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CULINARY SPECIALIST (CS)

The Navy's shipboard and shore food-service rating — every Navy galley, mess deck, and admiral's mess is run by a CS.

Culinary Specialist rating badge — crescent moon on a chevron
Rating Badge
Rating Code
CS
Community
Admin & Logistics
Paygrade Range
E-1 to E-9
ASVAB Minimum
VE+AR=88
A-School
Naval Technical Training Center, Lackland AFB, TX · ~9 weeks
Clearance
Standard
Obligation
4 years

OVERVIEW

Culinary Specialist (CS) is the U.S. Navy's food-service rating. CSs prepare and serve four meals a day on every U.S. Navy ship — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midrats — manage shipboard general messes, operate flag and admiral's messes ashore and afloat, and serve as Presidential Mess and White House food-service personnel through the Navy's elite Presidential Service detail.

The CS rating was renamed from "Mess Specialist (MS)" in 2004 to professionalize the food-service career field, and the submarine variant (CSS) was carved out to handle the unique CS challenges of the submarine force.

The administrative and logistics community keeps the Navy running — pay, personnel, legal, public affairs, religious ministry, retail services, and supply support. Admin-community Sailors serve in nearly every shore command and ship and are essential to readiness, retention, and quality of life for the entire force.

A-school for the rating runs ~9 weeks at Naval Technical Training Center, Lackland AFB, TX, where Sailors complete the technical foundation needed to report to their first fleet command. Entry requires the ASVAB line score VE+AR=88 and an enlistment obligation of 4–6 years. CSs advance through the standard enlisted paygrade structure (E-1 through E-9), competing in the Navy-Wide Advancement Examination (NWAE) at E-4 through E-6 and via the Selection Board at E-7 through E-9. Senior CSs typically serve as Leading Petty Officer (LPO), Work Center Supervisor, Leading Chief Petty Officer (LCPO), or Command Master Chief (CMC), and may pursue Limited Duty Officer (LDO), Chief Warrant Officer (CWO), or commissioning programs such as STA-21, MECP, or OCS.

Across the active force, CS Sailors are essential to the Navy's mission readiness, and the rating remains an in-demand career field with strong reenlistment bonuses (SRB), advancement opportunities, and pathways into Navy Reserve, civilian DoD, and industry careers after service.

WHAT CSs DO

CSs plan, prepare, and serve four meals a day on every U.S. Navy ship; manage food-service inventory and the Navy Food Management Team monthly inventory cycle; run general messes (enlisted), CPO messes, and wardroom (officer) messes; staff flag and admiral's messes ashore; serve at the Navy Mess in the Pentagon and at the White House Presidential Service; bake, butcher, and cook at scale; and serve as the shipboard galley's leading petty officer.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • CSs plan, prepare, and serve four meals a day on every U.S. Navy ship; manage food-service inventory and the Navy Food Management Team monthly inventory cycle; run general messes (enlisted), CPO messes, and wardroom (officer) messes; staff flag and admiral's messes ashore; serve at the Navy Mess in the Pentagon and at the White House Presidential Service; bake, butcher, and cook at scale; and serve as the shipboard galley's leading petty officer.
  • Stand watches and qualify on the rating's Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS), maintain training jackets, and mentor junior CSs as required by the chain of command.
  • Lead the CS work center as Leading Petty Officer or Work Center Supervisor — managing maintenance documentation in 3M/MFOM, parts ordering, and personnel qualifications.
  • Support general military training (GMT), damage control, force protection, and watch-bill assignments common to every Sailor regardless of rating.

THIS RATING ABSORBED

The CS rating's mission today includes work that flowed from the following decommissioned U.S. Navy ratings:

HISTORY

The Culinary Specialist rating evolved from earlier U.S. Navy food-service ratings (Steward, Commissaryman, Mess Management Specialist) and was renamed CS in 2004 to align with civilian food-service credentials and to professionalize the rating. The CS rating supplies the Navy's contingent at the White House Mess, the Navy Mess at the Pentagon, and the flag messes at every numbered fleet headquarters.

CS-Submarine (CSS) was established in 2009 to manage the unique constraints of feeding a submarine crew underway with limited storage and no resupply.

The Navy's administrative ratings trace to the 19th-century Yeoman of the Watch and Ship's Writer billets and were progressively restructured through the 1948 enlisted-rating consolidation, the 1972 Zumwalt-era reforms, and the 21st-century rating modernization initiatives that merged, split, and renamed several legacy specialties.

Today the Culinary Specialist (CS) rating is overseen by the Enlisted Community Management (ECM) office at My Navy HR and the Center for Personal and Professional Development. Modern CSs benefit from the Sailor 2025 personnel-system reforms, the Ready Relevant Learning (RRL) training continuum, and credentialing through the Navy COOL program — turning rating qualifications into industry-recognized certifications and licenses.

The rating's structure, training pipeline, and operational employment continue to evolve alongside the Navy's transition to Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO), Project Overmatch, and the Force Design 2045 fleet architecture, ensuring CSs remain central to the warfighting mission.

TRAINING PIPELINE

  1. 1. Recruit Training (Boot Camp)~10 weeks
    Naval Station Great Lakes, IL
    Initial entry training for all U.S. Navy enlisted Sailors at the Navy's only boot camp.
  2. 2. Culinary Specialist A-School~9 weeks
    Naval Technical Training Center, Lackland AFB, TX
    Initial rating-skills training for CS accessions.
  3. 3. Fleet / Operational TourFirst sea or operational tour
    Every U.S. Navy commissioned ship — galley and mess decks
    On-the-job training and qualifications in the CS rating with a fleet unit.

TYPICAL CAREER PATH

  1. E-1/E-3
    Apprentice CS
    A-school at Lackland; first tour aboard a surface combatant or shore galley.
  2. E-4/E-6
    Petty Officer CS
    Qualify as Watch Captain on the galley line; serve as Wardroom President or Records Petty Officer.
  3. E-7+
    Chief Culinary Specialist
    Food Service Officer's LCPO, Flag Mess CPO, or Pentagon / White House Mess detail leader.

TYPICAL PLATFORMS & UNITS

  • Every U.S. Navy commissioned ship — galley and mess decks
  • Flag and admiral's messes ashore and afloat
  • Pentagon Navy Mess and White House Presidential Service
  • Submarines (CSS sub-track)

EXAMPLE NECs

  • CS-3527 Records Petty Officer
  • CS-3529 Watch Captain
How to address
As an enlisted Sailor by paygrade and last name (e.g. "Petty Officer Smith" for E-4–E-6, "Chief Smith" for E-7+). The rating abbreviation "CS" is appended to the paygrade in writing — e.g., CS1 Smith for CS Petty Officer First Class.
Prerequisites
  • U.S. citizenship and minimum ASVAB VE+AR=88
  • High school diploma or equivalent
  • Pass the Navy physical and medical screening
Common assignments
  • Every U.S. Navy commissioned ship — galley and mess decks
  • Flag and admiral's messes ashore and afloat
  • Pentagon Navy Mess and White House Presidential Service
  • Submarines (CSS sub-track)

RELATED RATINGS

RELATED BASES

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CS was renamed from Mess Specialist (MS) in 2004 to align with civilian food-service credentials. The earlier "Commissaryman" and "Steward" ratings were merged into MS in earlier consolidations.

Yes — the Navy supplies the Presidential Mess and the White House Mess detail, and the food-service Sailors on those details are Culinary Specialists. The Pentagon Navy Mess is also CS-staffed.

CS A-school is at the Naval Technical Training Center on Lackland AFB, TX.

SOURCES

Last updated 2026-05-02
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