The Personnel Readiness Capability Program (PRCP) provides a standard means of identifying, collecting, processing, and utilizing information on all members of the Naval Construction Force, both active and reserve. This information can be used by all levels of management and supervision to determine a units readiness capability by comparing it to actual or planned requirements. The majority of PRCP information consists of an inventory of individual skills acquired through formal or on-the-job training. A record of these skills, combined with other data from the service record, such as expiration of enlistment, rotation data, and so forth, provides a ready means of predicting future capabilities and requirements. Some of these may be the following:

Your initial PRCP skill inventory will be based upon an interview with your crew/squad leader or another senior petty officer of your rating. Special PRCP Interviewers Standards and Guides have been prepared to assist persons conducting interviews. Each "Guide" contains a detailed explanation of every skill identified in the PRCP. These definitions are standard throughout the entire Naval Construction Force, and any person, regardless of duty assignment, can turn to these standards and know what is expected in a given skill area.

During an interview, it is imperative that you discuss your capabilities openly and honestly. Remember, if you exaggerate, you may be depriving yourself of valuable and needed training. Then too, you may be the one selected to do that special job all on your own. Will you be ready?

A more detailed discussion of the Personnel Readiness Capability Program may be found in chapter 2 of NAVEDTRA 10635-C.

There are various government publications that you may find useful as sources of reference. A number of publications issued by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFACENG-COM) that will be of interest to you are listed in the Documentation Index, NAVFAC P-349 (updated semiannually). The publications are generally classified as follows: Design Manuals (DMs); Technical Publications (TPs); Maintenance and Operations (MOs); and Administrative Information (P).

NAVFAC publications should be available in your battalion technical library or in the engineering division of the public works activity. Their titles are self-explanatory and you can consult the publications that contain the subject matter in which you are interested. Suggested publications that should be in the engineering section of the battalion technical library are listed in appendix II.

Some Air Force Manuals (AFMs) and Army Technical Manuals (TMs) have subjects that are related to the Engineering Aid rating. They may be available in the technical library of the battalion; if not, they are easily ordered through the normal naval supply procurement system. TMs and AFMs of particular importance to you are included in the engineering section of the battalion technical library listing in appendix II of this manual.

To improve your ability in preparing any type of construction drawing, you should also refer to training manuals of other Occupational Field 13 ratings, especially those for the E-4 level. Detailed standards for armed forces drawings are set forth in Military Standards, published by the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Supply and Logistics), Office of Standardization. Any Navy activity can obtain copies of these standards by writing to the Commanding Officer, Naval Publications and Forms Center, 5801 Tabor Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19120. A complete and up-to-date copy of each of these standards is a must to have in any drafting room library of the SEABEES.

To keep up to date on the current progress of new equipment and on the new materials related to your rating, you will find that the best source of information is commercial publications. These publications may be in the form of a textbook or an operation manual for a particular instrument. The instrument opera-tion manual can be obtained from instrument manufacturers or dealers. On the other hand, textbooks are to be purchased. Your technical library may, however, have some of them on hand.

Every EA should strive to acquire at least a few textbooks for his personal use by purchasing them himself, if feasible. The knowledge and skill you learned through formal studies and on-the-job training in the SEABEEs must be supplemented continuously with off-hours studies on your own initiative. This will not only broaden your knowledge but will also enhance your chances of getting a high score in Navy-wide professional examinations.