Junior and senior enlisted postal clerks and storekeepers, along with members of the Navy Supply Corps, held a ceremony at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, October 1, 2009 to commemorate the official formation of the Navy's new logistical specialist rating.



"As an element of the Navy's total force strategy, this merger will capitalize on the knowledge, skills, and abilities found in the two ratings and apply them toward a unified mission," said Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Admiral Mark Ferguson.



More than 11,000 active duty and Reserve personnel have been re-designated as logistic specialists. Logistical Specialist 3rd Class (AW) Geoffrey Kuria feels the rating merger is a great step forward for personnel who were part of the postal clerk and storekeeper communities.



"This merger should help create more advancement opportunities for us and open up a better variety of billets," said Kuria, a former storekeeper. "I think the merger will provide excellent opportunities for my career."



The new logistical specialist rating exam will begin in January 2010 with the new chief logistical specialist exam. The Rate Training Manual for the logistical specialist will be available at the Navy Knowledge Online Web site.



"The new LS (logistical specialist) rating will promote efficiencies gained by reducing redundancies between the old SK (storekeeper) and PC (postal clerk) rates," said Lieutenant Jacob Prentiss, the assistant regional supply officer at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. "The streamlining of curriculums will lead to reduced administrative costs because of reduced training pipeline time, the maintenance of fewer manuals and exams and the consolidation of training environments."



As one of the oldest Navy ratings, the storekeeper rating was established in 1916 to perform duties of purchasing, shipping, receiving, and issuing equipment, tools, and consumable items through the Navy supply system. The postal clerk rating was established in 1944 to operate the Navy's large postal system.



Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti is located in the Horn of Africa and is the only U.S. military infrastructure in Africa providing a base of operations and support for U.S. and Coalition nations.



For more information about Camp Lemonnier visit www.cnic.navy.mil.