Training
PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) -- Sailors prepping for advancement have all the tools they need available free of charge via Navy resources, including the Navy Advancement Center, but some sites on the Internet are charging Sailors money for advancement information.Perhaps unknowingly, Sailors are spending their money by paying for what is available free of charge. The most current and authoritative advancement information for active-duty and Reserve Sailors is available from their command career counselors and visiting the
"Everything you need to be successful on the advancement exam is available for free from the Navy," said Master Chief Electrician's Mate Robert McCombs, command master chief for Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center (NETPDTC),
Professional military knowledge and rating-specific references for advancement are just a click away. Two of the most popular products available through the Advancement Center Web site are the Sailor's profile sheet and the Advancement Exam Strategy Guide, said McCombs.
The profile sheet is specific to the individual Sailor and uses results from previous examinations to show the Sailor where his or her weaknesses are in comparison to their peers. The report shows them what areas they need to improve in order to be competitive on the test. Sailors can use their profile sheets to build their study program by topic and subtopic.
The Advancement Exam Strategy Guide contains a bibliography specific to the examination that the Sailor will take.
"A Sailor can go to the exam section, look up their specialty and download their information including the bibliography," said McCombs.
"We give them the references we use for exam questions, so it's just a matter of becoming familiar with the material."
To help Sailors understand what skills and knowledge exam developers are assessing, specific rating information is broken down by paygrade into topic and subject areas for all exams in the rating. This section of the Web site also includes information on "how to prepare for and take an advancement exam."
"If a Sailor uses their past profile sheet(s), which shows their weak areas compared to their peers, along with the bibliography and topics/subtopics, they can develop a more focused study product than any commercial product can provide," said McCombs.
Kirk Schultz, head of Advancement Assessment Concepts at NETPDTC, said that there are many other Navy-sponsored Web sites Sailors can visit to help with their advancement needs.
"Since just about everything has gone electronic, many Navy and Department of Defense instructions are available through the Web. Additionally, we intend soon to provide the capability for Sailors to link to many of their references directly from the advancement site," said Schultz.
"Our site has features and helpful tools to better prepare for upcoming exams such as access exam to statistics by rating, non-resident training courses, as well as final multiple computations charts," said McCombs.
Sailors without direct access to a computer should see their educational services officers or command career counselors for instructions on where computer access can be obtained and for other information they need to prepare for their next advancement examination.
For more news from Naval Education and Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnet/.
