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ITE6

Information Systems Technician

E-6 (Staff Sergeant) · Navy

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

IT1 is the LCPO bench — section LPO in title, department LPO in fact, and the Chief board is no longer a conversation about whether you build the packet but how clean it reads. The eEVAL profile across the next two cycles is the credential the Chief board reads; the Warrant (170-series cyber), CTN conversion, IDC-equivalent submarine, and senior NEC packets your shop produces are the visible bench-building the LCPO quotes. The job between IT1 and ITC changes more than any other transition in this rate — start carrying yourself like the Chief you are about to be, not the senior IT2 you used to be.

The Honest MOS Read
Information Systems Technician First Class (IT1, E-6) is the LCPO bench — the seat where the rate decides whether you pin Chief or watch the slate from the IT1 mess for another cycle. The pay grade is mid-NCO, the title is Petty Officer First Class, but the actual job is the senior enlisted IT voice in a division and the recognizable face the wardroom sends junior officers to when the network is down and the cyber officer is at flag-staff sync. The Chief board reads paper across the IT1 tour; the paper is the eEVAL profile, the NEC stack, the warfare device on your blouse, the inspection posture of the division you run, and the bench you built — the IT2s and IT3s you mentored, the Warrants and commissions you put through accession, the CTNs you converted, the submarine ITs you helped through the IT-8404 pipeline at Naval Submarine School Groton. The platforms diverge sharply at IT1. On a ship — a CSG / ESG amphib, a DDG, a CG, a smaller surface combatant — you are the LPO of the ship's IT division or the senior enlisted IT in a smaller medical-equivalent department where there is no ITC billet. You run the IT-21 / ONE-Net spaces, the COMSEC vault (with the COMSEC custodian's signature on every transaction the LCPO needs you to defend), the cryptographic equipment accountability under the EKMS / KMI process, the ship's portion of the CCRI / CORA / CSAP cyber inspection posture, and the network-status portion of the daily department sync the cyber officer briefs at command-team. Submarine ITs with the IT-8404 NEC are the senior IT aboard small crews — the boat's senior IT carries broader scope by displacement, because the crew runs lean and the IT1 is often the most senior IT on the boat. Shore commands — NCTS, NCTAMS, NIOC, NIWC, Fleet Cyber Command staff cells, MEF G-6 detachments, BUMED IT, joint cyber billets at the unified commands — the LPO seat is the senior IT bench for a specific production element or staff section. The Chief board packet conversation is no longer abstract at this rank. The LCPO is editing your eEVAL bullets in real time during the cycle, not at submission. Your warfare device — Surface (SW), Submarine (SS), Aviation (AW), Information Warfare (IW), Expeditionary (EXW), FMF — is current, pinned, and visible on every quarterdeck photo. Your NEC stack tells the rate where you have actually walked: the IT-8404 submarine NEC, the network-engineering NEC stack (verify current IT-27xx / IT-33xx codes off the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN — do not quote what your buddy at A-school told you), the cyber-warfare NECs if you converted to or aligned with CTN, advanced comm and cryptographic NECs from the production-element shore commands. Your cert stack is CCNP-grade or CISSP-trending — CompTIA Sec+ is the IAT-II floor for any IT1, CCNP-Security or CASP+ is the IAT-III credential the Chief board reads, CISSP is the Chief / Warrant differentiator on the cert sheet. The eEVAL profile across the next two cycles is the credential the Chief board actually reads. Eight to twelve bullets per cycle, written in measurable action-result-impact language per NAVPERS 1610-series and the MILPERSMAN articles on enlisted evaluations. Your LCPO knows your ranking against the IT1 peer group before the wardroom EVAL board sits. Your trait-mark average and your EP / MP ranking on the LCPO's brief sheet are the predictors the senior enlisted leadership council in the goat locker reads for the next chief season induction list. The LCPO who is grooming you for first-look Chief is the LCPO who is editing your bullets across the year, walking you to the cyber officer for visible reps with the wardroom, and putting your name in front of the CMC at the LCPO syncs. The IT1 who is on the bench is the IT1 the goat locker reads as a possible chief season inductee 12-18 months before the board sits. The career broadening conversation also opens hard at IT1. The detailer at MyNavy HR / NPC BUPERS-3 (the senior enlisted detailing community is the institutional inside-baseball of the Navy senior enlisted career arc), recruiter senior leadership at Navy Recruiting Command, A-school / C-school senior cadre at IWTC Corry Station or Naval Submarine School Groton, BUMED-equivalent IT staff at the joint and DoN-level cyber commands, and the joint duty senior enlisted billets at NSA, DISA, Fleet Cyber Command / TENTH Fleet, and the unified-command J6 staffs are the broadening tours that read loudly at the Chief board and even louder at the Senior Chief board two cycles later. The IT1 who treats his current tour as the whole career is the IT1 the slate moves past; the IT1 who is reading the next NEC source-rating NAVADMIN, the current detailer slate, and the cyber-warfare and Warrant accession pipeline messages is the IT1 the goat locker reads as a Chief in motion.
Career Arc
  • 01IT1 pin-on via NWAE — exam, EAW, advancement multiple per the current cycle NAVADMIN.
