Navy Staff Corps Officer Programs
The Navy Staff Corps are communities of commissioned officers who offer professional, technical, legal, medical, logistics and religious services in support of the fleet and Sailor readiness.
Staff Corps communities include the Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Nurse Corps, Medical Service Corps, Chaplain Corps, Judge Advocate General Corps, Supply Corps, and Civil Engineer Corps. Each Staff Corps has unique qualifications, career paths, and service roles.
This is a hub page for each Staff Corps guide which will provide an overview of each Staff Corps mission focus, eligibility requirements, training pipelines and long term career progression.
What Is A Staff Officer In The Navy?
Commissioned officers in the United States Navy are classified as either Staff Corps Officers or Line Officers (Unrestricted and Restricted).
Staff Corps Officers are experts in their respective specialties, such as attorneys, physicians, nurses, civil engineers, supply/logistics specialists, and even chaplains.
In other words, Navy Staff Officers are already considered specialized professionals in the civilian workforce even without their commission in the Navy.
Navy Staff Corps Officers
The Navy Staff Corps are organized into several groups. There are a total of eight Navy Corps groups in the United States Navy.
These Navy Corps groups of Navy Officer communities primarily serve in a support role to the line community.
The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) oversees the medicine-related corps, namely:
- Medical Corps
- Medical Service Corps
- Dental Corps
- Nurse Corps
The Navy Civil Engineer Corps falls under the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC).
The Navy Supply Corps is overseen by the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP).
The Navy Secretariat is directly in-charge of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and the Chaplain Corps.
Navy Staff Corps Insignia
In place of the star worn by line officers, Staff Corps officers wear their specialty insignia on the sleeve of their dress blue uniforms and on their shoulder boards.
The specialty insignia is a collar device worn on the left collar of winter blue and khaki working uniforms, whereas the rank device is worn on the right collar. Here’ what they look like:
Navy officer collar devices for line and staff corps. Credit: U.S. Navy.
Officer Development School
Prospective Staff Corps Officers attend Officer Development School.
The Officer Development School (ODS) is a five-week course that gives a thorough and intensive introduction to the duties of Navy Staff Corps Officers.
They will study about the United States Navy’s rich history of traditions and customs, military organization, military etiquette, and leadership development.
This is distinct from the initial training of Navy Line Officers who attend Officer Candidate School (OCS). The main difference is that students of ODS are already commissioned officers prior to reporting for training.
Compare Related Navy Jobs
If you are comparing line and staff corps paths, read Navy SWO vs Supply Corps. It shows how ship operations and logistics leadership differ by training, OAR gate, deployment, and daily work.
Navy Staff Officer Jobs
The Navy Staff Corps has several specialized communities. Each of these Navy Corps communities have their own commissioning programs, which are as follows: