Sailors aboard the U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19), in Yokosuka, Japan, participate in the Navy-wide E-6 advancement examination in September 2018. U.S. Navy photo
Roughly a third of active duty sailors will be part of a pilot program testing the Navy’s new system intended to cut down on paperwork and errors associated with the Enlisted Advancement Worksheets (EAW).
Starting this month, the Navy is replacing paper versions of the EAW with an electronic automated process that will become part of the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS). The new electronic versions of the EAWs will include the advancement eligibility factors for all Petty Officer (E-4 through E-6) candidates and Petty Officers trying to become Chief Petty Officers (E-7), according to the recently updated policy.
During the upcoming Spring advancement cycle, about 100,000 enlisted personnel will be eligible to take the Petty Officer and Chief exams. As of Dec. 17, there were 270,666 active duty enlisted sailors, according to the Navy.
The new electronic worksheet and automated process is part of a larger personnel system modernization process, according to a February written statement submitted by Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke to the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel.
Educational services officers (ESO) for each command are required to submit a completed EAW for every sailor planning to participate in the Navy-wide advancement examinations that are part of the Petty Officer promotion process and the process for being considered for Chief Petty Officer.
The worksheets include a sailor’s advancement eligibility factors and point values for elements of final multiple scores, which assigns point values to performance mark averages (PMA) – command promotion recommendations – and other earned awards and commendations, according to a Navy fact sheet.
“The change from paper to electronic advancement worksheets will not only make it easier for sailors and ESOs, but it will help eliminate many of the common errors that traditionally hampered the advancement cycle processes. This is a significant modernization effort that will surely be a value-added improvement for the Navy,” Capt. Kertreck Brooks, the commanding officer of the Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center, said in a September project update on the impending changes.
The automated process is designed to generate worksheets populated with data for time-in-rate eligible sailors; route worksheets to authorized personnel for review, updates, signatures; send worksheets to the Navy Enlisted Advancement System (NEAS) which calculates each eligible sailor’s Final Multiple Score (FMS).
The pilot program is testing the online connectivity for commands and the ability of sailors to access the electronic versions of their worksheets. Once fully implemented, the electronic forms will automatically populate a sailor’s exam PMA and award points, according to the new guidance.
The following is the Navy release detailing the new electronic Enlisted Advancement Worksheet.
PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) — Paper versions of the Navy’s Enlisted Advancement Worksheet (EAW) will soon be a relic of the past as hard copy worksheets transition to an electronic automated process, becoming part of the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS).
Detailed in NAVADMIN 316/18, released Dec. 27, the EAW transition will leverage authoritative data with a display of advancement eligibility factors for all E-4 through E-7 candidates.
“This new Sailor 2025 Pay and Personnel System Modernization effort gives Sailors better control over their EAW and provides commands with a more efficient way to validate Navy Enlisted Advancement System (NEAS) requirements,” said Master Chief Personnel Specialist Anton Fitz, enlisted advancement planner for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (N132). “Sailors will have the ability to view their EAW months before the exam, providing additional time for corrections, if needed.”
The EAW update will begin with a pilot program from Jan. to Mar. 2019, including Reserve advancement cycle 104 and Active Duty advancement cycle 243. The pilot will verify command worksheet validation processes using the new online capability and ensure that connectivity and manual processes support EAW requirements.
“During the EAW pilot phase, the electronic form in NSIPS can be printed and used for the manual worksheet process,” said Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center (NETPDC) Command Master Chief Gregory Prichard. “Initially, no data will be transferred from the EAW to NEAS and no discrepancies will be rectified – we are primarily seeking feedback and will gradually integrate changes and full EAW functionality for subsequent cycles.”
Commands with NSIPS Web access should set up their command EAW hierarchy by Jan. 15 in preparation for full Fleet utilization, scheduled for Jun. 2019. Training modules for the new EAW are posted on the NSIPS main page, beneath the training section. Tutorials include topics associated with user roles and detailed procedures to perform various EAW tasks.
Sailors will be able to access their EAW and post-exam administrative comments through the MyNavy Portal (MNP) Advancement Dashboard in 2019, as MNP enhancements are released.
“Once EAW is fully operational, there will no longer be a requirement for Sailors to enter their Performance Mark Average (PMA) and awards points on their exam answer sheet during the exam,” said Prichard. “Their PMA and award points will now be system calculated and transferred from their EAW into NEAS along with other advancement cycle data.”
The individual Sailors’ user role is to review their worksheet data, enter comments, upload necessary supporting documents, sign, and maintain awareness of worksheet status through the advancement cycle up to the exam. Sailors can also route post-exam administrative comments to their command Education Services Officer (ESO).
ESOs have the execution role that creates, routes and validates eligible Sailors’ worksheets. This role has full functionality to manually enter and change data, upload documents, enter comments, route, resolve discrepancies, close and digitally sign worksheets.
Additional details on the pilot program, command and other user roles and responsibilities can be found in NAVADMIN 316/18 and at http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/career/enlistedcareeradmin/Advancement/Pages/EAW.aspx.
Sailors can access NSIPS at https://nsipsprod-sdni.nmci.navy.mil/.
For process and policy questions, contact MyNavy Career Center at 833-330-MNCC or by e-mail at [email protected].