  • 02LPO tour: ship's IT division, NCTS / NCTAMS production element, submarine senior IT (IT-8404), MEF G-6 detachment, Fleet Cyber / NAVIFOR shore staff cell.
  • 03NEC pipeline depth: senior network engineering NECs, submarine IT-8404 (if not already held), advanced cyber / cryptographic NEC, CTN conversion if cyber-warfare-aligned.
  • 04Cert stack: IAT-III maintained (CCNP-Security, CASP+, or CISSP); SANS GIAC where the billet justifies; AWS / Azure architect tracks where the platform runs cloud.
  • 05Warfare device pinned (SW / SS / IW / EXW / FMF / AW) — and current via the platform's PQS reverification cycle.
  • 06Chief board packet — eEVAL profile across the IT1 tour, NEC stack, certs, warfare device, leadership billets, awards, command involvement. LCPO is editing the packet across the year, not the week before submission.
  • 07ITC pin-on if selected → chief season (CPO 365 Phase II) at the command goat locker, ~6-week induction.
Common Screwups
  • ×DUI / NJP / fraternization at this rank — terminal for the Chief board. The IT1 who cannot pass the integrity test does not pin ITC regardless of NWAE multiple or eEVAL profile; the LCPO and the goat locker pull defense and the Chief board absorbs the read inside the same cycle.
  • ×Phoning the LPO tour. The Chief board reads the division's cyber readiness posture (CCRI / CORA / Fleet Cyber assessment results), the controlled-cryptographic-equipment accountability, the IAT / 8140 compliance, the eEVAL pipeline, and the goat locker's read on whether you actually run the division or sit behind your LPO desk and let the IT2s carry it. A coasting IT1 is the IT1 the chief board passes over.
  • ×Letting CompTIA Sec+ lapse or failing to maintain IAT-II / IAT-III currency. Cert lapse pulls you off the watchbill, the LCPO pulls you off the LPO seat, and the Chief board reads the cert lapse on the brief sheet — Navy COOL funds the continuing-ed credits; there is no excuse.
  • ×Missing the warfare-device requalification window. The IW / SW / SS / EXW / FMF / AW device is current; the IT1 walking around with an expired device is the IT1 the wardroom and the goat locker read as off-track. The PQS reverification cycle is in the platform-specific PQS reference; calendar the date the day you check aboard.
  • ×Treating the Chief board packet as a 30-day project at the end of the cycle. The eEVAL profile is built across two-to-three cycles, not the week before submission. The IT1 who waits until the LCPO calls him in to start drafting bullets is the IT1 whose packet reads thin; the IT1 whose LCPO has been editing across the year is the IT1 whose packet reads finished.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500-0530Wake. PT gear on. Phone check — overnight division emergencies. IT3 in the brig? IT2 LPO with a section watch-stander in crisis? Controlled-cryptographic-equipment discrepancy from the off-going watch? CIRT escalation from the watch floor? LCPO text? You are the senior enlisted IT voice the division looks to first. The LCPO hears about it as you walk into morning sync.
  • 0530-0700Division PT or LPO solo PT. On a ship you run with the division two-to-three days a week and solo lift the rest; on a submarine you do crew PT plus your own; at a shore command you run the division PT plan with the IT2 LPOs. Visible PT habit is the deckplate read on whether the IT1 actually carries the rate.
  • 0700-0800Hygiene, breakfast, change uniforms. 20-30 minutes with the LCPO in the LPO office — last shift's incidents, today's cyber readiness brief, this week's STIG / IAVA closure cycle, the cyber officer's read on the upcoming inspection.
  • 0800Division muster and quarters. The IT2 LPOs take accountability of their sections; you take accountability of the division and report to the LCPO and the cyber officer. The CMC walks the formation occasionally; she reads the division by reading the LPO.
  • 0815-1100Division-level work. Morning sync with the LCPO, cyber officer, and department head. At the COMSEC vault for a controlled-cryptographic-equipment posture review with the COMSEC custodian. At the readiness terminal pulling STIG / ACAS / IAVA / CCRI / CORA milestone numbers. At the cyber officer's office for a quarterly readiness brief if it is on the calendar. Walking the spaces (IT-21 / ONE-Net racks, COMSEC vault, server room, comm spaces, network-operations center) and spot-checking the IT2 LPOs' execution.
  • 1100-1300Chow. You eat with the LPOs of sister divisions — the OS LPO, the CTN LPO at a Fleet Cyber shore command, the IT LPO of the sister ship if you are on a CSG, the senior LCPO of a sister department occasionally. Conversation is command-level: training, slates, climate, the inspections coming up, the Chief and Senior Chief bench-building, the Warrant accession board read.
  • 1300-1500Afternoon work. eEVAL drafting (IT1-level eEVAL writing on the IT2 LPOs is the highest-leverage work of the week). Warrant / CTN / MECP / STA-21 / LDO / CWO packet review for IT2s and IT3s under the LPO's mentorship. Climate-survey or sensing-session results review with the LCPO. Sailor-in-crisis intervention if needed (the LPO's office is where the sailor-in-crisis is sent first by the IT2 LPOs).
