Lithographer (LI) — Discontinued

RATING EVOLUTION

1. // Decommissioned · 2006
   LI
   Lithographer
   1948–2006
2. // Active Today · Successor
   MC
   Mass Communication Specialist
   View active rating →

WHY THE RATING WAS DISCONTINUED

Merged with Photographer's Mate (PH), Journalist (JO), Illustrator/Draftsman (DM), and broadcast technicians into the new Mass Communication Specialist (MC) rating in 2006.

OVERVIEW

Lithographer (LI) was the U.S. Navy's enlisted print-production rating. LIs operated the print plants — offset presses, plate-makers, finishing equipment — aboard aircraft carriers and at every major shore command, producing the printed orders, charts, command directives, ship's newsletters, and graphics that ran a modern Navy organization. The rating was the production-side complement to the Journalist (JO) and Photographer's Mate (PH) ratings.

LI was disestablished on 30 September 2006 in the visual-information consolidation that created the Mass Communication Specialist (MC) rating. LIs converted to MC, and the print-and-graphics skill survives as an MC specialty.

WHAT THEY DID

Lithographers operated the ship's or command's print plant: shooting plates, running offset presses, performing bindery and finishing work, producing the daily plan-of-the-day and command directives, printing charts and graphics, and maintaining print-shop equipment. Senior LIs ran the print division aboard carriers and at major shore plants.

NOTABLE FOR

• Operated the Navy's afloat and ashore print plants for nearly sixty years
• Produced everything from operational orders and charts to ship's magazines and graphics
• Source rating for the modern MC graphics and print specialty

HISTORY

Lithographer was established in 1948. Through the Cold War, LIs ran the offset-print shops aboard every aircraft carrier, large amphibious ship, and major shore command. Carrier print shops produced the daily plan-of-the-day, operational orders, command newsletters, and graphics in support of underway operations. Shore print plants supported headquarters administrative work, training-publication printing, and command graphics.

Digital design, on-demand printing, and the convergence of media production made the LI rating increasingly redundant by the early 2000s. On 30 September 2006 LI was disestablished and merged into the new Mass Communication Specialist rating.

TYPICAL PLATFORMS & UNITS

• Print plants aboard aircraft carriers and large amphibious ships
• Major shore commands — fleet headquarters, training centers, fleet weather centers
• Defense Logistics Agency document-services activities

HISTORICAL CAREER PATH

1. E-1/E-3
   Apprentice LI
   Recruit Training followed by LI A-school at Defense Information School, Fort Meade, MD; first tour with a fleet unit.
2. E-4/E-6
   Petty Officer LI
   Lead a LI work-center, qualify in core watchstations, and serve as the rating's section leader.
3. E-7+
   Chief Lithographer
   Senior LI leader — Leading Chief Petty Officer of a LI division, instructor at the rating's A-school, or detailer at BUPERS until rating disestablishment in 2006.

SUCCESSOR RATINGS (ACTIVE TODAY)

• MC · Admin & Logistics
  Mass Communication Specialist

FOR VETERANS & FAMILIES

If a DD-214, retirement order, or family-history document lists the rating LI (Lithographer), that is a legitimate U.S. Navy enlisted rating that was disestablished in 2006. Sailors who held this rating served in the admin & logistics community during 1948–2006.

The mission of LI is performed today by Mass Communication Specialist (MC). For VA benefits, MOS/rating-translator services, or transcript-of-service requests, reference both the historical LI rating code and the modern successor.

Official records: National Personnel Records Center (St. Louis, MO) holds U.S. Navy enlisted service records for veterans separated more than 62 years ago; later records are held by Navy Personnel Command in Millington, TN.

RELATED HISTORICAL RATINGS

Other decommissioned ratings whose mission was absorbed by the same active rating(s) as LI:

• PH · Decom 2006
  Photographer's Mate
• JO · Decom 2006
  Journalist

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• When was the Lithographer (LI) rating disestablished?
  The LI rating was disestablished in 2006. Merged with Photographer's Mate (PH), Journalist (JO), Illustrator/Draftsman (DM), and broadcast technicians into the new Mass Communication Specialist (MC) rating in 2006.
• What rating did Lithographer (LI) become?
  The successor rating is mass communication specialist. Active-duty LIs converted to the new rating(s) at disestablishment.
• What did a Navy Lithographer (LI) do?
  Lithographers operated the ship's or command's print plant: shooting plates, running offset presses, performing bindery and finishing work, producing the daily plan-of-the-day and command directives, printing charts and graphics, and maintaining print-shop equipment. Senior LIs ran the print division aboard carriers and at major shore plants.
• Can I still claim the LI rating on my record?
  Yes — your DD-214 and Navy service record reflect the rating you held. The LI rating was a valid U.S. Navy enlisted rating from 1948 until 2006, and veterans who served in LI continue to use the rating designation in records, reunions, and veteran-affairs paperwork.

SOURCES

• Naval History and Heritage Command — U.S. Navy Ratings History
• NAVADMIN / OPNAV historical-rating disestablishment notices
• U.S. Navy Enlisted Career Path Reference — Lithographer