By Lt. j.g. Nicholas Reel, Office of Supply Corps Personnel, Naval Supply Systems Command
Throughout our careers as Supply Corps officers, we become very familiar with supply chain management and life cycle logistics. We understand our inventory and the cradle-to-grave flow of our parts. However, we can often have gaps of understanding on the most important logistics piece – the Supply Corps officer.
This is the first article in a series from the Office of Supply Corps Personnel (OP), intended to foster a greater understanding of the inventory management and career progression of Supply Corps officers. Every Supply Corps officer’s career begins with accession. There are five accession sources into the Supply Corps community: Officer Candidate School (OCS); Probationary Officer Continuation and Redesignation (POCR) boards; Limited Duty Officer (LDO) boards; United States Naval Academy (USNA); and Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC). The majority of our officers – approximately two thirds – are accessed through OCS. Candidates for OCS are professionally recommended on a quarterly basis by a rotating board of senior Supply Corps officers. Parameters for OCS-eligible candidates are publicized in the Program Authorization 102 (PA 102) publication. If you know a qualified Sailor who believes they can contribute to the Navy as a Supply Corps officer, please have them read the PA 102, available on the Career Counselor page on the Navy Personnel Command (NPC) website at:
https://www.public.navy.mil/BUPERS-NPC/OFFICER/DETAILING/RLSTAFFCORPS/SUPPLY/Pages/CareerCounselor.aspx. Professional recommendations are based on a whole person perspective. Factors such as degree, grade point average (GPA), Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR), leadership, relevant work experience, and minimum academic qualifications for Naval Postgraduate School, are all considered. Professional recommendation by the board, however, it does not guarantee a commission as a Supply Corps officer. Ten percent of all OCS candidates drop on request (DOR) from the program. The Supply Corps’ second largest source of accessions – approximately a third – is the POCR board, which is a force shaping tool used for officers with less than six years of commissioned service. Officers who have been forced to leave a community because they did not complete initial training, obtain required qualifications, or are unable to complete their initial operational assignment, are eligible for the POCR board. With a primary focus on talent management, the POCR board reviews candidates for redesignation to one of their top five preferred communities. Officers that list Supply Corps as a preference are reviewed and selected by the Supply Corps Officer Community Manager (OCM), based on available Year Group (YG) vacancies, their qualifications, motivation to serve in the community, and letters of recommendation. Officers who are found to no longer have a viable career path are either discharged or removed from the active duty list with retention in a Reserve status in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) or the Selected Reserve (SELRES) to complete their initial service obligation. Ensigns and lieutenant junior grade officers at POCR Boards have the best opportunity for success in the Supply Corps. It is important for these officers to consider arduous tours to make up for time lost in their previous designators. For information about the POCR board, send an email to the OCM office via the Supply Corps Career Counselor at
supplycorpscareercounselor@navy.mil. The remaining accessions points make up a small fraction of the Supply Corps’ accessions. Less than 15 officers are annually accessed through USNA and NROTC via an internal review process. An additional six to eight officers are accessed by the LDO board. The LDO procurement board is conducted once a year by PERS-803. Chapters two and seven of OPNAVINST 1420.1B provide specific guidelines for applications. Additional information can be found on the LDO CWO Inservice Procurement Board page on the NPC website at:
https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/boards/administrative/ldo_cwo/Pages/default.aspx. All LDO-selected officers are expected to off ramp into a 3100 designator by their fifth year of commissioned service. While there are several routes into the Supply Corps, all newly accessed officers are headed to one destination: sea. Supply Corps accessions are determined by the community’s ensign, lieutenant junior grade, and lieutenant operational tour requirements. As the fleet’s operational requirements change, the Supply community’s accessions will respond in kind.
Spring 2019