  • 1500-1630Final division formation or LPO sync. The LCPO briefs the next day's priorities; you brief division-level adjustments; the IT2 LPOs brief their sections. Sensitive-item accountability — keymat, controlled-cryptographic-equipment, classified-handling spot checks — and end-of-day ticket-queue review.
  • 1630-1800Division release. You stay 60-90 minutes with the LCPO and cyber officer — AAR on the day, prep for tomorrow, command-team coordination if needed. The IT1 who closes out the day with the LCPO every evening is the IT1 whose LCPO does not surprise the cyber officer.
  • 1800-2000Personal time. Married IT1s: family. Single IT1s: gym, study (CCNP-Security continuing-ed, CASP+ continuing-ed, CISSP continuing-ed, SANS GIAC short-courses, the next NEC packet build). If you are 18-24 months out from the Chief selection board, you are reviewing past board results and eEVAL patterns. If you are 6-12 months out from the board, the LCPO is editing your packet every Sunday evening.
  • 2000-2200After-hours coordination with the LCPO, the IT2 LPOs, the CMC, or a sailor in crisis. The IT1's phone is always on at this rank. Family-emergency calls, after-duty NJP notifications, casualty-notification preparation, CIRT escalations from the watch floor. The IT1 who lets the phone go to voicemail at this rank stops being the IT1 the LCPO trusts.
  • 2200Lights out.
  • Field rotation / deployment / patrol / contested-network exerciseThe clock collapses. You are the senior enlisted IT voice on watch during a CSG deployment, a submarine patrol, a MEU forward-deployed evolution, a contested-network exercise (FLEETEX, Bold Alligator, contingency response), or a CCRI / CORA / Fleet Cyber assessment. Sleep in 4-hour shifts at sea, 2-hour shifts in the field with a Marine MEF G-6 detachment. The cyber officer, the LCPO, and NAVIFOR / Fleet Cyber liaisons read the division through the LPO. The Chief board reads the deployment eEVAL.

Weekly Cadence

The Mon-Fri rhythm at IT1 LPO level is the division-senior-petty-officer version of the LCPO rhythm. Monday is the heaviest planning day — you read the LCPO's Friday release, adjust the division's plan to match the command-team tasking, brief the cyber officer, the LCPO, and your IT2 LPOs by mid-morning. Tuesday-Wednesday are watch execution and training; you observe, the IT2 LPOs run their sections, the IT3s run their cells, you spot-check the spaces and the COMSEC vault. Thursday is administrative — IT1-level eEVAL drafting, NEC and commissioning packet review, readiness reconciliation, COMSEC and controlled-cryptographic-equipment accountability audit, LCPO sync on Friday's brief. Friday is the command brief, the weekly readiness roll-up at the command-team meeting, and division release. The week's second rhythm is the Chief bench work the LCPO is running. The IT1 on the Chief bench is at the LCPO's office at least daily for a mentoring conversation, at the cyber officer's office at least weekly for visible reps with the wardroom, and at the goat locker as the LCPO sees fit. The IT1 who is not on the bench is missing the briefing he needs to compete. The Chief selection board reads paper across the LPO tour, and the bench-mentoring conversation is where the LCPO and the goat locker tell the IT1 which gaps in the paper to close before the board cycle opens. The week's third rhythm is the division climate and mentoring work — sensing sessions (the IT2 LPOs run them, you roll up to the LCPO and cyber officer), one-on-one mentoring with the Warrant / CTN / commissioning / NEC packet candidates in your shop, family-readiness coordination with the ombudsman or FRO if there is one, sailor-in-crisis interventions when needed. The IT1 who treats the mentoring as something the IT2 LPOs handle is the IT1 whose division climate surprises the wardroom; the IT1 who runs honest mentoring conversations and translates them into LCPO-and-cyber-officer-funded actions is the IT1 whose division is the LCPO's preferred name on the Chief bench.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Run a section / division LPO seat as the senior enlisted IT voice — accountability, training, readiness, discipline, watchbill, family, finance — with weekly cadence the LCPO and cyber officer can predict.
    Weekly muster brief from your IT2s, weekly training brief from your bench, weekly cyber readiness roll-up to the LCPO (STIG / ACAS / IAVA posture, IAT / 8140 compliance, ticket SLA, CCRI / CORA milestones, controlled-cryptographic-equipment accountability, COMSEC posture), monthly division roll-up to the cyber officer and department head. The IT1 whose readiness numbers the LCPO defends up the chain without rewriting is the IT1 the Chief board reads as ready. The IT1 whose numbers the LCPO has to rebuild before briefing is the IT1 whose eEVAL absorbs the read at the next cycle.
  2. 02
    Defend a cyber readiness inspection (CCRI / CORA / Fleet Cyber assessment / Joint Cybersecurity Assessment) at the division level — own the gap, present the closure plan, hit the milestone the assessment team published.
    The inspection team writes the unit's grade; the LCPO and cyber officer brief it up the chain to TYCOM / NAVIFOR / Fleet Cyber. As LPO, you walk the spaces with the LCPO the week before, you identify the STIG drift, the IAVA gaps, the CCE / cryptographic-equipment accountability findings, the IAT / 8140 compliance gaps that the assessment will catch. The IT1 who surfaces the gap before the assessor does is the IT1 the LCPO defends at the next slate; the IT1 who finds out from the assessor is the IT1 whose Chief packet absorbs the read.
