Some time ago, in conversation with other officers, the idea of combining the functions of the Engineering Department and the Construction and Repair Department aboard ship occurred to me. At that time, although it seemed desirable in so far as the forces afloat were concerned, it was hardly feasible because of the separation of the material bureaus, and I thought no more of it. But now that the Bureau of Engineering and the Bureau of Construction and Repair have been consolidated to form the Bureau of Ships, a similar consolidation afloat appears practicable, and even more desirable than before. With the feeling that it is an idea which officers with more experience might be able to improve and advance beyond my rough concept, I offer it for what consideration it may deserve.
The basis of the plan is the combination of the present Engineering Department of the ship with the repair and damage control functions of the present Construction and Repair Department to form a new Engineering and Repair Department. The personnel of this new department would consist of all engineering personnel and the majority of what is usually known as the “R” Division. The head of the Engineering and Repair Department would be the Engineering and Repair Officer, who would also be the Damage Control Officer. This officer should be the senior head of department on board, normally a commander in a large ship. He would combine in himself all the present functions of the Engineer Officer and the First Lieutenant except the direct supervision of the cleaning and upkeep work of the deck divisions. As the deck divisions are primarily gun divisions, this latter function would devolve on the Gunnery Officer. That is, the Gunnery Officer would have full charge of all work performed by his department regardless of its nature.
In a large ship the Senior Assistant Engineer should be a lieutenant commander, and would be expressly responsible to the Engineering and Repair Officer for the upkeep and operation of the engineering plant. Under the Senior Assistant Engineer the engineering personnel would be divided into divisions as at present; that is, Boiler Division, Main Engine Division, Auxiliary Division, and Electrical Division, with division officers and warrant officers as at present.
The Assistant Repair Officer should be a senior lieutenant in a large ship. He would be responsible to the Engineering and Repair Officer for the proper maintenance of the hull and hull fittings, the watertight integrity of compartments, all repair work, and the procurement of consumable supplies. Under the charge of the Assistant Repair Officer would come the Repair Division. In this division would be the Boatswain, Carpenter, and enlisted personnel assigned to the carpenter’s shop, shipfitter’s shop, machine shop, sail locker, and paint locker.
In our new destroyers it is the present custom to assign a lieutenant (usually next senior to the Executive Officer) as Engineer Officer, a lieutenant (junior grade) as First Lieutenant, and an ensign as Assistant Engineer Officer. It is believed that these officers could be used more effectively in an organization similar to that proposed for large ships. Thus the lieutenant would become the Engineering and Repair Officer; the lieutenant (junior grade), the Senior Assistant Engineer; and the ensign, the Assistant Repair Officer.
Certainly any proposed change deserves to be examined carefully to determine whether the advantages to be gained warrant the effort required to effect the change. In this case the advantages of the proposed system over the present one appear manifold. I will discuss them in order of importance.
The greatest single gain is the concentrating of all damage-control functions in one officer. Thus the present difficulty of co-ordinating the duties and actions of the Damage Control Officer and Engineer Officer would be eliminated. The necessity of close co-operation between engineering personnel and repair personnel, particularly in regard to control of list and trim, is clearly recognized by existing instructions which require the Damage Control Officer to harmonize the activities of the two departments. This ideal is not always realized in practice because of the ease with which friction can develop between two officers of the same rank and position when one attempts to harmonize the other’s work with his own. In the proposed organization, such strife is reduced to an intra-depart- mental affair to be smoothed out by the Engineering and Repair Officer without recourse to the Executive Officer or Captain.
At present the deck division officer suffers the unhappy fate of the man with two masters. The Gunnery Officer wants more loading drill and the check-off list carried out; the First Lieutenant wants the ship cleaned up and the watertight fittings inspected; and both want these things done right now. In this battle the First Lieutenant is at a distinct disadvantage: his responsibility is as binding as that of the Gunnery Officer, but he lacks the direct control over the officers and men who must do the work. Here is more work for the Executive Officer who must not only coordinate the work of the Construction and Repair Department with that of the Engineering Department, but also with that of the Gunnery Department. If the Gunnery Officer were made responsible for all work done by his divisions including cleaning, no co-ordination would be required.
The division of cognizance over material between the former bureaus of Construction and Repair and of Engineering was the cause of considerable mirth—and a good bit of difficulty. The bolts belong to Construction and Repair and the nuts to Engineering, but who takes care of the washers? These theoretical divisions are now happily a thing of the past so far as the Bureau of Ships is concerned, but they still exist afloat. The anchor engine belongs to the Bureau of Ships, but who worries about it aboard ship, the Engineer or the First Lieutenant? The answer is usually both or neither. It was a long time ago that Washington observed that a task that was easily within the capability of one man became difficult when two were assigned to it, and impossible for three. The relations between the Bureau of Ships and the forces afloat would be happier, I believe, if the Bureau were represented aboard ship by one officer instead of by two.
In the procurement and issue of supplies there is considerable duplication of effort under the present system by the Engineering Department and the Construction and Repair Department. The allotment is granted by one bureau, but it is expended by two officers, and the result is not always the development of a beautiful friendship.
Finally, the repair facilities and personnel are now so divided between the Engineering and Construction and Repair Departments that a task involving both the shipfitters and the machine shop is nearly as complicated in administration as it would be if we had trade unions afloat. Too often the Engineer Officer thinks that the shipfitters should do the work in question while the First Lieutenant is sure that it belongs to the metalsmiths. If all the shops were combined under the Assistant Repair Officer there would be less talking and more work done.
Now let us consider the disadvantages of the proposed reorganization. Only one comes to mind at the moment—if the change were effected there would be one less officer in each ship with the status of a head of department. I do not know how other First Lieutenants will feel, but I for one am willing to forego that doubtful honor.
So long as our ships were equipped with sails the First Lieutenant was a highly necessary officer. Now he is an anachronism, whose main purpose has disappeared, charged with the performance of duties that should devolve on others. Let the First Lieutenant go the way of sailing ships and the Executive Officer will find himself with far fewer disputes to settle between his heads of departments.
CLOSELY RELATED to competition and play, both of which are agencies of developing it, is teamwork. Every one knows something of what teamwork is and has at some time or other participated in the teamwork of some group or organization, but many individuals do not fully realize the great importance of teamwork in all forms of group activity. —Bureau of Navigation, “Talks on Leadership.”