View Single Post
  #83  
Old 12-23-2017, 12:45 PM
bigbill bigbill is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hackberry, AZ
Posts: 3,754
I'm a retired shipdriver. I was an Officer of the Deck on carriers (1100' and 100K tons) and in my duties, I was in charge of a bridge team that included two junior officers, and five enlisted watchstanders. My job was the safe operation of the ship and to train the junior officers to have my job. Sleep deprivation can be a factor, but command environment where watchstanders feel free to speak up (questioning attitude) are vital.

The Navy has determined that excessive tasking of forward deployed ships has put sailors in a bad situation where they have to carry out missions regardless of physical condition of the sailors or the ship. The biggest failure is the lack of training of senior leaders. The Navy tried to cheapen and streamline Surface Warfare training by eliminating schools and sent junior officers to sea with a stack of CD's with lessons. Then those officers continued to move up in the ranks without the depth of experience and training of their predecessors. The Navy lost it's knowledge base. It also created an environment in the Surface Warfare world that was best described as "eating their young". Ships were overmanned with junior officers because they expected a high attrition rate. This environment didn't allow for adequate training or proficiency and was self fulfilling because it cause high attrition. The path forward addresses these issues and is highly critical of past practices and procedures. As a dad that will likely have a son at the Naval Academy next year, I follow the Navy's progress very closely.
Reply With Quote