  3. 03
    Mentor four-to-six IT2s into Chief-board-competitive IT1 candidates and at least one Warrant Officer (170-series cyber), CTN conversion, submarine IT-8404, or commissioning (MECP / STA-21 / LDO / CWO IT-side) selectee per year from your shop.
    Each IT2 gets quarterly mentoring tied to his next-rank profile — eEVAL trait-mark progression, NEC packet build, cert stack progression, warfare-device pin-on, leadership-billet sequence in the watchbill. The IT1 who graduates two IT2s to IT1 in a single cycle is the IT1 the LCPO names for the Chief bench. The IT1 who runs one Warrant / CTN / submarine / commissioning packet to selection per year is the IT1 who builds the institutional bench the rate quotes a decade from now. The Warrant 170-series accession path is selection-based via the current Warrant Officer accession NAVADMIN; verify the current cycle before quoting any rule to a mentee.
  4. 04
    Translate NAVIFOR / Fleet Cyber Command / TENTH Fleet / Type Commander / OPNAV cyber strategy into deckplate decisions the IT2s and IT3s rehearse without rewording.
    Read the current OPNAVINST 5239 series, the SECNAVINST 5239 series, the DoDI 8500.01 / 8510.01 / 8530.01 stack, the NIST SP 800-37 RMF documentation, the current DoDM 8140.03 cyberspace workforce qualification matrix, and the policy memos NAVIFOR / Fleet Cyber publish. Translate them into the division's weekly training plan, the quarterly cyber readiness brief, the LCPO sync, and the eEVAL bullets. The IT1 who can quote the policy to the cyber officer without rehearsing is the IT1 whose division posture briefs without caveats. The IT1 who is out of date on policy is the IT1 whose authority erodes inside the same brief.
  5. 05
    Write IT1-quality eEVALs (the LCPO can defend at wardroom EVAL board) and pick the next IT2 and IT1 slate from your shop.
    IT1-level eEVAL writing is measurable, action-result-impact, and tied to the rate's senior-petty-officer leadership criteria per NAVPERS 1610-series guidance and the MILPERSMAN articles on enlisted evaluations. Write the bullet during the rated event in measurable language; edit at quarterly midterm counseling; finalize at the wardroom EVAL board. The IT1 whose eEVALs read as generic IT-filler is the IT1 whose juniors get under-ranked at the NWAE board; the IT1 whose eEVALs read measurably is the IT1 whose IT2s pin IT1 at first look.
  6. 06
    Operate as the senior IT during a deployment, patrol, MEU, fleet contingency, or contested-network exercise — including the call to wake the CO at 0200 when the network or cyber posture has actually shifted.
    The deployment cyber event is binary in EVAL terms — your AAR is what the LCPO and cyber officer brief up the chain to NAVIFOR / Fleet Cyber and TYCOM. As LPO during a real-world event you walk the spaces with the LCPO, you make the call on escalation timing, you write the incident-response report (NIST SP 800-61 framework, mapped to the Navy CIRT / Fleet Cyber reporting structure). The IT1 who escalates inside the timeline and writes a clean AAR is the IT1 whose deployment eEVAL reads first-look-Chief. The IT1 who delays escalation or lets the cyber officer find out from the FCC reading file is the IT1 whose Chief packet absorbs the read.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • OPNAVINST 5239 series — Navy Cybersecurity Program (current version).
    Full familiarity at the LPO level. You defend the division against it and you mentor the IT2s against it. Pull the current version from the Navy Doctrine Library (doctrine.navy.mil) before quoting it at any wardroom brief — the instruction gets reissued and the IT1 who quotes the superseded version loses credibility inside the same brief.
  • SECNAVINST 5239 series — Department of the Navy Cybersecurity / Information Assurance Program.
    The umbrella every Navy IT reg inherits from. You are quoted from it more often than you quote it at this rank — the cyber officer asks you what SECNAVINST says, and the IT1 who knows the article number and the implementing OPNAVINST is the IT1 the cyber officer trusts.
  • DoDI 8500.01 — Cybersecurity; DoDI 8510.01 — Risk Management Framework (RMF) for DoD IT; DoDI 8530.01 — Cybersecurity Activities Support to DoD Information Network Operations.
    The DoD-level umbrella the Navy cyber program inherits from. Fluent across all three at the LPO level. The cyber officer and the NAVIFOR / Fleet Cyber liaisons read the unit posture against this stack; the IT1 who knows where SECNAV inherits from is the IT1 who briefs without caveats.
  • NIST SP 800-37 — RMF; SP 800-53 — Security and Privacy Controls; SP 800-171 — CUI in Nonfederal Systems; SP 800-181 — NICE Framework.
    The NIST publications under the DoD / Navy cyber program. The IT1 who reads the NIST documents alongside the OPNAVINSTs is the IT1 whose architecture decisions and inspection-defense briefings hold up at the cyber officer and TYCOM level.
  • DoDM 8140.03 — Cyberspace Workforce Qualification (the work-role matrix that gates which billets you can sit and which certs your shop maintains).
