NORU Mission Statement
The mission of the Navy Recruiting Orientation Unit (NAVCRUITCOM ORU) is to provide technical and professional development training for recruiters to inform, attract, influence, and hire the highest quality candidates from America's diverse talent pool, and to conduct periodic inspections and assessments to ensure compliance with applicable instructions.
About NORU
The Navy Recruiting Orientation Unit (NORU) is the Navy’s sole recruiting schoolhouse responsible for the instruction of Enlisted and Officer personnel in professional sales, prospecting techniques, marketing, applicant processing, recruiting terminology, leadership, ethical behavior, and activity analysis. It also provides continuum training for the Navy’s Career Recruiting Force and prepares selected leaders for the challenges of operating a Navy Talent Acquisition Group. The unit reports directly to Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (COMNAVCRUITCOM) in Millington, Tenn.
The NORU environment is unlike any most students have encountered. There are new terms to master, new skills to acquire, and new shipmates from every walk of life with whom to share the experience. NORU's student body includes Officers from every community and Sailors from most Navy ratings, from E-4 to O-6. Over 3,500 students come from sea duty and shore establishments annually to learn the basic skills that will help them succeed in today’s challenging recruiting environment.
Since NORU provides training for officers assigned throughout the entire Navy Recruiting Command area of responsibility, prospective Commodores, Commanding Officers, Executive Officers, and Department Heads attend tailored courses of instruction to address the specific responsibilities and requirements of each position.
Students attending basic recruiting courses receive a good dose of public speaking classes to develop communications skills that will help them not just in recruiting but throughout their Naval careers. Students must demonstrate what they learn in the classroom with prepared speeches and perform in a simulated sales environment, where they must help an applicant make an informed, mutually beneficial decision to join the Navy.
The school emphasizes the importance of focusing on the needs of prospects, facilitating an open exchange of information, and ensuring mutual understanding and agreement throughout the recruiting process. These steps are critical to ensuring that prospective applicants fully understand what Naval service entails and that the Navy receives highly motivated and committed Officer and Enlisted Sailors to serve in the Fleet.
The key factor to NORU's success rate is its instructors, who are hand-picked from the top tier of the Career Recruiting Force. Students consistently cite these instructors as the best they’ve had in their career! Students leaving NORU go on to support COMNAVCRUITCOM Headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions, and Navy Talent Acquisition Groups (NTAG) nationwide with the basic knowledge and skills needed to succeed. New recruiters are enthusiastic, motivated, and ready for the on-the-job training (OJT) that will fine-tune the skills they developed at NORU and help them recruit the Navy of the 21st century.
The Navy Recruiting Orientation Unit was established in Orlando, Fla., in 1978. In June 1990, NORU moved to NAS Pensacola where it is now located in Building 3644 with a staff of military and civilian personnel. For more information, please call CDO at 850-516-9544.