Navy Christens NSCS and Athens, Ga., as site for new learning center in training revolution - Navy Supply Corps School

Navy Supply Corps Newsletter,  Jan-Feb, 2003  by Andy Gist

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One of the latest products of the Navy's Revolution in Training, the new Center for Service Support (CSS) officially stood up operations Oct. 1. The Navy Supply Corps School (NSCS) in Athens, Ga., is the site of the new learning center designed to be the knowledge manager for 16 enlisted ratings. The school's record of training excellence and focus on service oriented training, including logistics and supply, makes Athens a natural fit.

The CSS will be directly responsible for the personal and professional career development of over 46,000 enlisted Navy Sailors in the logistics, administrative, and media areas throughout the fleet. The center will develop and maintain highly detailed Sailor continuums that will define the knowledge, skills and abilities (including military qualifications and civilian certifications) that Sailors must master to achieve specific career milestones. It will be directly responsible for developing and delivering the tools and opportunities Sailors need for their personal and professional development.

The CSS will also provide the crucial link between individual training and fleet mission accomplishment. In addition, the center will be charged with the curriculum authority, maintenance and delivery for all training elements that currently deliver logistics, administrative and media rate training.

CAPT Bob Monette, NSCS Commanding Officer, has assumed command of the new center while continuing his current duties with Navy Supply Corps School.

The center will initially be manned with approximately 70 new billets, both military and civilian. This is new business for Athens and is recognition of its reputation as a center of excellence in Navy education and training.

The Task Force for Excellence through Commitment to Education and Learning (EXCEL) was established as the catalyst for the Chief of Naval Operations' vision for a revolution in Navy training. For the last year, Task Force EXCEL has been responsible for overseeing the implementation of the pilot programs that are designed to enhance and strengthen the Navy's training and education structure. The goal of the Navy's Revolution in Training is to transform the Navy into a responsive, agile and efficient learning organization that can readily adapt and apply new technologies and new war-fighting tactics. Task Force EXCEL has evaluated current Navy training programs and has created a new architecture using existing manning and structure. The Navy has launched a structural realignment that will institutionalize the Sailor Continuum and the Human Performance Systems Model, the two backbones of the new system.

At the top of this new structural alignment is the Naval Education Training Command (NETC, formerly CNET and will remain in Pensacola), which is dual-hatted in OPNAV as N00T and replaces all OPNAV 9 codes and N79. This Echelon II Command, led by a vice admiral, will consist of the Naval Personnel Development Command (NPDC), the 16 Learning Centers, three Training Support Commands (TSCs), and the Human Performance Center (HPC). Commander NETC will be the CNO's chief learning officer. NETC serves as the major claimant and resource/assessment sponsor for all individual training and education.

The Naval Personnel Development Command (NPDC) is a two-star Echelon III command that will focus on standardizing and integrating the processes, technology and methodologies of both the Learning Centers and the TSCs. The HPC will support the Learning Centers by evaluating fleet requirements and building tools to assist the centers in creating human performance solutions to those requirements. The job of the HPC is to apply the science of learning to develop the most effective learning tools for Sailors. The HPC is also located in Norfolk, Va.

The TSCs work with the Learning Centers to coordinate short-notice training requirements in their geographic area by providing centralized management for both students and facilities. The TSCs will take care of Sailors' day-to-day needs, such as transportation, housing and personnel issues.

The most important part of this new organization, the commands that will be the heart and core of this new structure, is the Learning Centers. The centers are directly responsible and accountable for the personal and professional development of Sailors.

They develop and maintain the Sailor continuum that defines career job requirements and the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform them. The centers also provide the connection between formal individual training and the fleet. They work with the fleet to identify human performance problems, build and deliver solutions to address these problems, and evaluate the results. The centers own the instructors, populate a knowledge management system, and are directly responsible for the end-to-end development of learning tools and opportunities.

To log on to the Center for Service Support and access Navy Knowledge Online (NKO), the portal to the Revolution in Training, go to www.nko.navy.mil. DoD personnel can register by clicking on the "I'm A New User" button on the home page. Once you register for the Center for Service Support (CSS) and access the Web site, you have a choice of tabs to click on including "Leadership," "Personal Development," "My Center," and "Collaborate." Clicking on the "My Center" tab will direct you to the Center for Service Support page. From there you can explore and share within a myriad of choices and services in your personal online knowledge management portal. You will have the opportunity to do everything from downloading training material to instant messaging with other users concerning important issues, to providing feedback on the site.