    You audit the division against it every cycle. The IT1 who knows the DCWF work-role assignments for every billet in the shop, the certs that satisfy each work-role, and the continuing-ed credit posture for each Sailor is the IT1 whose Chief packet reads ready. The cyber officer asks for this at every quarterly readiness brief; the IT1 who has the spreadsheet current is the IT1 the cyber officer trusts.
  • MILPERSMAN + NAVPERS 18068 Vol II + the current NEC source-rating NAVADMIN + the current Chief selection board NAVADMIN.
    MILPERSMAN governs enlisted personnel actions at IT1-level visibility (advancement, retention, separation, NJP). NAVPERS 18068 Vol II is the NEC catalog; the source-rating NAVADMIN opens NEC slots each cycle. The Chief board NAVADMIN opens the board cycle and lists every gate. The IT1 who builds the bench off a superseded NAVADMIN is the IT1 who loses an IT2 to a closed NEC source rating and loses a cycle on his own Chief packet.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • IAT Level III maintained (CCNP-Security, CASP+, or CISSP) with continuing-ed credits banked; CompTIA Sec+ minimum is the IAT-II floor and Navy COOL funds the voucher.
    The cert stack is on the LCPO's cert tickler and the cyber officer's brief sheet. CCNP-Security path runs via Cisco Learning Network and the Navy COOL voucher; CASP+ via CompTIA; CISSP via (ISC)² with the 5-year experience requirement (which an IT1 with 8-12 years TIS easily meets). Plan continuing-ed credits across the cert lifecycle. The IT1 whose cert sheet is current is the IT1 whose Chief packet reads ready; the IT1 whose Sec+ lapsed last quarter is the IT1 the slate moves past.
  • Chief board packet under construction with the LCPO's eye on every line; eEVAL profile defensible at wardroom EVAL board; warfare device pinned and current.
    The Chief board packet is a 12-24 month build, not a 30-day sprint. The LCPO is editing your bullets across the cycle; your eEVAL profile is built measurably across two-to-three cycles; your warfare device (SW / SS / IW / EXW / FMF / AW) is current via the platform PQS reverification. Plan the packet 18-24 months from board eligibility; the LCPO walks the packet through the wardroom EVAL board and the CMC reads it before the board sits.
  • Division-level cyber readiness posture defensible at cyber officer, department head, and CO level — STIG / ACAS / IAVA, IAT / 8140 compliance, CCRI / CORA milestones, COMSEC / cryptographic-equipment accountability — every cycle, no caveats.
    Build a weekly readiness brief the IT2s populate from the source systems and you spot-check. The IT1 who briefs a STIG posture number the cyber officer refutes from the source system is the IT1 the wardroom stops trusting. The IT1 whose numbers the LCPO defends up the chain without rebuilding is the IT1 the goat locker reads as Chief-ready. The standard is binary at this rank — defensible or read against.
  • Pipeline producing at least one IT2 selectee per NWAE cycle and one Warrant (170-series cyber), CTN conversion, submarine IT-8404, or commissioning (MECP / STA-21 / LDO / CWO IT-side) selectee per year from your shop.
    The mentoring is the work. Each IT2 gets quarterly counseling on the IT1 board profile (eEVAL, NEC, cert stack, warfare device, leadership billet); each Warrant / CTN / submarine / commissioning candidate gets a packet-build conversation. The IT1 whose shop produces two IT2-to-IT1 selectees in a single cycle and a Warrant or commissioning selectee per year is the IT1 the LCPO quotes when the wardroom asks who is on the Chief bench.
  • Zero IT1-level integrity incidents — financial, fraternization, classified-handling, OPSEC, cyber-clearance, controlled-cryptographic-equipment. One ends the Chief track permanently at this rank.
    IT1-level integrity is binary at this point in the career. Financial mismanagement (debt that requires command intervention, garnishments at this rank), fraternization (relationships across the enlisted-officer line or with subordinates), classified-handling violations (the IT1 who mishandles classified spillage is the IT1 the cyber officer cannot defend), OPSEC findings (the IT1 who posts unit network details on social media), cryptographic-equipment accountability discrepancies (one missing keymat destruction signature, one unauthorized COMSEC transaction) — any one is terminal for the Chief board. The LCPO and the goat locker do not protect IT1s through integrity failures at this rank.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Briefing STIG / ACAS / IAVA numbers you have not personally validated.
    The cyber officer catches it once and your Chief packet feels it permanently. The cyber officer cross-references your brief against the source system in the next quarterly readiness review; the gap between what you briefed and what the source system says becomes the read on whether you actually run the division or front-load the brief. The eEVAL bullet for that cycle absorbs it and the goat locker hears about it the same week.
  • Letting a senior IT2 carry the change-management or configuration-control board because 'he is your guy.'
    When the IT2 transfers, the gap surfaces and the LPO's name is on the JAG-equivalent administrative review. The wardroom realizes the IT1 was not actually running the change-control process; the cyber officer pulls back on the IT1's authority at the next change-board sync; the Chief board reads the eEVAL profile against the gap. The fix is to own the process visibly, not to delegate it and hope.
