The Navy will disestablish the Culinary Specialist (CS) rating in the Reserve Full-Time Support (FTS) community and will offer affected Sailors a variety of options for continued service under a rebalancing initiative underway within the FTS community.

The move was announced on July 15 in NAVADMIN 200/20 and is effective Feb. 1, 2021.  

Affected Sailors will have the opportunity to convert into the active CS rating or another open rating in the FTS community. The rating remains a vital part of active component and drilling reserve supply communities which are not affected by this move. 

The roughly 8,000-strong enlisted FTS community is an integral part of the total Navy.  While considered reservists, all FTS Sailors serve on active duty supporting the Navy’s regular active component as well as both the Selected and Individual Ready Reserve components.  

“An extensive review of advancement opportunity, career diversity, and fleet requirements for the FTS CS rating concluded that the rating does not allow for healthy career progression and is no longer sustainable,” wrote Vice Adm. John B. Nowell, the Navy’s top uniformed personnel officer.

As of Apr. 15, 2020, the FTS CS rating had 101 Sailors serving in 96 total billets around the Navy. The Navy’s review found that just 75 of those billets required having CS skills and determined that those jobs could be filled by active-duty CSs. 

The Navy’s review of the rating showed that every billet requiring CS skills is located at an active-duty command and is providing little or no support to the reserve component. That fact is not in line with the FTS’s reserve support mission and the kind of mismatch the Chief of the Navy Reserve’s FTS Rebalance initiative has been aiming to fix in an effort to align FTS requirements to the reserve’s Title 10 responsibilities.  

The remaining 21 billets are general duty billets. These include all the rating’s E-7 and above billets. These jobs only require senior enlisted leadership skills, so it was determined any chief petty could fill them.  All these factors made it clear the best option for the Navy and the Sailors involved is to disestablish the rating. 

Affected Sailors are encouraged to read NAVADMIN 200/20 in its entirety and ask their chain of command about their situation. Also, commands are strongly encouraged to take a proactive stance and hold career development boards for impacted Sailors to help them make the best decision for themselves and their families.

“Every effort will be made to maintain current projected rotation dates for FTS CS Sailors who reenlist in the active component as a CS,” Nowell wrote.  

“However, if the newly enlisted Sailor is in a billet that no longer matches their rating, they may receive new orders that fill the need of their newly assigned rating.”

The best option for staying in the Navy, the message says, is for Sailors to reenlist into the active force CS rating. Because it is the most straightforward route and will have the least career disruption, officials are actively encouraging this option. The expectation is that a majority of affected Sailors will make this move. The length of their reenlistment into the active force must be equal to or greater than any remaining obligated service on their current reserve contract.

Sailors wanting to stay in the FTS community can convert into other full-time support ratings with vacancies at their paygrade, provided they meet that rating’s qualifications.

Another option is for Sailors to serve out their current enlistments as FTS Sailors and then request transition to the Navy Reserve CS rating. Those eligible can also request to retire or transfer to the Fleet Reserve no later than Jan. 31.  

Commands are strongly encouraged to hold career development boards for Sailors being affected to help them make their decisions, the message said. 

Regardless of the route the Sailor chooses, decisions must be made and approved by Dec. 1, 2020. Those with less than 14-years of service will require approval in the Career Waypoints (C-WAY) and should start applying immediately to have approval before the deadline. 

Sailors over the 14-year mark as well as E-7 and above are not subject to C-WAY and must consult their requisite community manager for approval.  Details on each option and how to proceed are outlined in the NAVADMIN. 

Any Sailor who already has a final denial in C-WAY, or who receives that denial before January, can expect to be separated when their enlistment expires.   

September’s advancement exam cycle will be the last for the FTS CS rating. Any Sailor selected to advance, who are also chosen to convert into the active force will be advanced. Those who are requesting to switch into another rating, either active or FTS, will have to apply to Navy Personnel Command for advancement approval.             

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