By Rear Adm. John Nowell

Rating Modernization is the future of the growing workforce in the Navy. In August we released NAVADMIN 196/18 which provided an update on those four lines of effort and this is the fourth of a total of five blog posts that will talk about the updates to Rating Modernization. We also have a series of six Rating Modernization podcasts that mirror the blogs we will be sharing with you.

Last year we gave commands the ability to reinstate an E3 Sailor to E4 who had been awarded NJP, after a six month waiting period. We also eliminated E4 advancement exams for 20 ratings where Sailors auto-advance, which helps to reduce administrative burden.

Then, late in 2017, Navy senior enlisted leaders completed the first phase of the Advancement Exam Readiness Review (AERR) testing bank improvement plan by drafting advancement exam questions that match current and relevant rating-specific technical requirements with the hands-on, real-world knowledge and experience needed in the fleet.

The establishment of the Professional Military Knowledge Eligibility Exam (PMK-EE) focuses the Navy Wide Advancement Exam (NWAE) on occupational knowledge and will serve as an eligibility requirement for advancement to pay grades E4/5/6/7.  PMK-EE will be delivered electronically, and will be available via the MyNavyPortal (MNP) website beginning in October 2018.

The online Enlisted Advancement Worksheet (EAW), will automate the manual advancement processes and enable Sailors to review their worksheets before the exam and take charge of their advancement records. An EAW pilot, available through the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS), will be implemented with the Active Duty and Reserve spring 2019 advancement cycles.

The Senior Enlisted Advancement to Vacancy (A2V) pilot was announced in June and will fill senior chief petty officer and master chief petty officer priority billets using a spot advancement incentive, and will lead enlisted advancement modernization for exceptional Sailors in all pay grades with critical NECs in the future.

Don’t forget to check out our podcasts! We have a series of six Rating Modernization podcasts that accompany this blog series.

Editor’s note: Sailor 2025 is the Navy’s program to more effectively recruit, develop, manage, reward and retain the force of tomorrow. It consists of approximately 45 living, breathing initiatives and is built on a framework of three pillars – a modern personnel system, a career learning continuum and career readiness.

http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2019/03/04/rating-modernization-advancement-process/ U.S. Navy