New Submarine Rating
Remember submarine rating consolidation? It seems to be a thing of the past. According to NAVADMIN 406/10, they're coming out with a new submarine rating in April 2011. From the Navy website:
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy released NAVADMIN 406/10, Dec. 17, announcing the creation of the Information Systems Technician Submarines (ITS) service rating and providing active duty Sailors with guidance on how to request an ITS conversion.What do you think? Is this the change we need to win the war?
"The establishment of the ITS rating will provide the Submarine Force with an infrastructure of information assurance and network professionals who will be fully equipped to resolve future issues and implement new technologies on board our submarines," said Lt. Dan Morrison, Submarine, Non-Nuclear, Enlisted Community Manager. "Overall, the ITS rating is an excellent choice for Sailors who seek challenges in new and emerging technologies, and the opportunity to be submariners
The primary source ratings for ITS conversions will be from Sailors assigned to jobs in submarine Local Area Network divisions and those from ratings in the information assurance workforce, but all non-nuclear trained Sailors are eligible to request conversion. Information System Technicians (IT) with Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) codes of 2780, 2781, or 2735 will be eligible for direct conversion to ITS.
Describing the benefits of converting to ITS, Morrison explained, "Currently, submariners working outside of their source rating in support of submarine LAN requirements are at a disadvantage when taking promotion examinations. Sailors who convert to ITS will participate in ITS examinations and compete with other ITS professionals in their paygrade."
Any E-4 to E-6 active duty Sailor who wants to be part of the initial 180–200 selected for conversion must ensure they are eligible for submarine service prior to submitting their request (NAVPERS 1306/7 form) to Naval Personnel Command (PERS-811) by the Feb.1, 2011 deadline. Sailors possessing a Microsoft (MS) A+ or Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) certification are highly encouraged to apply and should note these certifications on their conversion request form.
Dependent upon their source rating and previous training, Sailors selected for conversion may require additional schooling and potentially incur additional obligated service. For example, Sailors who require an IT NEC may attend A-school as part of their conversion and Sailors from non-submarine ratings will need to attend Basic Enlisted Submarine School (BESS) prior to being assigned to a submarine as an ITS. Applicants are encouraged to speak with a Navy Career Counselor about the conversion process.
posted by Bubblehead at 1:52 PM
26 Comments:
I hate when people confuse my (nuke) ETs with coner ETs. Anything to differentiate them from the competent...
-RCA
12/23/2010 2:14 PM
I am surprised that it is a submarines only rate. One of the reasons that nucs were still MMs, EMs, IC, and ET back in the day was because the submarine community was too small to support a strong advancement program. By being part of the "big Navy" rates, the chance for promotion was much greater for the smart and industrious folks that became nucs. The sub force was larger then than now. I would not expect the advancement path for the ITS to be very rapid due to the small population in the rating. Maybe someone currently on active duty in the possible catchment rates will be able to prove me wrong.
12/23/2010 2:18 PM
I'm pretty happy about it. Our LAN tech is swamped all the time, so he's never able to do anything else. Having dedicated individuals on board to tackle the problems associated with it was probably inevitable. It's not a collateral duty these days.
12/23/2010 2:27 PM
This has been in the wings for over 2yrs at least. I saw the draft Navadmin months ago. ITS will not compete w/ IT for advancement either and IT was not one of the donor rates for IT'S coming online. The ITS pipeline is Fubar'd but it is a starting point at least. STS, ET's fwd & FT's will all take a manning hit for the next year or more as ITS spots are filled in. The LAN Admin job will no longer be a repository for some of those deemed not ready to run a "real" division. A great change and one long overdue!
12/23/2010 3:11 PM
Hell yeah, this new rate is going to fit in just fine. All the ETs, MTs and FTs I know are also happy about this. Can you say a brief relief from Collateral duties? I don't mean more rack time either. I'm talking about finding the time to effectively deal with the watch bill and writing up Evals and much more.
We definitely needed another rate like this.
12/23/2010 3:14 PM
The new rating may not clarify things as much as hoped. Obviously, submariners will encounter hes, shes, and some ITS.
I guess it may provide sonar types a small measure of relief.
- Rubber Heron
12/23/2010 4:05 PM
So, does the new rate mean more bodies and more hot-racking, or does it mean some divisions take a manning hit?
12/23/2010 4:24 PM
A combination of both. While the skimmers are playing reindeer games with manning, we come up with a whole other rating so we can to continue to strive as the best part of the Navy. Sound like a bullshit recruiter don't I? But hey, it's true
12/23/2010 4:32 PM
Full circle... We used to have DS's that used to di similar things.
Tom
Dare2believe.com
12/23/2010 5:59 PM
@ anon 5:59 - Exactly my first thought when I read the msg a few days ago. DS left the sub force 88/89 time frame. they either had to convet to FTG or go to the surface fleet. I was either in the first or second class of guys from FT "A" school to go to a follow on C school to get what was a DS NEC
(1638). It is nteresting how this has come full circle. My last boat, me and an MT1 owned the LAN and didn't do much else until we got the FT division trained up and started spreading the workload. Fun times.
FTC(SS) ret.
12/23/2010 6:13 PM
In the next few months we will see the message to split out the QM's again. The force ANAV's have already started briefing the navigation teams. The powers to be finally realized ET's didn't have the aptitude.
12/23/2010 8:14 PM
"What do you think? Is this the change we need to win the war?"
Now that is a silly question, isn't it?
Of course we don't need IT's to win the war just like we don't need gays or women.
But then again, the submarine force doesn't have a war to win other than the war against itself and social correctness.
