRUCTURE Learning Objective: Recall the function and use of the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) system. The Navy Enlisted Occupational Classification System (NEOCS) is presented in Basic Military Requirements,   NAVEDTRA   12018.   NEOCS consists of three major subsystems: 1. Enlisted rating structure 2. Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) structure 3. Special qualifications. In this chapter the NEC structure is discussed. The NEC structure supplements the enlisted rating structure. It identifies special knowledges and skills requiring specific recognition not provided by rates and rating—skills that are not rating-wide requirements. Those special skills and knowledges required in specific billets or manpower authorizations are categorized by special NEC codes. These codes are identified by the Chief of Naval Personnel (CHNAVPERS). When the rating structure alone provides insufficient information for manpower management purposes, the NEC coding system more precisely identifies personnel and manpower requirements. Management continually compares the number of billets requiring special NEC codes with the number of personnel who have the skills and knowledges designated by those codes. It then uses that comparison to plan and control the input of people into the formal courses that prepare them for vacant NEC billets. The official reference for NECs is the Manual of Navy Enlisted Manpower and Personnel Classifications and Occupational Standards, NAVPERS 18068, Section II. For more information about NECs, you may contact your division, department, or command career counselor. Your career counselor or your Personnel Support Detachment can provide you with the latest information.