Navy Reserve Support Staff Increases Reserve Readiness with New NECs

NORFOLK – In alignment with the Navy Reserve’s Ready to Win (R2W) strategy, five new Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) codes have been recently implemented to better classify Reserve Management jobs.

The change will also improve the training pipeline for Full Time Support (FTS) Sailors assigned to Navy Operational Support Centers (NOSC). The new NECs will signify for qualified Sailors an increased knowledge of Navy Reserve policy, requirements and an in-depth understanding Reserve specific programs.

Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command (CNRFC), along with Navy Reserve Professional Development Center (NRPDC), spearheaded the new NECs to ensure NOSC Sailors have comprehensive training to be ready from day one to assist Reserve Sailors, and maintain mobilization readiness. Previously, Sailors could only apply for training—and compete for a seat—after reporting on the job at the NOSC.

“This is a big win not only for our FTS Sailors, but for our Reserve Sailors and big Navy as well,” said Command Master Chief Tracy Hunt, CNRFC senior enlisted leader. “This is what the Navy needs. Our Reservists need to be prepared — trained, equipped, ready — to jump in the fight tonight.”

Reserve Management jobs, normally filled by Sailors in the FTS community, are essential to the training and administration of the more than 60,000 Sailors in the Selected Reserve (SELRES). These positions are the starting point for maintaining mobilization readiness and increasing lethality throughout the Reserve Force.

The NECs affect 1,300 Reserve Management billets located across the Navy Reserve which will require at least one of the five:

858A - Assistant Operational Support Officer
841A - Reserve Pay and Personnel Management Clerk
862A - Navy Reserve Order Writing System (NROWS) Orders Specialist
863A - Navy Reserve Activity (NRA) Command Senior Enlisted Leader
866A - Reserve Medical Administrative Technician

According to Hunt, the new coding will allow FTS Sailors to complete the associated secondary schools or training requirements prior to reporting to their assigned Navy Reserve Activity.

“With these NECs, our Sailors will be able to get the formal training needed to be able to go to a NOSC and be an asset instantly,” Hunt said. “They will know the language and the process instantly. The training streamlining will introduce NOSC staff to the duties and responsibilities they will be performing and prepare them for a successful tour.”

Cmdr. Ryan Mudd, commanding officer of NRPDC, says the new NECs ensure that all eligible Sailors, regardless of enlisted community or duty status, will have a standardized training track in route to these jobs.

“Our talented instructors prepare Sailors for their Reserve Management duties by developing their foundational knowledge, skills and abilities,” said Mudd who manages the five requisite NEC training courses located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Norfolk, Virginia.

Moving forward, when a Sailor receives an assignment to one of these jobs, his or her detailer at Commander, Navy Personnel Command (PERS-4), adds an intermediate stop in the permanent change of station (PCS) orders to ensure the Sailor attends the requisite training course before reporting to the new position.

The NEC program is one aspect of Navy Reserve leadership's goal to best train the FTS support team to maintain a mobilization-ready Reserve force. Future updates to the Navy Enlisted Occupational Standards Manual (NAVPERS 18068F, Volume I) will include the new NECs.

“After completing one of our classes, students not only receive a graduation certificate for their achievement in the classroom, they now also proudly earn an NEC,” Mudd said.