Promotions in the Navy - MilitarySpot.com

Where the Army, Air Force, and Marines have “rank” to denote personnel in various paygrades, the Navy doesn’t have “rank”. The Navy has “rates” which is a combination of the person’s rating (job) and their paygrade. For example, the “rate” of an E-6 in the Navy depends on the person’s job. A person with the rating (job) of Sonar Technician (SG) in the Navy, in the paygrade of E-6 would be an “SG1” or “Sonar Technician First Class.” An E-5 with the rating (job) of Mess Specialist (MS), would have the rate of “MS2” or “Mess Specialist Second Class.”

The below chart shows the minimum requirements for Navy enlisted promotions in the pay grades of E-2 through E-4.

Requirements	E-1 to E-2	E-2 to E-3	E-3 to E-4
Time-in-Grade	9 months	9 months as E-2	6 months as E-3
School	Boot Camp	None	A-School (for ratings with A-schools)
BUPERS Approval to Participate	None		Required for Controlled Ratings
PARS	None		PARS Required
Performance Test	None		Selected ratings must complete applicable performance test before taking the Navy Service-Wide Advancement Exams.
Leadership Training	None		Petty Officer Indoctrination Course
Enlisted Performance Evaluation	Used by Commanding Officer when giving promotion approval.		Counts as performance factor in Advancement Final Multiple for all E-4 through E-7 candidates.
Obligated Service Requirements	There is no single set of obligated amount of service required to take Navy-wide advancement exams or to accept advancement to paygrade E-2 to E-6.
Examinations	Locally Prepared Testing	NETPDTC Exams	Navy-Wide Advancement Exams are required for all Petty Officer Paygrades
Non-Resident Career Course and RTM	None	Required for all E-3 and Petty Officer advancements unless waived due to completion of Navy School. Courses need only be completed once.
Recommended by Commanding Officer	All Navy Advancements Require the Commanding Officer’s recommendation for advancement on current evaluation.

The below chart shows the minimum requirements for Navy enlisted promotions in the pay grades of E-5 through E-9.

Requirements	E-4 to E-5	E-5 to E-6	E-6 to E-7	E-7 to E-8	E-8 to E-9
Time-in-Grade	12 months as E-4	36 months as E-5	36 months as E-6	36 months as E-7	36 months as E-8
School	NJS for rating LN2	None	Navy School for ratings AGC, MUC, and RPC	None	None
BUPERS Approval to Participate	None
PARS	PARS Required			None
Performance Test	Selected ratings must complete applicable performance test before taking the Navy Service-Wide Advancement Exams.			None
Leadership Training	P02 Leadership Training Course Continuum	P01 Leadership Training Course Continuum	CPO Indoctrination Course	CPO Leadership Training Course	None
Enlisted Performance Evaluation	Counts as performance factor in Advancement Final Multiple for all E-4 through E-7 candidates.			Considered by Promotion Board when making promotion decisions.
Obligated Service Requirements	There is no single set of obligated amount of service required to take Navy-wide advancement exams or to accept advancement to paygrade E-2 to E-6.		Must remain on active duty a minimum of two years to retire at the higher paygrade.
Examinations	Navy-Wide Advancement Exams are required for all Petty Officer Paygrades		Promotion to E-7 requires Navy-Wide Advancement Exam and selection by the Navy-Wide CPO Selection Board. Promotion to E-8 and E-9 is accomplish by Navy-Wide Promotion Selection Board, only.
Non-Resident Career Course and RTM	Required for all E-3 and Petty Officer advancements unless waived due to completion of Navy School. Courses need only be completed once.		Non-Resident Career Courses and recommended readings (See NAVEDTRA 10052).
Recommended by Commanding Officer	All Navy Advancements Require the Commanding Officer’s recommendation for advancement on current evaluation.

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