Advancement Declining? Yes It Is For Supply
Ratings - But You Can Lift Your Chances

As I awaited, with thousands of other sailors, for the results of the March 2005 Navy-wide Active Duty Advancement Exam results (Cycle XXX) to be released, a very interesting numerical detail jumped out at me.   It was from the Supply Road Show CY-2005 presentation provided by the BUPERS Enlisted Supply Community Manager.  And as I saw this – I should have realized what was coming.

May 2005 comes along and here it comes, as suspected, Advancement Opportunity Percentages were –

Storekeeper First Class Petty Officer Exam: 2%
Storekeeper Second Class Petty Officer Exam: 8%
Storekeeper Third Class Petty Officer Exam: 14%

Some of the lowest advancement percentages I have ever seen in my 18+ years Navy career, and some of the lowest percentages for any of the 80 classes of ratings participating.  Overall, the Navy percentages were: 13%, 18%, and 38%, respectively.

So what was the numerical detail I saw that proved this decline in SK advancement opportunity was forthcoming?…..

The SK Rating Recruiting numbers for the last 3 Fiscal Years.  For FY03, the Navy recruited 575 new sailors as Storekeepers.  For FY04, the Navy recruited another 527.  Yet, for FY05…and here is the number…the total was 218.

Meaning, of the 8,950 SK billets in the Navy, in order to replenish the Current Inventory, we recruited a smaller number of personnel that in the past.  So the main Rule of Advancement Opportunity has struck the SK community hard:

"The more Sailors who stay, the less holes there are to fill”.

And yes, retention, is the main reason SK’s are experiencing these numbers.  Our Zone “C” personnel (10+ years active duty) have 84% retention rate – 5% better than the Navy as a whole.  And we’re doing just about as well in retention in Zone “A” (1-5 years) and Zone “B” (6-10 years). 

Additionally, as no pre-retirement force shaping tools are currently available to cut the numbers of our SKs at the 16 – 20 year period of their careers, we can see a log-jam.  It creates problems for our junior sailors in the early years of their careers by lowering advancement openings.

So what can we, and the Supply ECM, do to reverse this trend?  Many programs are beginning to take shape to help: Perform To Serve and the High Year Tenure Change for E5 Petty Officers. 

But the fact of the matter is this: Advancement, in this period of Navy Transformation, will get tougher.

So how can you lift your chances of advancement to put on PO1, PO2, or PO3?

Well, first thing – if you are a sailor eligible for the Perform To Serve (PTS) Program, then you may want to look at possibly changing ratings.  Now, I am not a Senior Chief who likes to have a good Storekeeper move to another rating – this is an individual choice of each sailor who chooses to do so.  Yet it does open up the rating for SKs who remain, and provides the sailor changing rates, another opportunity, possibly, in a field with increased advancement opportunities.

Which ratings have those increased opportunities?  All 5 of the Supply ratings (SK, DK, PC, SH, and CS) saw advancement percentages decrease from the March 2005 results.  The ratings experiencing higher advancement percentages: AD (up in PO1, PO2 and PO3), AT and ATO (up in PO1 and PO2), EN1 and FC (up in PO1), HM and MA (up in all 3), IT (up in PO1 and PO2), and OS (up in all 3).

And, secondly, the most important for all Storekeepers to know: take a good, hard look at your last Advancement Profile Sheet.  Knowing how to read this important, detail-filled document will provide you the tools you need to create your next study plan and will pay huge dividends as you advance in your career.

Here is a recommendation on how reviewing your current Profile Sheet can improve your standard score on your next advancement exam -

-          The Exam Standard Score:  Here is where you can pick up your biggest jump in points for your Final Multiple Score (FMS).  It is all up to you on how you plan your study, and study your plan.  If you had an Exam Standard Score of 48, a good study plan will easily net you another 20 points on the next advancement exam.  I guarantee it.

-          The Study Plan: Review the Examination Score Breakdown By Section.  Highlight every subject your Percentage was 50% or lower (meaning you scored 50% or less than all candidates taking the same exam).  Although the Topics change from exam to exam, you should concentrate on these subjects to study more than any others – especially if it matches your bibliography references.  Reason: Study the subjects you have trouble with, Review the ones you know.  Developing confidence in troublesome subject areas is the best way to improve an exam score.

-          PNA Points:  A trend has developed that the average candidate has anywhere between 10-16 Passed Not Advanced points on any particular rating exam.  That is more than a few test cycles.  So improve your chances to use these points – remember: the better Standard Score – the more PNA points; the better Overall Percentile – the more PNA points. 

-          Plan Your Study – Let’s say you have 3 months until the exam – what should you be studying at this point?  The hardest subjects you have trouble with!  The more time you spend studying the tough subjects, the easier time you will have in the month leading up to the exam to simply review.

-          The Other Factors – You can increase your points, of course, through improvements in your evaluations (PMA), additional Service in Paygrade, and Awards.  However, those are small gains successful sailors work towards in their careers as a whole. 

I keep pressing that Exam Standard Score (ESS), don’t I?  You bet I am….just take a look at how Storekeepers are getting smarter, meaning: increased competition:

March 2005 Advancement Exam                 Avg ESS     Navy-wide ESS
Storekeeper Third Class Petty Officer             62.43                54.96
Storekeeper Second Class Petty Officer         63.97                58.40
Storekeeper First Class Petty Officer              70.01                60.66

The SK rating was the ONLY one from this past advancement exam results to have ALL THREE paygrades decidedly beat the Navy-wide average.  We hope that Navy Storekeeper.com had a small part to play in that fact.  Which is why we continue to provide Advancement and Training advice.

And, even in my own career, I try to recall a statement I have read in the Sea Warrior program that truly provides a reality check:

“Promotion is not a reward.  It’s a formal recognition of your ability to perform at the next higher rank”.

Remember that and use to motivate yourself to do the best you possibly can on your next advancement exam.