Logistics specialist

The logistics specialist (LS) is a US Navy enlisted rating that was created on 1 October 2009 by the merger of the storekeeper (SK) and postal clerk (PC) ratings. It also includes the previous functions of the former aviation storekeeper (AK) rating, which was previously merged into the former storekeeper (SK) rating on 1 January 2003.

Job description
Logistics specialists manage inventories and issuance of repair parts/general supplies and specialized supplies (e.g., personal flight gear for naval aircrews or specialized combat equipment for Navy SEALs or Naval Military Construction Battalion "Seabees"), as well as distribute mail for naval ships, submarines, aviation squadrons, and shore-based activities. They procure, receive, store and issue material and repair selected components. They utilize financial accounting and database systems to perform inventory and financial management functions. Additionally, they sort and distribute all official and personal mail, manage money order and stamp inventories, and maintain financial and inventory reports. The LS rating is similar to the US Army's MOS 92 and the US Air Force's enlisted AFSCs 2G0XX, 2S0XX and 8M0XX.

Function
Logistics specialists typically fall under the command or supervision of commissioned officers of the U.S. Navy Supply Corps. The exception to this is in the case of those sailors in the LS rating who hold the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) of independent storekeeper, which trains logistics specialist 1st class petty officers (E-6) and above to operate independently of a supply officer.

Being principally derived from storekeepers, which until its disestablishment was one of the US Navy's oldest enlisted ratings, logistics specialists are primarily tasked with maintaining military 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.