Navy

Yeoman

Perform administrative and clerical work including correspondence, record keeping, and office management. Support command administrative operations.

ASVAB / entry requirement

ASVAB VE+MK: 99 OR VE+MK+CS: 148

Enlisted

Catalog rank range: E-1 to E-8Maximum rank: E-8Initial term: 4 years

Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.

Inside the YN Yeoman job

What the job looks like

Yeomen run the administrative machinery of a Navy command, covering correspondence, personnel actions, evaluations, orders, awards and a senior officer's calendar. Aboard ship you might work in the executive officer's office or an admin department, handling a steady stream of paperwork and sailors with questions. Shore duty could place you in a staff office, a schoolhouse or a flag officer's front office, where managing access and schedules becomes most of the job. The work runs on deadlines that do not slip, and an error in somebody's record or orders creates real problems for a real person. Sea and shore rotations change the setting, but the underlying task of keeping a command organized does not.

Skills you learn

You learn office administration at a professional level, including formal correspondence, records management, filing systems and the regulations behind personnel actions. Preparing evaluations, awards and orders teaches careful writing in a setting where a sentence can shape somebody's career prospects. Calendar and travel management, meeting coordination and gatekeeping for a senior leader build genuine executive support ability. You develop fluency in office software, databases and personnel systems, along with the reporting and audits that keep records accurate. Handling sensitive material teaches security procedures, privacy rules and the practice of protecting information as an ordinary daily habit.

What it builds in you

Working close to leadership builds professionalism and a clear sense of how organizations actually reach the decisions they announce. You develop discretion, because personnel matters, evaluations and other people's problems reach your desk long before anybody else hears about them. The job teaches self management, since nobody hands you a prioritized list and the deadlines keep arriving on their own schedule. Being the person who knows how the process works makes you useful to everyone, which builds quiet confidence regardless of rank. Yeomen tend to become unflappable, organized people who can absorb a chaotic day without losing track of what actually matters.

How it pays off after service

Executive assistant work is a direct translation, and supporting a commanding officer prepares you well for supporting a senior executive. Office management, operations coordination and administrative supervision roles hire this experience readily across essentially every industry. Records administration, document control and information management are specialized, stable fields that pay well and reward exactly these habits. Federal civil service administrative positions are highly accessible with veterans' preference and your working knowledge of government processes. A business or management degree on service benefits turns the administrative foundation into a path toward office or operations management.

Service member stories

Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.

“I knew early on that my goals lined up with the opportunities the Navy provides.”
“The Navy has given me structure and direction, but it’s also helped me understand who I want to be as a Sailor and as a person. The longer I’m here, the more that meaning grows.”
“Working alongside highly qualified and motivated Sailors made me realize I had big shoes to fill if I wanted to be successful and truly make an impact. That environment pushed me to raise my standards and helped me see the Navy as a long-term career option.”

— Yeoman 2nd Class Trinity StevensonRecruit Training Command

Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.

A day in the life of a Yeoman

You begin the day sorting correspondence and drafting messages and instructions for the command's administrative office. Your work involves record keeping, preparing official documents, managing the office, and supporting the command's daily paperwork. Routing correspondence, maintaining files, and keeping the admin machine running define your busy day.

No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.

Illustrative annual base pay

$43,902–$74,948

2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.

E-4 · over 4 years: $43,902
E-6 · over 10 years: $57,114
E-7 · over 20 years: $74,948

Allowances, special pays, pension and full breakdown DFAS 2026 source

Training achievements and distinctions

Possibilities for serving Sailors, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.

Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS)
Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.
Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS)
For enlisted Sailors in an eligible surface assignment, including support ratings. Complete the command's current qualification standards, assessments and approval process. A shore or submarine assignment alone does not establish eligibility; confirm current enrollment rules with the command.
- Navy ESWS and EAWS insignia policy (opens in a new tab)
Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS)
Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.
Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS)
Requires a qualifying aviation assignment or an authorized support-command arrangement, required in-rating technical qualifications and command approval. Current enrollment and pay-grade prerequisites must be checked; this is not a promotion or a badge awarded just for holding this rating.
- Navy aviation-warfare enrollment guidance (opens in a new tab)
- Navy ESWS and EAWS insignia policy (opens in a new tab)
Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare Specialist (EXW)
Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.
Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare Specialist (EXW)
Requires assignment to a command authorized to administer EXW and completion of its general and unit-specific personnel qualification standards and approval process. Published NSW program evidence establishes this route, not that every Navy unit offers it. Confirm current command authorization and prerequisites.
- Navy EXW qualification program (opens in a new tab)

Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.

Possible higher ranks and career paths

For Navy YN Yeoman, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.

Rank information for this listing

Rank Type: Enlisted
Catalog pay-grade range: Not independently verified for this specialty; no range asserted here.
Maximum Rank: Not independently verified for this specialty.

Examples of higher service ranks

E-5: Petty Officer Second Class
E-6: Petty Officer First Class
E-7: Chief Petty Officer
E-8: Senior Chief Petty Officer
E-9: Master Chief Petty Officer

These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.

Official military rank reference

The Navy directs enlisted Sailors to rating-specific Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs), and officers to their community managers and officer career-progression guidance. Rating conversion and commissioning are separate application paths, not automatic promotions.

Navy career planning: LaDRs, officer progression, and commissioning

Higher career paths — not verified

Service-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing

Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) appointments require separate applications and program-specific qualifications. The reviewed active-duty page contains FY28 cycle requirements, not Reserve eligibility. Its 1 October 2026 application deadline has passed; this is not an open application offer or a verified designator match for this listing.

Navy active-duty LDO/CWO applicant requirements

Specialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.

Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.

Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.

Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.

Civilian careers related to Administrative

Administrative Services Manager$108,300 / year median Human Resources Specialist$72,910 / year median Executive Assistant$72,520 / year median

Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.

Categories & Specializations

Administration

Clerical

Office Management

Record Keeping

Non-combat

YN questions, answered

What does Navy YN Yeoman do?

Perform administrative and clerical work including correspondence, record keeping, and office management. Support command administrative operations.

What can day-to-day work in Yeoman look like?

What skills does Navy YN Yeoman develop?

How can Yeoman experience translate after service?

What entry requirement is listed for Navy YN Yeoman?

ASVAB VE+MK: 99 OR VE+MK+CS: 148. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.

Can a civilian enter Navy YN Yeoman directly?

This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.

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Sources & Review

Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.

Official branch occupation evidence

Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.

Navy enlisted occupational standards, NAVPERS 18068F, July 2026, Appendix B (rating enumeration) · reviewed 2026-09-26

Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.

No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.

Advertised — Navy, as of 2026-09-28

Signal details

Deployment likelihood: Moderate*

* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.

Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.

Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.