DAM NECK, Va. — Religious Program (RP) Specialists from across the Navy and Marine Corps gathered – both in-person and virtually - on Sept. 1-2, 2026, at Navy Service Support Advanced Training Command Dam Neck, Virginia, to take a close look at the RP Personnel Qualification Standard (PQS) and help shape its future.

The workshop, led by the head U.S. Fleet Forces Command RP and facilitated by Center for Service Support Program Analyst Ray Paradis, brought together a diverse group of subject matter experts from operational commands, staff organizations and Marine Corps units. Participants represented both sea and shore commands, as well as blue-water Navy and green-side Marine Corps environments.

The workshop included personnel from U.S. Fleet Forces Command, COMSECFLT, COMNAVSURLFLANT, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, COMNAVSURLFANT Mid-Atlantic, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), OPNAV, Commander, Destroyer Squadron 15, USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet, Marine Aircraft Group 29 and the Office of the Chief of Chaplains.

By the end of the workshop, the team had added 29 items to the PQS, removed 41 and modified 140. They also updated references and acronyms throughout the document to make the qualification process clearer and more relevant to today’s RP community.

“The Religious Program Specialist has a unique opportunity to serve with both USMC and USN commands,” Paradis said. “Capturing this uniqueness and providing the differences for completing tasks that are core RP qualifications, this workshop has helped raise the bar of every RP’s professional knowledge.” For RP1 Casey Niedorf of USS Iwo Jima, one of the most encouraging parts of the workshop was seeing how much agreement there was among the group.

“What surprised me most was how aligned everyone was on what standards we should be upholding from the RPSR (seaman recruit) to the RPCM (Master Chief),” Niedorf said.

Niedorf said she arrived only expecting a routine review of an existing program. Instead, she found a group of leaders who were invested in improving the rating and developing future RPs.

As one of the more junior members of the working group, Niedorf said it was meaningful to see senior enlisted leaders focus on the long-term growth of the rating.

One of the workshop’s key discussions focused on the growing role of data analytics in spiritual readiness. Niedorf noted that while the RP mission centers on the human experience, RPs must be proficient with the tools that help leaders capture, assess and communicate readiness needs.

RPC Brandon Peterkin from the Office of the Chief of Chaplains described the workshop in one word: “Evolving.” Peterkin said he was surprised by the level of coordination required to build a PQS that can be understood and applied consistently across the RP community.

“Before arriving, I was not fully convinced of the value of creating a PQS for the Religious Program Specialist rating,” Peterkin said. “The workshop changed that perspective.”

Peterkin reflected on his early years in the Navy and recalled the challenge of explaining the RP role to Sailors and Marines. He said the updated PQS gives the community a clearer, more consistent way to define what RPs should know and be able to do as they progress in their careers.

As a relatively young rating, the RP community benefits from a consistent framework that defines the knowledge, skills and responsibilities expected at each level of experience, Peterkin said. The updated PQS reinforces that professional development continues beyond formal “A” and “C” school training.

“The PQS gives us a tool to guide junior RPs, build their confidence, and make sure they are developing the knowledge and skills needed to support the Chaplain Corps,” Peterkin said.

For the participants, the workshop was way more than a document review. It was an opportunity to help ensure RPs across the fleet have a practical, relevant guide for professional growth - regardless of where they serve.

“I am most proud to have simply been part of the process,” Peterkin said. “Many RPs before me helped lay the foundation and put in a great deal of work to get us to this point. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute in a small way and to be part of something that will help move our rating forward.”

Head over to MyNavy Portal at the end of October to check out all the updates!