Now if NK or China would start sinking some of our warships then we would be back in the game!
You asked!
12/23/2010 9:09 PM
Nav ET's will take the bulk of the manning hit -losing 2 guys per boat. I think the FT's lose the other spot but it could end up being all 3 come from et div - I can't remember what the final decision was. So the 3-4 man division of LAN guys will actually be pedigreed & trained for their jobs. 1-2 may end up standing Sonar or Ftow/CEP, etc. Off watch they'll be IT'S div for maintenance, IAVa's,etc which will help keep the locker of broken/unupdated computers to a minimum (hopefully). Overall manning will not change.
12/23/2010 9:34 PM
Computers as we know them today were not aboard in '76. Interesting though - who handled the ITS role before this rating?
12/23/2010 9:40 PM
@623:
Maintaining the LAN's (and there are at LEAST a half dozen now) has fallen on various rates as collateral duty. Nobody on board has had a motivation/career path to become "LAN proficient", and thus ALL the LAN's suffer. I get it most old timers don't see the point, who cares if the LAN is down, but the way that EVERY system on board (especially a VIRGINIA) is LAN connected and interactive with many other systems, the LAN's functioning properly is more and more important every day.
12/24/2010 7:02 AM
This sounds like back to the future to the old Data Systems Technician rating. No?
12/24/2010 7:46 AM
{In the next few months we will see the message to split out the QM's again. The force ANAV's have already started briefing the navigation teams. The powers to be finally realized ET's didn't have the aptitude.}
Will they be QMs or "ETN" to save face for the brass?
12/24/2010 12:52 PM
The word is that they will breakout into the "QM" rating again.
12/24/2010 2:05 PM
Yeah, ETN is already used to differentiate nuke ETs for advancement purposes (MMN, EMN, ETN)
Last chief cycle apparently all but a handful of eligible FT1s got advanced, presumably in anticipation of the manning hit for new ITSCs.
12/24/2010 8:51 PM
I do not know why some of you think this rate will be filled from the STs, ETs, or MTs. There are other people onboard with that NEC and/or computer science degrees and certifications. I and a retired ANAV and work in the civilian world as a LAN Administrator with a 2210 specialty. I also work with a retired Storekeeper with the same specialty. This new rating was needed years ago.
12/27/2010 7:55 AM
I know I am going way back but there was a rating for that once upon a time. (DS). Navy moving forward or trying to correcting itself? What happened to the DS rates?
12/27/2010 10:36 AM
"I do not know why some of you think this rate will be filled from the STs, ETs, or MTs."
Primarily because it is the forward rates that already have guys filling the LAN div positions already and have the NEC's necessary for direct conversion.
They are only looking for 180-200 or so spots for conversion for the initial manning up - the rest will come from IT of the future accession grads.
Can an A-ganger or LS with all his certs apply and get accepted? Yes. Is it likely considering their manning right now - no. The ECM's & the PERS office that handles conversions will make the decisions.
1/02/2011 5:06 PM
I am a surface IT currently at my first duty station at COMSUBLANT. I am interested in switching over to this rating due to the impression the submariners I work with have made on me since I've been there. The only problem is that the job I do now is a radio ET job. I am interested in knowing what you all think the advancement will be like for this rate amongst other things. Any thoughts?
1/03/2011 8:01 PM
I'm the non-nuke ECM and can answer any questions you guys have. Shoot me an email at sean.j.mahoney1@navy.mil or call the number listed in the NAVADMIN (I just relieved Dan). We will convert outside the SECF rates but of course the priority is going to be guys currently performing the job or guys that have done it in the past. There's a new NAVADMIN coming out in the next 2 weeks that will clarify a few things as well.
1/05/2011 9:50 PM
At least the days of working out of rate and often out of paygrade in an E-7 billet while getting ranked below E-6 LPO's who are just following the middle-of-the-road career progression will be a thing of the past. The challenge will still be to achieve a level of effectiveness that will allow ITS' to qualify and stand watches that make some kind of sense for them. In reality, some might be better served by not advertising their prior rating, while others might benefit from it. The atmosphere of the individual commands will be positively affected if the ITS LCPO is succesful and supported in the Goat Locker. This is where the breakdown was with a collateral duty/independent LAN billet: over-tasked, misunderstood and under-represented in the CPO mess. This moves the job into a more familiar and compatibile "division" model that the leadership can better assimilate. At the same time, it helps enable those in leadership who have no IT background at all or negative views toward it to start understanding and supporting the increasing importance and critical role of Information Assurance as an essential element of the larger mission. Establishing the 6YO pipleline and recognizing that no other enlisted rating onboard has ever been required to maintain civilian professional certifications to do their job will hopefully represent to leadership that this definitely represents a higher level of knowledge standard for an enlisted rating. In turn, leadership should recognize that maximizing the time that these specialized skills can be brought to bear on these systems that the entire crew uses will benefit everyone onboard much more than standing an out-of-rate watch might appear to. Even so, how all this gets translated into eval bullets and ranking is going to be another big challenge.
2/24/2011 12:43 PM
This is funny because I was part of the Navy team to put in the first "network" at Submarine Base Pearl. Because of that when I went to sea on a submarine, it was the first submarine to get a network. At first they wanted me to be the IT guy but I was a nuke Electrician so noway. They actually made a Nuke ET the IT guy at first. The fwd ETs had a fit about that so about the time I was getting out they shifted it to the fwd ETs. Fast attacks had no DS on board. The fwd ETs handled the computers. Like the Yuck 7.
10/03/2011 6:42 PM
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