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 course.
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 14277. 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 presented.
The NEC structure supplements the enlisted rating
structure. It identifies special knowledge and skills
requiring specific recognition not provided by rates and
rating—skills that are not rating-wide requirements.
Those special skills and knowledge 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 knowledge
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
N a v y E n l i s t e d M a n p o w e r a n d Pe rs o n n e l
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.
4-1
Q1.
Which of the following does the NEC NOT
identify?
1.
Skills that are not rating-wide
2.
Special knowledge and skills not provided
by rate and rating
3.
Special skills and knowledge required for
a specific billet
4.
Special skills obtained through OJT
REVIEW QUESTION
