Posted on Nov 21, 2019
Navy Not Doing Enough to Evaluate Training Changes After Deadly Collisions: GAO
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And water is wet... the simplest thing would be to build a full mission bridge simulator at each port. Man it with the techs needed to run it, and former Senior Maritime Officers and Navy Captains. There was exactly one in my career in Newport. We all learned more than a career's worth of knowledge from the combined 150 years of experience in the instructors. It has got to be cheaper to run than fixing ships....
Navy Not Doing Enough to Evaluate Training Changes After Deadly Collisions: GAO
Posted from military.com
Sailors
Officer of the Deck Underway (OOD U/W)
Maritime
Safety
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 4
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LT Brad McInnis That has already happened. We have one at Pearl, and I believe all the fleet concentration areas. The instructor here is an old Navy Captain who commanded more ships during the Vietnam Era than most SWOs serve on these days. Seems like our bridge teams are constantly over at it from the CO down to the lookouts.
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Brad, you're spot on. Coming from the aviation community, onto the surface side... it always amazed me how little "simulator" time SWOs get. As SNAs and SNFOs, we not only had a rigorous simulator schedule in the VTs, but were encouraged to make use of them in our own time. Many of us invested our own $$$ into setting up our own systems at home. SWOs are, by necessity, human Swiss Army knives... but I think "water wings" have evolved into more of a "badge of office" than a mark of professional skill (don't shoot me guys). Get your sign-offs and pass your boards in time... and voila! you're a professional seaman. Maybe it should be more about logging hours, completing evolutions, and demonstrating skills in real-world, or as near to life circumstances as possible. Maybe that can't be done in 24 months... and maybe it can't be presumed to be current when one returns from their shore tour.
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LT Brad McInnis
Absolutely agree ! We took pride in the "Jack of all trades, Master of none" and "we work harder than anyone else" mantras to heart. It was always going to lead to a catastrophic accident. Pretty sure every other Navy has professional bridge watch standers. That is all they do. Now, we can't go that far, probably, but don't see why we can't create a couple of "extra experienced" OOD's. Maybe a WO class that goes to a ton of nav schools, spends time learning to drive ships in the Maritime services or the Coast Guard.
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The full bridge simulators in San Diego (I believe there were two when I got out) were a huge help. Getting a chance to actually do an entire sea & anchor evolution a few times in a row before we left the shipyard made for a much smoother event the actual day of. It's really the only way to knock that rust off.
Heaven forbid that we admit that JOs need some more practice. Or that 4 hours of sleep a night isn't enough to be safe while standing watch.
Heaven forbid that we admit that JOs need some more practice. Or that 4 hours of sleep a night isn't enough to be safe while standing watch.
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LT Brad McInnis
The problem, as I and many of my contemporaries saw it, was most of us that were doing the things, were over -ruled by those that hadn't done it in years. We always wanted more training, and we were told to use CD's...
LTJG Edward Bangor Jr
LTJG Edward Bangor Jr
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