Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman, right, and Rear Adm. Jim Waters, left, present the new Robotics Warfare Specialist (RW) rating insignia to Master Chief Robotics Warfare Specialist Christopher Rambert at Naval Support Facility Arlington, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (Jeanette Mullinax/U.S. Navy)

Last week, the Navy introduced a new enlisted specialty for sailors to operate and maintain current and future unmanned robotic weapons and vehicles.

On Tuesday, Master Chief Christopher Rambert became the first Robotics Warfare Specialist.

Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman, the Chief of Naval Personnel, and Rear Adm. Jim Waters, the Navy’s Personnel Plans and Policy Division Director, pinned Rambert with the new robotics warfare uniform rating badge during a ceremony at Naval Support Facility Arlington, Va., according to a Navy news release.

“It’s a proud moment to see all the hard work that’s gone into developing this badge, and just seeing it finally get codified and brought to life — to me, it signifies the hard work of the people around me,” Rambert said.

The Navy established the new robotics warfare, or RW, rating for active-duty sailors who would be charged with planning and controlling robotic systems, which the service considers crucial to future warfighting, according to a Navy announcement Thursday. The message described the new specialty’s founding as a “major milestone” in the service’s work toward building a hybrid fleet of complementary manned and unmanned vessels and aircraft.

Service officials said it was not yet clear how many sailors would serve in the RW rating. The Navy said it would start as “a small and highly selective rating.”

Rambert, who has a background as an aviation electrician’s mate, spoke to the tactical advantages that will come with the new rating’s initial cadre — and the growing opportunity for future RW sailors.

“You get the opportunity to go to so many different places,” Rambert said. “If you look across the spectrum of the entire Navy, you’ve got sailors that have the potential to really touch every single domain out there and that’s very rare.”

Those seeking to join the RW community should submit applications through the Navy’s Career Waypoints, or C-WAY, system as soon as possible because “applications will be processed as they are received,” according to the service.

Stars and Stripes reporter Corey Dickstein contributed to this report.