UNCLASSIFIED//
R 301929Z NOV 07
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
UNCLAS //N01223//
NAVADMIN 319/07
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/NOV// 
SUBJ/RATING MERGER UPDATE AND OVERVIEW// 
RMKS/1. THIS NAVADMIN PROVIDES AN UPDATE REGARDING THE PROPOSED MERGERS 
WITHIN THE IC/ET AND ENGINEERING COMMUNITIES, SUMMARIZES RECENT RATING 
MERGERS, PROVIDES THE STATUS OF ONGOING MERGER PLANS AND COMMUNICATES 
THE STRATEGY ASSOCIATED WITH THE NAVY?S DECISIONS TO MERGE RATINGS.
2.  TWO RATING MERGERS IN THE APPROVAL-DECISION PHASE HAVE BEEN PLACED 
ON HOLD OR DISAPPROVED.
    A.  THE PROPOSAL TO MERGE THE CONVENTIONAL ENGINEERING RATINGS, 
GOING FROM EIGHT TO THREE RATINGS, IS ON HOLD UNTIL FISCAL YEAR 2010, 
AT WHICH TIME THE PROPOSAL WILL BE RE-EVALUATED.  ALTHOUGH FUTURE 
ENGINEERING SYSTEMS WILL LIKELY REQUIRE A SINGLE ENGINEER TO HAVE 
BROADER KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES, OUR TRAINING AND DETAILING 
INFRASTRUCTURE CURRENTLY DO NOT SUPPORT THIS TRANSITION. 
    B.  THE PROPOSAL TO MERGE ET/IC AND DISESTABLISH THE IC RATING IS 
DISAPPROVED.  ALTHOUGH THE WORK AND SKILLS PERFORMED BY THE IC AND ET 
RATING HAVE A FOUNDATION IN BASIC ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM, THE 
DETAILED ANALYSIS REVEALED HIGHLY SPECIFIC WORK, SKILLS AND EQUIPMENT 
WHICH REQUIRE EXTENSIVE AMOUNTS OF UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL TRAINING.  THE 
VOLUME AND COMPLEXITY OF THIS UNIQUE TRAINING IS ACHIEVED IN THE MOST 
EFFECTIVE AND COST EFFICIENT MANNER THROUGH THE CONTINUATION OF IC AND 
ET AS SEPARATE RATINGS.  WITH THAT IN MIND, WE DECIDED TO MOVE THE IC 
RATING FROM CENTER FOR NAVAL ENGINEERING (CNE) TO CENTER FOR SURFACE 
COMBAT SYSTEMS (CSCS).  ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE EVALUATING A SHIFT OF THE 
IC DIVISION TO THE COMBAT SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT ONBOARD SHIPS.
3.  ALL RATING MERGERS UNDERGO A THREE PHASE PROCESS; PROPOSAL-STUDY, 
APPROVAL-DECISION AND EXECUTION. 
    A.  CURRENTLY IN THE EXECUTION PHASE ARE TWO RATING MERGERS; GM/TM 
AND YN/CTA.  THE MERGER OF GM/TM WAS APPROVED IN NOVEMBER 2006 
(NAVADMIN 049/07) AND BECAME EFFECTIVE ON 1 OCT 07.  MERGING THE GM AND 
TM RATINGS IMPROVED EFFICIENCY IN TRAINING, DIVERSITY IN THIS
CAREER FIELD, AND SUPPORTED INCREASED FLEXIBILITY IN DETAILING.     
    B.  THE MERGER OF CTA/YN WAS APPROVED IN MAY 07 (NAVADMIN 118/07), 
AND BECAME EFFECTIVE ON 1 OCT 07.  BY MERGING THE YN AND CTA RATINGS, 
WE BETTER ALIGNED ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL FUNCTIONS PREVIOUSLY 
PERFORMED BY THESE TWO RATINGS, IMPROVED TRAINING PROGRAM EFFICIENCY, 
ENHANCED CAREER FIELD DIVERSITY AND PROVIDED GREATER DETAILING 
FLEXIBILITY. 
