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arise. At the present time, these deviations are
required because of the increasing size of the shore
establishment and the shortage of career officers.
In addition to the requirements for rotation,
assignment patterns reflect the need for the
following considerations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Educational opportunities for overall
career value or for a particular billet
A progression of responsibility
Assignment to duty with Reserve
components
Assignment of duty with joint or allied
staffs or with the Office of the Secretary
of Defense (SECDEF)
Use of specialized training
Officers should realize they are primarily
responsible for planning their own career and
should therefore indicate their assignment
preferences to the Bureau of Naval Personnel.
All commissioned officers complete an Officer
Preference and Personal Information Card
(NAVPERS 1301/1) on initial appointment and
upon recall to active duty. Additionally, they
should submit a new card 12 months before their
projected rotation date (PRD) and whenever
significant changes occur.
This card contains a wealth of information
that is very useful to the detailing officer. It is
construed as a current reflection of the officer’s
preferences, and its timely and accurate submis-
sion is extremely important.
Personal letters may be submitted if special
circumstances not appropriate for inclusion on the
preference card arise. The information is made
a part of the detailing record and is acted upon
if practicable. These letters to the detailer
do not become a part of the officers’s permanent
record.
Officers desiring special courses of instruction,
changes of duty, clarification of orders, date of
release from active duty, extensions, retention in
the Navy, and so forth, should indicate this by
a letter forwarded through the chain of command.
Such letters become a permanent part of an
officer’s record.
Figure 3-6, A, shows a typical professional
development pattern for a surface warfare officer,
and figure 3-6, B, shows the pattern for a surface
nuclear officer. Officers do not normally perform
the types of duties in the exact sequence shown;
rather, they should gain experience in the type of
tour related to the phase of development through
which they are passing. For instance, if you select
a career as a surface warfare officer, you may stay
at sea the first 5 years because of operational re-
quirements or personal choice or both. During this
time you will strive to attain qualifications as
division officer, officer of the deck, department
head, and surface warfare officer. Then you may
rotate ashore to staff duty or to attend the Naval
Postgraduate School. Although you did not
follow the development plan exactly, you will have
obtained the experience and qualifications
necessary to make you competitive with your year-
group peers.
Figure 3-6, C and D, show an example of the
professional development patterns for a sub-
marine officer and an aviation officer. The typical
professional development paths for supply corps
officers and general unrestricted line (URL)
officers are depicted in figure 3-6, E and F.
The career path for female officers in the
restricted line and staff corps parallels that of the
male officers except as constrained by law. The
career progression for female aviators and
surface warfare officers parallels that for their
male counterparts but is restricted to the force
support subcommunity.
A relatively new and important role for naval
officers is a joint-duty tour. A joint-duty tour is
a tour served with other branches of the armed
forces. It provides the officer with a first-hand
perspective of how the Navy interacts with other
branches of the service.
Many billets are available for joint-duty tours
in places such as the Office of the Secretary of
Defense, the White House, the U.S. Space
Command, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Every
effort possible is made by detailers to send our
best performers to a joint-duty tour.
Increased emphasis is being placed on the
importance of such tours. All officers aspiring to
flag rank should seek a joint-duty tour. Tours are
usually assigned at the lieutenant commander level
or above for a length of 3 years.
OFFICER PROMOTIONS
The Navy’s officer corps is structured like a
pyramid. Starting with a wide base of junior
officers at the bottom, it rises to a relatively few
flag officers near the pinnacle and ends with one
officer, the Chief of Naval Operations, at the
top. The officer corps structure consists of 21
competitive categories, or groups, of officers
possessing similar skills, education, and training.
3-12
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