Navy Reserve Orders Writing Process Streamlined

NORFOLK —The process for Navy Reserve Sailors to create, modify or cancel orders through the Navy Reserve Order Writing System (NROWS) system has been simplified in the latest application software update.

NROWS is the Navy Reserve’s official orders management center for Annual Training (AT), Active Duty for Training (ADT) and Individual Duty Training Travel (IDTT) orders.

NROWS “Build 43.1” went live April 13, introducing a new program accessibility option. By selecting the “Mobile Optimized” button at the bottom of the NROWS login screen, users are presented a single-page navigation of the entire orders writing system.

The update is available through computer workstations and on Apple mobile devices through the Ready-2-Serve (R2S) application, and offers the ability to complete the orders writing process in as little as five minutes.

According to Cmdr. Colin Kennedy, director for Force Travel, Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command (CNRFC), the update marks the culmination of a three-year effort to bring the “look and feel” of NROWS into the modern era of web and mobile applications.

“This is more than a quick fix,” Kennedy said. “We’ve been using NROWS for nearly 20 years now and have implemented dozens of updates — but a modernized system is something my team has been looking forward to for a long time. Through the new ‘mobile optimized’ system we’ve planned out how the orders process will look and feel in the future — this update is a proof of concept of that and a taste of what’s to come.”

The future for NROWS lies in the 2022 transition to the Navy Pay and Personnel system (NP2), a transition Kennedy said will be based on the format presented in the latest update.

“We have about a year until NP2 starts to replace NROWS,” he said. “We didn’t want to wait until then to roll out what we feel is a significant improvement to the user experience. Reserve Sailors with any experience in NROWS will definitely appreciate the change.”

CNRFC manages the readiness, oversight, logistics, mobilization and training of the nearly 60,000 Navy Reserve Sailors providing strategic depth and deliver operational capabilities to the Navy and Marine Corps team, and Joint forces, in the full range of military operations from peace to war.