Naval Nuclear Power Training Command

Naval Nuclear Power Training Command (NNPTC) is a United States Navy training command within the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. It educates enlisted sailors and commissioned officers who are preparing to serve in the Navy’s nuclear-powered fleet. Its instructional mission centers on the scientific and engineering principles needed to understand, operate, maintain, and support naval nuclear propulsion plants. NNPTC combines two major educational functions: Nuclear Field “A” School and Naval Nuclear Power School. Nuclear Field “A” School provides foundational technical preparation for enlisted personnel entering the Navy’s nuclear field. Naval Nuclear Power School provides more advanced academic instruction in subjects relevant to naval reactor systems and nuclear propulsion operations. Together, the schools form part of the Navy’s highly selective and specialized pipeline for nuclear-trained personnel. The command was established in 1993 to bring the two schools under a unified command structure. Before that consolidation, the schools operated as separate organizations with separate commanding officers and administrative arrangements. The merger was intended to simplify command relationships and coordinate training more effectively. When NNPTC was created, its first commanding officer was Captain Steven G. Slaton, who had previously commanded Nuclear Field “A” School. NNPTC was initially located at the former Naval Training Center Orlando in Florida. The command graduated its final Orlando class in December 1998 and subsequently relocated to Naval Weapons Station Charleston in Goose Creek, South Carolina, in the Charleston metropolitan area. The South Carolina site remains associated with the command’s ongoing training mission. NNPTC is an educational and military organization rather than a commercial consumer brand. Its principal outputs are trained naval personnel, classroom and laboratory instruction, examinations, and technical preparation for later assignments in the nuclear propulsion community. The command’s work supports the broader Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, which oversees the Navy’s nuclear-powered ships and the personnel, technology, and operating standards associated with them. Publicly documented features of the command’s history include a time capsule buried on its grounds in 1989 and opened on September 22, 2014. The capsule contained a command ball cap, a command name tape, newspapers from the burial date, and other items. A separate vehicle display near the base entrance serves as a drunk-driving prevention installation. These features are local reminders of the command’s institutional history and safety culture, rather than commercial campaigns or products.

Naval Nuclear Power Training Command was created in 1993 as a consolidation of two previously separate Navy training organizations: Nuclear Field “A” School and Naval Nuclear Power School. Both schools were associated with the preparation of personnel for the United States Navy’s nuclear propulsion community, but they had operated under separate command structures and commanding officers. The establishment of NNPTC placed the two schools within a single command framework and gave them a common commanding officer. The command’s first commanding officer was Captain Steven G. Slaton, who had been serving as commanding officer of Nuclear Field “A” School when the new organization was formed. The initial NNPTC campus was at the former Naval Training Center Orlando in Florida. There, the command administered the academic and technical stages of the Navy’s nuclear training pipeline. The curriculum was directed toward the scientific, engineering, and operational knowledge required for naval nuclear propulsion work, serving both enlisted students and commissioned officers. NNPTC completed its final class in Orlando in December 1998. After that class graduated, the organization moved to Naval Weapons Station Charleston in Goose Creek, South Carolina, a suburban community in the Charleston area. The relocation established the command at its present South Carolina location and connected its training activity with the wider naval facilities in the region. The command’s institutional identity also includes several documented site features. A time capsule was buried on the grounds in 1989, before the creation of the consolidated NNPTC structure. It was opened on September 22, 2014, and contained an older command ball cap, a command name tape, several newspapers from the period, and other items whose identities were not specified. Near the Red Bank Road entrance, a display featuring a wrecked vehicle was installed as a public-safety warning against drunk driving. The display’s message emphasizes obtaining a safe ride rather than driving while impaired. Operationally, NNPTC remains a training element of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Its principal role is educational rather than industrial: it develops the technical foundation of personnel who will later support, operate, or maintain naval nuclear propulsion plants. Its two principal schools address different stages and audiences in the training pipeline, while the unified command structure provides institutional coordination. Public sources identify Captain Larry J. Arbuckle as the command’s current commanding officer, although a start date is not provided in the cited material.

1. 2014Time capsule opened

   The time capsule was opened on September 22, 2014, revealing command memorabilia, newspapers, and other items.

   Source
2. 1998Final Orlando class graduated

   The command graduated its last class at the former Naval Training Center Orlando in December 1998 before relocating to South Carolina.

   Source
3. 1993NNPTC established

   Naval Nuclear Power Training Command was formed to bring Nuclear Field “A” School and Naval Nuclear Power School under one command structure.

   Source
4. 1989Time capsule buried

   A time capsule was placed on the command’s grounds, before the later consolidation that created NNPTC in 1993.

   Source

Specialized United States Navy education and technical training within the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program

• Nuclear Field “A” SchoolMilitary technical education

  Nuclear Field “A” School is one of NNPTC’s two principal training components. It provides foundational technical instruction for enlisted personnel entering the Navy’s nuclear field, preparing students for more advanced nuclear propulsion education and later operational assignments.

• Naval Nuclear Power SchoolNuclear propulsion education

  Naval Nuclear Power School provides advanced academic education for officer and enlisted students in the science and engineering disciplines relevant to naval nuclear propulsion. Its instruction supports understanding of reactor plants and the principles needed for their operation and maintenance.

• 1998Relocation from Orlando to South CarolinaOther

  NNPTC’s original campus was at the former Naval Training Center Orlando, where the command graduated its final class in December 1998.

  What changed. The command moved to Naval Weapons Station Charleston in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

  Aftermath. The South Carolina installation became the command’s continuing headquarters and training location.

  Source
• 1993Consolidation of the two nuclear training schoolsStrategy

  Nuclear Field “A” School and Naval Nuclear Power School had previously operated as separate organizations with separate command structures.

  What changed. The Navy created NNPTC to place both schools under a unified command and a single commanding officer.

  Aftermath. The consolidated structure became the organizational framework for the command’s nuclear propulsion training mission.

  Source

• 2014Naval Nuclear Power Training Command time capsule opened

  A time capsule placed on the command’s grounds was opened on September 22, 2014. Reported contents included a command cap, a command name tape, newspapers from the burial period, and other unidentified objects.

  Other
  Source
• Drunk-driving prevention vehicle display installed near command entrance

  A wrecked-vehicle display appeared near the Red Bank Road entrance outside the base. The installation is intended to warn personnel and visitors about the dangers of driving under the influence.

  Other
  Source

1. Naval Nuclear Power Training Command
2. Naval Nuclear Power Training Command official website