This highly useful companion volume to the Naval Institute's Division Officer's Guide and Naval Officer's Guide addresses that aspect of a naval officer's career that is every bit as important as leadership and qualifications - navigating through the rocks and shoals of the US Navy's promotion and assignment system. The writing style is fresh and engaging, and it explains how the Navy's assignment and promotion systems work and details the key role of on-the-job performance in both. Despite Admiral Winnefeld's retirement status, the advice in this book is timeless and it allows him to be more candid than if he were still on active duty. He writes in his preface that the book `draws without apology from many experts and astute observers of the Navy's system for advancing its best officers.' For every officer aspiring to get the most out of his or her career, this book is must reading.

ADMIRAL JAMES A. WINNEFELD, SR., a 1951 Naval Academy graduate and former Commandant of Midshipmen, has held multiple commands at sea (in both aviation and surface units) and served three tours in the Bureau of Naval Personnel where he sat on a wide variety of selection boards.