  • Confusing seniority with current technical depth.
    The senior IT2 may know the new platform (Tanium Cloud, the current SCCM / Endpoint Configuration Manager build, the AWS or Azure cloud workload, the new cryptographic module rollout) better than you do. Let him brief it and stand by him — the LCPO sees who is honest about the gap. The IT1 who fakes depth in front of the cyber officer or the JOs loses authority inside the same brief; the IT1 who lets his IT2 brief the depth and amplifies the IT2's credibility builds the bench and the Chief packet at the same time.
  • Going around the LCPO to the cyber officer, the wardroom, or NAVIFOR / Fleet Cyber liaisons.
    The chiefs talk. The next Chief board sees the pattern. The LCPO who finds out from the cyber officer that the IT1 went around him is the LCPO who pulls his defense at the next slate; the wardroom EVAL board sees the gap; the Chief packet reads thin in the leadership trait. The fix is to brief through the LCPO every time, even when the cyber officer asks for it direct.
  • Treating the Warrant / commissioning / CTN mentoring conversation as transactional.
    The sailors you put through these accessions at this rank build the bench the Navy cyber workforce depends on for the next decade. The IT1 who runs a transactional packet conversation produces the IT2 who washes out of OCS or the Warrant accession board at the first hard moment; the IT1 who runs an honest packet conversation produces the Warrant Officer, CTN, or LDO who anchors the cyber and IT enlisted community ten years from now. Counsel honestly about ADSO, OCS, the seat the sailor actually wants, and the family-and-finance load of the path — and the IT2 you mentored remembers which kind of IT1 you were.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • Warrant Officer (170-series cyber) packet vs Chief board pursuit.
    The 170-series Warrant Officer accession path is selection-based via the current Warrant Officer accession NAVADMIN. The fork: pursue the Warrant packet now (commissioned officer in the cyber community, technical expert track, longer career runway potentially, different command relationships) or stay enlisted and pursue Chief / Senior Chief / Master Chief (senior enlisted leadership track, anchors, goat locker, CMC / COB diamond potential). Both are valid; both have post-service market value. The decision: do you want technical-officer authority (Warrant) or senior-enlisted leadership authority (Chief)? Talk to sitting 170-series Warrants and sitting ITCs / ITCSs / ITCMs before deciding. Verify the current Warrant accession board NAVADMIN before quoting any rule to yourself.
  • CTN conversion vs IT rate retention.
    The CTN (Cryptologic Technician, Networks) rating is the Navy's cyber-warfare-aligned enlisted rate. The conversion process is governed by the current CTN source-rating NAVADMIN — pull the current cycle's message before treating the conversion as available. The fork: if your career is cyber-warfare-aligned (Fleet Cyber Command, NSA / DISA joint duty, offensive or defensive cyber operations), CTN may be the better-aligned rate for the next decade. If your career is enterprise IT / network engineering / submarine IT-aligned, IT is the rate. The decision: where do you actually want to walk for the next 10-15 years? CTN conversion is irreversible at scale; the wardroom and the goat locker on both sides will counsel you, but the choice is yours.
  • Commissioning (MECP / STA-21 / LDO / CWO IT-side) vs senior enlisted track.
    The commissioning paths open at IT1: MECP (Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program — not applicable to IT-side, but listed for completeness), STA-21 (Seaman to Admiral — Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps via accession from the fleet), LDO (Limited Duty Officer — restricted line, technical-officer track), CWO (Chief Warrant Officer — applicable here as 170-series cyber Warrant). Each path has different eligibility, ADSO, and family-and-finance implications. The decision is path and timing. Talk to sitting LDOs and CWOs in the IT and 170-series communities; pull the current accession NAVADMINs before quoting any rule. The IT1 who runs the conversation with his LCPO and CMC, then with sitting officers in the path he is considering, is the IT1 who chooses well.
  • Submarine IT-8404 NEC pursuit (if not already held).
    The submarine IT-8404 NEC opens the submarine senior-IT track. The IT-8404 pipeline runs through Naval Submarine School Groton, with the basic submarine training and the IT-8404 specialty C-school. Submarine duty pay applies. The senior submarine IT eventually competes for COB (Chief of the Boat — the senior enlisted billet on a submarine) at the ITCM / E-9 level. The fork: pursue the submarine IT-8404 now (broader scope on small crews, submarine duty pay, distinct career arc, COB pipeline opens at HMCS-equivalent senior chief) or stay surface / shore (CSG / ESG / NCTS / NCTAMS / NIOC / Fleet Cyber, CMC pipeline opens). The decision is family-and-finance (submarine duty pay vs sea pay), career-arc (COB vs CMC vs senior staff master chief), and platform preference. The IT1 who has never been to Groton can still pin Chief on the surface / shore track without IT-8404.
  • Retirement timing — re-up to 20 years vs separate at 12-14 years TIS.
