Drivers of Erosion of Technical Expertise in the Navy Logistics Specialist Rating

Abstract

In 2003, when the Navy merged the Aviation Storekeeper with the Surface Storekeeper as one rating (occupational specialty), most senior enlisted and commissioned officers questioned if the Navy truly benefited from the change. The merging of the two technical ratings was a move towards a more generalized workforce, which contradicts the enlisted ratings' historical concept to specialize the technical workforce for efficiency. In addition, the move towards a more generalized workforce further eroded the fleet's logistics expertise when the Postal Clerk merged with the Storekeeper in 2009 to create the Logistics Specialist rating. While most senior enlisted personnel claimed that the rating merger diminished technical expertise in the fleet, this essay will present five other factors that influenced the erosion of technical expertise, as well as recommendations to stop and reverse the declining trend of logistics technical expertise.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 07, 2015
Accession Number
AD1176041

Entities

People

  • Horacio G. Tan

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Carriers
  • Department Of Defense
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Instructions
  • Logistics
  • Logistics Management
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Personnel
  • Navy
  • Personnel Management
  • Ratings
  • Specialists
  • Training
  • Universities
  • Warfare
  • Warrant Officers

Readers

  • Naval Personnel Management
  • Occupational Health and Safety.
  • Strategic Security Studies