The Nuclear Power School (NPS) is a technical training institution operated by the United States Navy in Goose Creek, South Carolina. It serves as a core component of the Navy’s program to prepare enlisted sailors, officers, and civilians employed at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory for the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants aboard surface ships and submarines in the U.S. nuclear navy. As of 2020, the U.S. Navy manages 98 nuclear power plants, including 71 submarines (each powered by a single reactor), 11 aircraft carriers (each with two reactors), two Moored Training Ships (MTS), and two land-based training plants. NPS is the cornerstone of the Navy’s nuclear training pipeline. Enlisted personnel typically attend Nuclear Field "A" School before beginning at NPS, while officers and some civilian contractors enter the program with a college degree. The program culminates in certification as a nuclear operator at one of the Navy’s two Nuclear Power Training Units (NPTU). The curriculum at NPS is widely regarded as one of the most grueling in the U.S. military.
Overview
Prospective enlisted enrollees in the Nuclear Power Program must have qualifying line scores on the ASVAB exam, may need to pass the NFQT (Nuclear Field Qualification Test), and must undergo a NACLC investigation for attaining a "Secret" security clearance. Additionally, each applicant must pass an interview with the Advanced Programs Coordinator in the associated recruiting district. All officer students have had college-level courses in calculus and calculus-based physics. Acceptance to the officer program requires successful completion of interviews at Naval Reactors in Washington, D.C., and a final approval via a direct interview with the Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion, a unique eight-year, four-star admiral position which was originally held by the program's founder, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. Women were allowed into the Naval Nuclear Field from 1978 until 1980, when the Navy began only allowing men again. With the repeal of the Combat Exclusion Law in the 1994 Defense Authorization Act, and the decision to open combatant ships to women, the Navy once again began accepting women into NNPS for duty aboard nuclear-powered surface combatant ships. In 2010 the Navy lifted the ban on women on submarines, and one year later the first female officers reported for duty onboard US Navy submarines. The first female enlisted sailors reported onboard submarines in 2015. In November 2015, the first female Reactor Officer, Commander Erica L. Hoffmann, took leadership of Reactor Department onboard USS George H.W. Bush. CVN Reactor Officer is the most senior shipboard nuclear officer position in the Navy, with a pre-requisite of completing a commanding officer tour on board a non-nuclear surface ship before the officer can receive a Reactor Officer assignment. Following graduation from Boot Camp, enlisted personnel proceed to Nuclear Field "A" School for training in rating as Machinist's Mate (MMN), Electrician's Mate (EMN), or Electronics Technician (ETN). Active duty obligation is six years. Applicants must enlist for four years and concurrently execute an agreement to extend their enlistment for 24 months to accommodate the additional training involved. Personnel in the Nuclear Field program will be enlisted in paygrade E-3. Advancement to paygrade E-4 is authorized only after personnel complete all advancement-in-rate requirements (to include minimum time in rate) and Class "A" School, provided eligibility in the Nuclear Field program is maintained. If Nuclear Field Class "A" School training is not completed, the member may be administratively reduced to E-2 or E-1, depending on the member's time in rate at the date of disenrollment. Upon acceptance of automatic advancement to paygrade E-4, the member will be obligated for 12-months of the two-year extension, in addition to the four-year enlistment, regardless of whether advanced training (i.e. NPS/NPTU) is completed. They then continue to Nuclear Power School for an additional six months of college-level classroom instruction. Graduates of the Nuclear Power School undergo a further six months of training at a Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU). This training involves the operation and maintenance of nuclear reactor plants and steam plants. Graduates of NPTU are qualified as nuclear operators, and most graduates immediately receive assignments to serve on submarines and aircraft carriers in the fleet. Upon completion of training at NPS and NPTU, the sailor is obligated to the remaining 12 months of the two-year extension. A few students from each NPTU class are selected as a Junior Staff Instructor (JSI) based on top academic performance throughout the program, evaluation for aptitude to be an instructor, and willingness to incur an additional 24-month service obligation, for a total of eight years on active duty. JSIs receive additional instructor training at the NPTU and then train students themselves for 24 months before eventually continuing on to serve in the fleet. Additionally, a few MMN graduates from each NPTU class are selected to undergo further training in the Engineering Laboratory Technician (ELT) specialty. ELTs are responsible for collection, analysis, and controls of reactor plant and steam generator water chemistry, as well as radiological analysis and controls. Upon completion of ELT training graduates are given assignments to the fleet.
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