Should the youngest and lowest ranking person on a naval vessel be steering the ship?

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 21:41:00 -0400

Considering that there have been four accidents involving US Navy ships this year, do you think we should still be having the youngest and lowest ranking person on the ship steer the vessel? What are your thoughts?

Response by LTJG Richard Bruce made Aug 20 at 2017 10:36 PM

LTJG Richard Bruce — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 22:36:33 -0400

The helmsman is just moving a metal lever or a wheel under orders by the OOD or Conning officer. In less than capital ships, these two positions are held by the same person. The Conning Officer is responsible for navigation only. The Officer of the Deck is responsible for the entire bridge watch which includes the Conn, Quartermaster, Messenger, Bos'n of the Watch, Lookouts, and management of the bridge during his watch. The basic watch positions rotate about every hour to keep concentration levels high. During flight Ops, there would be a Helicopter Control Officer on the bridge. UnRep, BoatOps and other special evolutions, additional crew will be on the bridge. The CO comes and goes as he wishes to exercise veto power over anything that goes on. If the Captain is quiet then you are usually doing a good job.

There is no indication that the helmsmen were at fault during any of these collisions.

During a four or six hour watch an OOD; must read msg traffic, check navigation charting, schedule wakes ups, ensure msg delivery, constantly check Radar and other electronic navigation devices, frequently communicate with Combat, Main Prop, Weapons, flight and other vital ship's departments to check on any affect on operations, rotate bridge staff, carry out training exercises, refresh bridge crew on emergency procedures, ensure all bridge equipment is properly operating, make ship announcements, ensure proper honors are displayed or practiced, ensure proper flag hoist and signals are made, management external ship to ship communications, plus many other responsibilities that change at a moments notice.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Aug 20 at 2017 11:52 PM

SN Greg Wright — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 23:52:28 -0400

In fact, the helmsman is almost always an e1-e4.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 21 at 2017 1:07 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 01:07:18 -0400

I think this is a rather ignorant question that demeans the training and operation of the Navy crew. One could just as easily ask if a 22 year old Army officer right out of college should be "steering" a platoon into battle. At some point, there needs to be some level of trust in the senior officers and the NCO support team to offer their experience and guidance for an operation in any branch of the military.

Response by LtCol Robert Quinter made Aug 22 at 2017 1:59 PM

LtCol Robert Quinter — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 13:59:27 -0400

Age or pay grade seldom reflect a person's ability to follow instructions. Ask any of my old bosses.

No, maybe don't ask.

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Aug 22 at 2017 2:17 PM

MSgt James Mullis — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 14:17:01 -0400

I don't think the age or experience level of the helmsmen had anything to do with these cases. What does interest me is that this is an apparently new phenomena, which would then make me ask have we suddenly changed how a Navy Vessel is protected from collision with other vessels. I really doubt it. Then you ask have the methods of the Merchant vessels changed from avoiding collision, to either not caring, or even wanting to strike another ship. I have not heard about a rash of merchant to merchant collisions, which then makes me think that these vessels are being purposely rammed. My suspicion is that these incidents might be China's way of telling us they want us out of the South China Sea.

Response by SSgt Robert Jorgensen made Aug 22 at 2017 5:57 PM

SSgt Robert Jorgensen — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 17:57:14 -0400

I was in the Air Force right out of h.s. And when I was 19 yo I was given an F-4E to maintain and keep flying. I was on red x orders meaning I had shown the responsibility and capability to sign-off on certain discrepancies that would stop a pilot from flying. So in my humble opinion, I think once they are qualified they should be able to steer the boat. It sounds to me that some gun-decking is being done to meet the ops tempo and some of the E7 and up don't like to answer questions of the snot-nose kids they get because we need to be a PC and gentler service which tends to get people killed.

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Aug 22 at 2017 7:41 PM

Sgt Wayne Wood — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 19:41:09 -0400

This is the kind of question you'd expect from a doggie.

Response by MCPO Mark Burns made Nov 19 at 2017 8:32 AM

MCPO Mark Burns — Sun, 19 Nov 2017 08:32:43 -0500

As lomg as they are qualified then yes.

Response by PO2 Lee Muter made Feb 10 at 2018 9:25 PM

PO2 Lee Muter — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 21:25:10 -0500

As long as they are properly qualified and well versed in procedure and closely watched by senior personnel, shouldn't be a problem... Even "Sound and Security" can sink a ship ~

Response by PO1 Joe Wood made Mar 4 at 2018 3:47 PM

PO1 Joe Wood — Sun, 04 Mar 2018 15:47:09 -0500

I don't think the problem is with the helm. To much technically advanced equipment for the driver to be blamed.