Storekeeper

One of the oldest Navy Ratings, Storekeepers are tasked with maintaining ship or company supply stores. Their responsibilities generally include purchasing and procurement, shipping and receiving, and issuing of equipment, tools, consumable items or anything else obtained through the Naval Supply System. In November, 2008, the Navy announced the merger of the storekeeper and postal clerk ratings to become the logistics specialist rating[1], effective beginning October 2009.

Storekeepers fall under the authority of a supply officer. The exception to this is in the case of the Independent Storekeeper NEC which trains E-6 and above to operate independently of a Supply Officer. The best example of this is the Storekeeper(s) tasked with operating the Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily Weapon's Department. The department, a semi-autonomous entity within NAS Sigonella, is headed by a weapons officer to whom the Storekeepers report. Since there is no Supply Officer within a weapons department, the task of signing requisitions falls upon the Independent Duty SK.

Storekeepers are referred to, as all other Navy rates, by rate and rank combined. If a sailor is a Petty Officer Third Class holding the rate of Storekeeper, he or she would be referred to as Storekeeper Third Class or more commonly, SK3. With the recent merger of Storekeepers (SK) and Aviation Storekeepers (AK), Storekeepers can be found serving any Naval platform. For this reason, Storekeepers can be found with virtually every warfare pin offered by the Navy with only a few exceptions. Of the warfare qualification held by storekeepers, included are Aviation Warfare (AW), Surface Warfare (SW), Seabee Combat Warfare (SCW), Submarine Warfare Specialist (SS).

The SK rate is also a source rating for Explosive Ordnance Disposal, the Navy SEALS, Navy Divers and SWCC. Thus enabling Storekeepers to be stationed virtually anywhere and take on diverse duties.Storekeepers are trained at the Naval Technical Training Center in Meridian, Mississippi. Undesignated or non-rate sailors may also strike for SK without attending NTTC Meridian's Storekeeper "A" School. Coast Guard Storekeepers get training in Petaluma, Ca.