    At IT1 with 8-14 years TIS, the next re-up window is the most consequential financial decision before the Chief board. Under BRS, the multiplier is 2.0% per year of service (40% at 20 years). The continuation pay window at 12 years TIS is in motion — accept the lump sum and the obligation, or skip and plan separation. The TSP match is automatic at 5% if you contribute. The fork: stay for Chief / Senior Chief / Master Chief and the 20-year retirement, or separate at the 12-14 year mark and enter the cleared IT contractor space (Booz Allen, Leidos, SAIC, CACI, ManTech, Peraton, BAE) with 6-10 years of Navy IT credibility, a current cert stack, and a clearance the contractors will keep current for you. Both paths have real financial math. Run the numbers with a Command Financial Specialist; the variables are real either way.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • Carrier / amphib IT department LPO (CSG / ESG, large-ship IT division)
    The CVN or LHA / LHD IT department is the largest at-sea IT division in the rate — 30-60 ITs across multiple sections, the IT-21 / ONE-Net infrastructure for a 5000-Sailor / Marine afloat command, the CSG / ESG cyber posture, and the COMSEC / cryptographic accountability at scale. The IT1 LPO on a CVN or amphib runs a section or a sub-department under the ITCM / ITCS LCPO. The Chief board reads the cruise eEVAL heavily; the carrier / amphib eEVAL profile is materially career-shaping if the IT1 came off a successful deployment.
  • Small surface combatant IT (DDG / CG senior shop, where the IT1 may be the senior IT aboard)
    On a DDG or CG, the IT shop is 8-15 ITs total; the IT1 is often the senior IT aboard if there is no ITC billet, or the LPO under a single ITC. The scope is broader by displacement — the IT1 owns more of the platform's IT-21 / ONE-Net posture, the COMSEC vault, the cyber readiness inspection posture, and the network-status portion of the daily department-head sync. The cruise eEVAL profile reads heavily at the Chief board; the small-combatant IT1 who came off a successful deployment as the senior IT aboard is the IT1 the cyber officer defends at the next slate.
  • Submarine IT (IT-8404, broader scope due to small crew)
    On a fast-attack or boomer, the IT shop is 2-4 ITs total. The IT1 with the IT-8404 NEC is often the senior IT aboard the boat. The scope is broader by displacement than any other IT platform — the IT1 owns the boat's IT posture in patrol with no in-port reach-back to the LCPO, the cryptographic-equipment accountability under the EKMS / KMI process at sea, and the network and comm posture for a closed underwater platform. Submarine duty pay applies. The Chief board reads the patrol eEVAL heavily for IT-8404 IT1s; the COB pipeline opens at the senior chief level for the IT-8404 community.
  • NCTAMS / NCTS shore senior LPO (large-scale shore IT production)
    NCTAMS (Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Stations — Pacific in Wahiawa HI, Atlantic in Norfolk VA) and the NCTSes (Naval Computer and Telecommunications Stations) are the Navy's shore-side enterprise IT production commands. The IT1 LPO at NCTAMS or an NCTS runs a production element — a server room, a comm-suite cell, a network operations center watch section. The OPTEMPO is enterprise-IT — uptime, change management, configuration control, inspection posture, IAT / 8140 compliance at scale. The Chief board reads the production-element eEVAL on the basis of uptime, ticket SLA, inspection posture, and the bench the IT1 built.
  • Joint cyber billet (Fleet Cyber Command / TENTH Fleet, NSA, DISA, unified-command J6 staff)
    The IT1 on joint duty at Fleet Cyber / TENTH Fleet (Fort Meade MD), at NSA (Fort Meade), at DISA (Fort Meade / Stuttgart / shore commands worldwide), or at a unified-command J6 staff (CENTCOM J6, INDOPACOM J6, EUCOM J6, AFRICOM J6, NORTHCOM J6, SOUTHCOM J6, SPACECOM J6) is the rate's joint-duty senior-petty-officer bench. The OPTEMPO is staff work, joint inter-service collaboration, and policy translation. The Chief board reads joint duty as a clear differentiator on the brief sheet; the IT1 who came off a successful joint tour is the IT1 the goat locker quotes when the wardroom asks who is on the Chief bench with a joint credential.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good IT1 is the LPO the LCPO trusts to run the division for a week without daily check-ins. His network and cyber readiness numbers brief without caveat. His division's CCRI / CORA / Fleet Cyber assessment posture is in the upper third of the type-command's IT-rated divisions. His eEVALs pick IT2s above expectation; his eEVAL profile across the most recent two-to-three cycles is the cleanest in the IT1 peer group. His pipeline produces submarine IT-8404, Warrant 170-series, CTN conversion, and commissioning (MECP / STA-21 / LDO / CWO IT-side) packets at a rate that exceeds the type-command's average — and the wardroom can name them. His own cert stack is current: CCNP-Security or CASP+ or CISSP at the IAT-III level; warfare device pinned and current; NEC stack expressed in the assignment slate at every billet (submarine IT-8404 if the platform calls for it; the senior network engineering NECs if the production element calls for it; the cyber-warfare NECs if CTN-aligned). His goat locker reads him as a chief in motion 18-24 months before the board sits. The CMC and the cyber officer both know his name without thinking. The IT1 who is being groomed for first-look Chief looks different from the IT1 who is competent at LPO. The grooming IT1 is the one whose division's cyber readiness numbers are in the upper third of the command, who has built two IT2s into IT1-board-ready candidates, whose deployment or contingency eEVAL reads measurably across the cycle, whose Warrant 170-series or commissioning packets selected at first look, and whose eEVAL trait-mark profile and ranking against the IT1 peer group is the LCPO's preferred name for chief season induction. The Chief selection board reads paper; the IT1 who built the paper through 18-24 months of disciplined LPO work is the IT1 who pins ITC at first look and walks into chief season with the goat locker reading him as already-Chief.

