Radioman (RM) — Discontinued

RATING EVOLUTION

1. // Decommissioned · 1999
   RM
   Radioman
   1921–1999
2. // Active Today · Successor
   IT
   Information Systems Technician
   View active rating →
3. // Active Today · Successor
   ETV
   Electronics Technician (Submarine Communications)
   View active rating →

WHY THE RATING WAS DISCONTINUED

Merged with the Data Processing Technician (DP) rating into the new Information Systems Technician (IT) rating in 1999, reflecting the convergence of radio communications and computer systems into a single networked C4I discipline.

OVERVIEW

Radioman (RM) was the U.S. Navy's enlisted radio-communications rating from 1921 to 1999 — one of the longest-lived modern Navy ratings. RMs operated every Navy radio circuit from the early days of spark-gap and Morse code through HF, VHF, UHF, and satellite communications. They manned shipboard radio rooms, shore radio stations, fleet broadcast centers, and the Defense Communications System backbone, sending and receiving the operational orders, intelligence reports, and personal Family-grams that connected the fleet.

RM was disestablished on 1 October 1999 when the Navy merged it with the Data Processing Technician (DP) rating to create the Information Systems Technician (IT) rating. The convergence reflected the reality that Cold War-era separate radio and computer pipelines had merged into a single networked C4I (command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence) discipline.

WHAT THEY DID

Radiomen operated shipboard and shore radio circuits — Morse, voice, teletype, satellite, and data — copying fleet broadcast traffic, sending operational and administrative messages, supporting Family-gram delivery to deployed Sailors, manning the Defense Communications System backbone, and standing communications watches in radio central. Senior RMs ran the Communications Department, supervised the radio watch, and managed crypto-key custody.

NOTABLE FOR

• Operated Navy radio circuits from the early 20th century through the late 1990s
• Sent the first Morse-code transmissions of major fleet operations from Pearl Harbor through Desert Storm
• Source rating for the modern IT and submarine ETV-C ratings

HISTORY

Radioman was established in 1921 — among the first formally recognized electronics ratings — as wireless telegraphy became a fleet-wide capability. Through the interwar period, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War, RMs were the Navy's voice on the radio: copying operational traffic, sending fleet broadcasts, manning HF/SSB voice circuits, supporting submarine VLF reception, and operating the satellite communications systems that came online in the 1970s and 1980s.

By the mid-1990s the convergence of radio and computer networks made it inefficient to maintain separate RM (radio) and DP (data) pipelines. On 1 October 1999 the Navy disestablished RM and DP and created the consolidated Information Systems Technician (IT) rating. Submarine-specific HF/VLF/satellite communications work eventually consolidated into the Electronics Technician (Submarine Communications) — ETV-C — rating.

TYPICAL PLATFORMS & UNITS

• Radio rooms aboard every Navy ship — surface, submarine, amphibious
• Naval Communications Stations worldwide — Stockton, Wahiawa, Cutler
• Defense Communications System and fleet broadcast facilities

HISTORICAL CAREER PATH

1. E-1/E-3
   Apprentice RM
   Recruit Training followed by RM A-school at Naval Technical Training Center, Pensacola, FL; first tour with a fleet unit.
2. E-4/E-6
   Petty Officer RM
   Lead a RM work-center, qualify in core watchstations, and serve as the rating's section leader.
3. E-7+
   Chief Radioman
   Senior RM leader — Leading Chief Petty Officer of a RM division, instructor at the rating's A-school, or detailer at BUPERS until rating disestablishment in 1999.

SUCCESSOR RATINGS (ACTIVE TODAY)

• IT · Cryptologic & IW
  Information Systems Technician
• ETV · Submarine Force
  Electronics Technician (Submarine Communications)

FOR VETERANS & FAMILIES

If a DD-214, retirement order, or family-history document lists the rating RM (Radioman), that is a legitimate U.S. Navy enlisted rating that was disestablished in 1999. Sailors who held this rating served in the cryptologic & iw community during 1921–1999.

The mission of RM is performed today by Information Systems Technician (IT) and Electronics Technician (Submarine Communications) (ETV). For VA benefits, MOS/rating-translator services, or transcript-of-service requests, reference both the historical RM 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 RM:

• DP · Decom 1999
  Data Processing Technician

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• When was the Radioman (RM) rating disestablished?
  The RM rating was disestablished in 1999. Merged with the Data Processing Technician (DP) rating into the new Information Systems Technician (IT) rating in 1999, reflecting the convergence of radio communications and computer systems into a single networked C4I discipline.
• What rating did Radioman (RM) become?
  The successor ratings are information systems technician, electronics technician submarine communications. Active-duty RMs converted to the new rating(s) at disestablishment.
• What did a Navy Radioman (RM) do?
  Radiomen operated shipboard and shore radio circuits — Morse, voice, teletype, satellite, and data — copying fleet broadcast traffic, sending operational and administrative messages, supporting Family-gram delivery to deployed Sailors, manning the Defense Communications System backbone, and standing communications watches in radio central. Senior RMs ran the Communications Department, supervised the radio watch, and managed crypto-key custody.
• Can I still claim the RM rating on my record?
  Yes — your DD-214 and Navy service record reflect the rating you held. The RM rating was a valid U.S. Navy enlisted rating from 1921 until 1999, and veterans who served in RM 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 — Radioman