While listening to the radio recently, I happened to hear the latest Navy recruiting ad—the one in which a befuddled high-school graduate airily professes at his first job interview to be “monolingual,” and in an effort to impress the potential employer, says I’ve got brains I haven’t even used yet." Meanwhile, the former Sailor he is competing against confidently brags of being a “skilled aviation mechanic” and of being “computer literate.”
Most Navy people probably would agree with the first point the ad presents about Navy training, that technical education on specific systems is first rate. But just how did this Sailor get to be computer literate? Was there an organized plan in place to impart that computer literacy, and did the Navy use its extensive training machinery to do it? The unfortunate answer is "no" on both counts. Chances are, the Sailor gained this expertise only by showing personal initiative and interest in computers—not because the Navy had an organized plan or program that made him or her that way.
Today, computer training in the Navy seems to be a mish-mash of programs accomplished at the local command level, with most formal Navy-Wide training being done only on specific technical systems that are often antiquated and inefficient. Most commands are unwilling to sacrifice scarce local training dollars and lost man hours to bring the everyday run-of-the-mill Sailor or division officer up to speed on how to efficiently and skillfully use the desktop computer in front of him. Generalized computer skills training for the masses on modem machines such as Macintosh's and IBM compatibles with Windows is virtually unheard of—even to accomplish such common and mundane administrative tasks as word processing and database management.
Most of the computer skills that the vast majority of officers and enlisted get in the Navy seems to be obtained from the local “computer nerd” who already happens to have such knowledge dating from pre-Navy days, or is picked up by personal initiative over time. Osmosis appears to be the training method of choice when it comes to learning how to use computers best to do what they are supposed to: get the job done more efficiently.
Another problem is that the computer-literate tend to become a crutch for those less skilled. Many commands survive this way for quite some time, but it ultimately results in an unofficial collateral duty for the computer-literate—and disaster for the command when this person is transferred without a similarly skilled replacement.
How can this problem be remedied? A good place to start is at the point of entry into the service: Boot camp, Reserve Officer Training Corps, Officer Candidate School, and the Naval Academy. Boot camp successfully indoctrinates recruits in the basic skills they need to survive in the fleet; why not give them computer skills equally necessary for their administrative survival? Officers from all points of accession have core requirements for celestial navigation training that is infrequently used; why not give midshipmen and officer candidates the computer skills needed to navigate the sea of paperwork they will encounter daily as division officers? The Naval Academy provides all midshipmen with computers to use during their four years. If it is important enough for Annapolis, why not for the rest of the fleet?
But with hardware and software changing all the time, wouldn’t it be a waste of time to train the fleet on stuff that will be outdated within a year or two? Yes, machines and operating systems seem to change with the seasons, but these changes are improvements that make them easier to use, not necessarily more complex. New programs invariably grow out of applications that have already been developed and are often compatible with previous software from both a file and training perspective. Exposure to the latest software and hardware at all points of entry into the service would go far toward breaking the current computerphobia prevalent in the fleet.
What about the rest of the computer illiterates already out there? A fleetwide computer training stand-down surely will not do. Many fleet-wise Sailors who are new to computers are not thrilled about the prospect of being force-fed computer training. Perhaps a more logical approach would be to educate computer-illiterate leaders of the many benefits that can be gained by making use of computers intelligently at their commands—rather than trying to teach old sea dogs new tricks.
The young Sailors and officers hitting the fleet with computer skills are often eager and enthusiastic about applying their knowledge to make the organization better, but they are frequently stymied by leaders who are intimidated by new technology. Encouraging leadership at all levels to understand what new technology can do for them and why they should use it will empower those who know how to use it to apply that technology to the problem at hand: making our forces less concerned with administrative warfare and more concerned with fighting and winning the next battle.
The Navy needs to get serious about computer training. The world is in the midst of a computer revolution that is fundamentally changing the way that business, industry, and even private citizens are organizing, interacting, and solving problems. To procure and implement new computer technology in the fleet is not enough. We must teach Sailors how to use it, and then allow them to use these computer tools to innovate and improve as they go.
Lieutenant Britton is a public affairs officer with NAVINFO 101 in Boston. He is also a software manager for Tally Systems in New Hampshire.