In 2003, the Navy consolidated all initial enlisted and officer accession training—except for the U.S. Naval Academy—under a single command: Naval Service Training Command (NSTC).

NSTC is an Echelon III command, led by a one-star admiral at Naval Station Great Lakes, and reports to Naval Education and Training Command in Pensacola, Florida.

This realignment ensures initial Navy training remains effective and responsive to the evolving needs of the fleet. By placing these programs under one command, the Navy can share best practices and apply training policies consistently across all accession pipelines.

Each year, Recruit Training Command prepares more than 40,000 new Sailors for service, while officer accession programs provide approximately 4,500 newly commissioned ensigns to the fleet.