Preview — The Next Rank

ITC (Chief Petty Officer, E-7) is the rank where the job description, the cultural identity, and the institutional weight all shift at the same time. The gold-fouled anchors are not a higher chevron — they are the entry credential into the Chief's Mess, the Navy's senior enlisted leadership institution. The Chief's Mess at your command is your peer group, your accountability network, your professional development venue, and the institution that the CO, cyber officer, XO, and CMC rely on for senior enlisted ground truth. The goat locker is where the mess meets and where the standard gets enforced before it ever reaches the wardroom. The job changes more between IT1 and ITC than at any other promotion in the rate. As LCPO of an IT department — ship's IT division on a CSG / ESG amphib, NCTS or NCTAMS production element, submarine COB-adjacent senior IT on a boat, MEF G-6 enlisted lead, or a Fleet Cyber Command / NAVIFOR shore staff cell — you run 15-40 ITs and own enlisted execution from the deckplate up. You write fewer eEVALs but they are the ones that pick the next IT1 and ITC slate. You sit at department head sync as the senior enlisted IT voice; you walk the spaces during a real-world contingency, network outage, or cyber readiness inspection (CCRI / CORA / Fleet Cyber assessment) and identify the broken systems before the inspector does. The Senior Chief selection board reads paper across the LCPO tour two cycles out. The career-broadening tour — detailer at MyNavy HR / NPC, CPO Academy or SEA cadre, A-school / C-school senior cadre at IWTC Corry Station or Naval Submarine School Groton, BUMED / Fleet Cyber staff senior enlisted, joint duty at NSA / DISA / unified-command J6 — reads loudly at the Senior Chief board. CPO Academy is the chief-tier institutional PME and is the visible credential on the brief sheet. The CMC and COB pipelines open at HMCS-equivalent senior chief or master chief level; the conversation starts at the chief level. Plan the career-broadening tour and the CPO Academy slot 18-24 months ahead.
FAQ

IT E6 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E6 IT (Information Systems Technician) actually do?
You are LPO of an IT division — ship's information systems division, NCTS / NCTAMS production cell, submarine medical-equivalent IT shop if your billet is the senior IT aboard, MEF G-6 detachment, or a Fleet Cyber Command shore element — running 10-25 ITs and a piece of the command's network and cyber readiness.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E6 IT?
IT1 is the LCPO bench — section LPO in title, department LPO in fact, and the Chief board is no longer a conversation about whether you build the packet but how clean it reads.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E6 IT?
Time-blocked day at the E6 IT rank tier: 0500-0530 Wake. PT gear on. Phone check — overnight division emergencies. IT3 in the brig? IT2 LPO with a section watch-stander in crisis? Controlled-cryptographic-equipment discrepancy from the off-going watch? CIRT escalation from the watch floor? LCPO text? You are the senior enlisted IT voice the division looks to first. The LCPO hears about it as you walk into morning sync, 0530-0700 Division PT or LPO solo PT. On a ship you run with the division two-to-three days a week and solo lift the rest; on a submarine you do crew PT plus your own;…
Q04What mistakes get E6 IT soldiers fired or relieved?
DUI / NJP / fraternization at this rank — terminal for the Chief board. The IT1 who cannot pass the integrity test does not pin ITC regardless of NWAE multiple or eEVAL profile; the LCPO and the goat locker pull defense and the Chief board absorbs the read inside the same cycle; Phoning the LPO tour. The Chief board reads the division's cyber readiness posture (CCRI / CORA / Fleet Cyber assessment results), the controlled-cryptographic-equipment accountability, the IAT / 8140 compliance,…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E6 IT rank tier?
Warrant Officer (170-series cyber) packet vs Chief board pursuit — The 170-series Warrant Officer accession path is selection-based via the current Warrant Officer accession NAVADMIN. The fork: pursue the Warrant packet now (commissioned officer in the cyber community, technical expert track, longer career runway potentially, different command relationships) or stay enlisted and pursue Chief / Senior Chief / Master Chief (senior enlisted leadership track, anchors, goat locker, CMC / COB diamond potential). Both are valid; both have post-service market value.…
Q06What's next after E6 for a IT (Information Systems Technician) in the Navy?
ITC (Chief Petty Officer, E-7) is the rank where the job description, the cultural identity, and the institutional weight all shift at the same time.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E6 IT need to know cold?
SECNAVINST 5239 series; OPNAVINST 5239 series — current Navy / DON Cybersecurity Program.; DoDI 8500.01 — Cybersecurity; DoDI 8510.01 — RMF for DoD IT.; NIST SP 800-37 — Risk Management Framework; 800-53 — Controls; 800-171 — CUI in Nonfederal Systems.

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Published by the Honest MOS Editorial DeskVerified against DoD/.gov sourcesUpdated May 2026Editorial standards