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Pay and Advancement Differences
Recruiting personnel also should keep up to date on
pay and advancement differerences between services and
the civilian sector. The Navy Times often offers
advancement comparison for the different services. A
pay chart is a “must have” in every recruiting station.
With that, you may want to keep seapay and subpay
information as well. Tlese two incentive pays are
positive selling points, but be aware that the other
services also have special duty pay for some
assignments. Another good piece of evidence is a copy
of your latest Personal Statement of Military
Compensation. It shows what your military pay is
actually worth. For comparison with the civilian pay,
you can get average and median income figures from
the Chamber of Commerce or local tax officials. A
common way to make a comparison for advancement in
the civilian labor market is to ask the individuals how
long they would have to work at their current job, or
their parents at theirs, before they would get an
advancement. Some may answer, tongue in cheek, that
they would have to wait for someone to die or retire
before they would get promoted. You can easily show
the benefits of the Navywide advancement system.
PROCESSING
As in the section on enlistment eligibility, the
primary reference for processing requirements is the
N a v y R e c r u i t i n g M a n u a l - E n l i s t e d ,
COMNAVCRWTCOMINST 1130.8. In the following
paragraphs we highlight procedures for testing, physical
examinations,
classification,
MEPS processing,
applicant briefings, and the treatment of rejected
applicants. Red carpet service is the key to processing
success. A great deal of work and time has gone into
bringing your applicant to this stage. Rapport and
professional salesmanship must continue to keep your
applicant on track. Unfortunately, much of the
processing is anything but personal. Recruiters should
overcome this by giving individualized care and
consideration to every applicant and making sure that
he or she is well briefed on what to expect both at the
MEPS and during his or her first few weeks of Navy
life.
ENLISTED SCREENING TEST
The Enlisted Screening Test (EST) is given to all
applicants not previously tested with the EST or
ASVAB. The EST is designed to give an accurate
prediction of how the applicant will perform on the
ASVAB. A conversion chart provided with the EST
materials provides the applicant’s percentage chance of
attaining an ASVAB score of at least 21, 31, 50, and
65. If the percentage chance for a qualifying score is
over 50 percent, the recruiter has a fair idea that the
applicant will be able to attain that score or better on
the ASVAB.
EST Administration
The EST is administered by the canvasser recruiter.
Proctoring is informal as the recruiter need not be
physically present throughout the test. The test has two
parts. The verbal section of 35 questions has a
12-minute time limit. The math section of 30 questions
has a time limit of 35 minutes.
EST Security
EST booklets, answer keys, and used answer sheets
should be kept in a locked desk, file cabinet, or
automobile. Local reproduction is authorized. Any
compromise of the EST should be reported to the NRD
CO via your chain of command Used answer sheets are
retained on file for 3 months. After that time, they may
be destroyed by shredding or burning. ESTs that have
been made unfit for use may also be destroyed by
shredding or burning.
There are no security
requirements for unused EST answer sheets or
conversion charts.
ARMED SERVICES VOCATIONAL
APTITUDE BATTERY
The ASVAB is a battery of 10 subtests, The scores
of the subtests are combined to yield two types of
composites – academic and occupational. The ASVAB is
designed to determine not only what the potential
learning capacity of the individual may be, but also
what occupational fields the examinee may be best
suited for. The Military Entrance and Processing
Command (MEPCOM) has overall responsibility for
procurement, control, and administration of all ASVAB
tests. Let’s take a look at other responsibilities for
student testing, production tests, and printed material
that can assist in your efforts to “sell” the ASVAB.
Student Testing
The ASVAB is offered through the Department of
Defense (DOD) Student Testing Program to interested
high schools and postsecondary institutions. This
program is designed to stimulate interest in occupational
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