I recently started working for my pin. Anyone get their pin yet?

NATO Army Enlisted Ranks

NATO Enlisted and Officer Grades/Ranks for Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom -UK, and the Great United States of America -USA.

(Updated September 8, 2009)

The insignia here represents a Petty Officer First Class (the rate) who is a Boatswain’s Mate (the rating). A rating badge is worn on the left upper sleeve of all uniforms in grades E-4 through E-6. Chief Petty Officers (E-7 through E-9) wear collar devices on their white and khaki uniforms, and rating badges on their Service Dress Blues.

An explanation of the the enlisted rates can be found below.

Pay Grade	Rate	Abbreviation	Upper Sleeve	Collar and Cap
E-1	Seaman Recruit	SR	none	none
E-2	Seaman Apprentice	SA		none
E-3	Seaman	SN		none
E-4	Petty Officer Third Class	PO3
E-5	Petty Officer Second Class	PO2
E-6	Petty Officer First Class	PO1
E-7	Chief Petty Officer	CPO
E-8	Senior Chief Petty Officer	SCPO
E-9	Master Chief Petty Officer	MCPO
E-9	Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy	MCPON

The rates and ranks for all the military branches can be found here:
http://jimnavy.com/?p=127

The Navy’s new advertising slogan: “America’s Navy: A Global Force For Good,” has begun to appear online and in print, as part of a new campaign getting underway in time for the service’s 234th birthday Oct. 13. 

As a narrator intones about the call to serve, the commercial includes footage of special warfare combatant-craft crewmen; sailors serving in the Pacific in World War II; and sailors helping flood victims. Reprising their appearances in this new campaign are the carrier Nimitz and the hospital ship Mercy, which starred in the Navy’s most recent “Accelerate Your Life” TV spots.

The Navy’s strategy is to change its appeal from young people’s immediate self-interest — enlist and you’ll get a good job, or go to college when you get out — to appealing to a higher sense of service.

“Looking to our audience today, these 17- to 25-year-olds, to them service is a big deal, service beyond self,” said Senior Chief Mass Communications Specialist (EXW) Tom Jones, a spokesman for Navy Recruiting Command.

“I’ve got an 18-year-old daughter, and from a dad perspective, it’s great to see my young daughter thinking beyond herself. They’re not the selfish ‘me generation.’ It’s, ‘what can I do to make the world a better place?’ That resonates through that age group,” he said.

Jones compared the new slogan to the Navy’s earlier recruiting pitches, each of which was geared to the audience of its day, he said.

“We’ve been looking at what the Navy does, and as you go back through recruiting for many years — since I’ve been in it was, ‘Let The Journey Begin’; when my dad was in it was, ‘Join The Navy, See The World’ — all these have an appeal to the audience at the time.”

“Accelerate Your Life” still appears on the Navy’s recruiting Web site, Navy.com, and its Spanish-language counterpart, elNavy.com, and it’s likely the two slogans will coexist for a few weeks until “A Global Force For Good” becomes ubiquitous in Navy advertisements.

At first the new slogan sounded alittle strange (weak), but after watching the video and thinking about the meaning, I think its a good slogan. Even though the new slogan its as catchy, it better defines more of what today’s Navy is about more than previous slogans.

Check it out at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3wtUCPWmeI

This session allows me to directly engage with the Cyber/IT Workforce and hear their concerns, whatever they may be. As a matter of fact, I have a few regulars who tee up important questions that I do my best to answer – on the spot – no prompts! 

As the DON Cyber/IT Workforce Community Leader, I thought I might write a few words about the future of this 12,000+ strong – with plans to grow, albeit slightly – component of the civilian workforce, and about how the composite workforce (military, civilian, contractor) might move faster and more comfortably into the information age.

I view the following strategies and concepts as opportunities to move into the information age and deliver more effective IT in support of mission needs.

1. Embrace Technology. We are fervently developing the skill sets to achieve and remain current on our networks. We must remain a learning organization. As the Internet evolves, so must our workforce and its associated skills. To that end, we must be able to embrace change and ensure that our organizational leaders are ready to make use of IT in support of the DON mission.

2. Information Age vs. Industrial Age Thinking. While the Navy and Marine Corps are rich in culture and tradition, many of our processes are rooted in the Industrial Age and will need to move toward the Information Age to remain relevant in the coming years. I believe that the Cyber/IT Workforce is the key to successfully transforming processes to fully exploit the power of information sharing and secure collaboration. We will need to learn new ways to move information where it is needed and build new skill sets as needs arise. While we cannot predict what the future holds, we can forecast technology acceleration and change.

3. Social Media as a Tool to Build Trust. Social media is an inherent part of the toolbox for members of the millennial workforce, while baby boomers are just adopting it. Social media tools should become the standard by which we can share and collaborate on information inside and outside the network boundaries.

4. Recognize the Need for and Embrace Security. The Cyber/IT Workforce will need to manage the nexus between information access and the necessary security layers. While a great deal of work has been done in this space, much work remains. Secure information sharing presents a very different challenge than does “secure the network” or “post it on the web site.” As threats increase, so must our vigilance to securely share information and manage the associated risks.

5. Going Green and the Mobile Worker. As the Department embraces Green initiatives, removing the tethers that bind our workforce from their desks will require connectivity and information access at unprecedented levels. Our Naval Networking Environment~2016 strategy to connect to the network from nearly anywhere, will free up time devoted to commuting, but will require unfettered secure access to information required to perform our jobs. The potential benefits are huge, to the Nation, the naval services and the planet.

6. Recruit our Successors. Lastly, this is one of our most important jobs. Our ability to convey the challenge and reward of working in the naval services in support of the Nation’s security must be all of our responsibility. If the Department is to remain pre-eminent, the DON Cyber/IT workforce will be central to that work, ensuring the information is accessible to those who need it anywhere, anytime. I believe that the DON Cyber/IT Workforce is that fundamental enabler to the Navy and Marine Corps kinetic mission success.

What do you think? -Rob Carey

Published, October 19, 2009, http://www.doncio.navy.mil

U.S. Military Ranks -EnlistedU.S. Military Ranks -Officer

U.S. Military Ranks -Officer

Retrieved from Navy AllHands

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