    C.  FOR YN/CTA AND GM/TM PERSONNEL, THESE MERGERS OFFER A BROADER 
CAREER PATH, ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVES FOR PERSONAL/ PROFESSIONAL 
DEVELOPMENT, IMPROVED ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND BETTER QUALITY OF 
SERVICE.
4.  THE RATING MERGER OF OS/QM REACHED THE APPROVAL-DECISION PHASE IN 
2007 BUT WAS DISAPPROVED.  IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS DETERMINED WHILE OS AND QM 
RATINGS SHARE SOME COMMON SKILL SETS, ESPECIALLY RELATIVE TO TASKS THEY 
PERFORM AS JUNIOR SAILORS ON SHIPS, WE FOUND AS SAILORS BECOME MORE 
SENIOR, EACH RATING FOCUSES ON DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL AND WARFARE 
PRIORITIES.  IN FACT, CAREFUL ANALYSIS AND CONSIDERATION OF OPERATIONAL 
AND WARFIGHTING NEEDS CONFIRMED A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF SKILLS, ABOUT 
32 PERCENT, WERE STILL UNIQUE TO EACH RATING. 
ADDITIONALLY, A BUSINESS-CASE ANALYSIS REVEALED THE COST OF TRAINING 
WAS ABOUT THE SAME, WITH OR WITHOUT A MERGER, AFTER INVESTMENTS HAD 
BEEN MADE IN IMPROVED CURRICULUM AND TRAINING PROCESSES.  DURING THE 
COURSE OF THE STUDY, DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR SENIOR ENLISTED LEADERS 
REVEALED A STRONG BELIEF THAT THE QUARTERMASTER, AS ONE OF THE OLDEST 
RATINGS IN THE NAVY, IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE CULTURE OF OUR NAUTICAL 
HERITAGE.  THESE FACTORS, COMBINED WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL ROLE OF 
POSITIONAL ACCURACY IN SAFE NAVIGATION, LED TO THE DECISION TO MAINTAIN 
THE UNIQUENESS OF THESE TWO RATINGS.
5.  THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL (EOD) GENERAL 
RATING IN THE SELECTED RESERVE WAS APPROVED AND ANNOUNCED IN NAVADMIN 
017/06 TO IMPROVE NAVY EOD TOTAL FORCE READINESS AND SUPPORT OPTIMAL 
MANNING.  BY ALLOWING SAILORS TO FOCUS ON RATING SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY 
AND TRAINING SYSTEMS, THE NAVY REDUCED TRAINING INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS, 
WHILE BROADENING THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, 
AND QUALITY OF SERVICE FOR OUR SAILORS.
6.  IN SUMMARY, WE REVIEW EACH RATING MERGER PROPOSAL IN A WAY WHICH 
ATTEMPTS TO BALANCE THE NEEDS OF SAILORS, OUR CHANGING NAVY AND THE 
EVOLVING OPERATING ENVIRONMENT ? MISSIONS AND TECHNOLOGY.  FIRST, WE 
SEEK TO BENEFIT SAILORS AND OUR NAVY BY DIVERSIFYING SKILLS, IMPROVING 
ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ALLOWING SAILORS TO FILL A WIDER RANGE OF 
BILLETS.  SECOND, WE ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE THE FLEET WITH THE RIGHT SKILL 
MIX AND REDUCE REDUNDANCIES.  LAST, MERGERS ALLOW THE NAVY TO BETTER 
REFLECT SAILORS? SKILL SETS AND DUTIES PERFORMED, AND ALIGN RATINGS TO 
CHANGING TECHNOLOGIES AND EMERGING SKILL SETS.  IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT 
WE GET IT RIGHT FOR OUR SAILORS AND OUR NAVY.
7.  RELEASED BY VADM J. C. HARVEY, JR., N1.//

BT

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