The USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and John S. McCain (DDG-56) collisions and other seamanship-and-navigation mishaps in the past several years triggered an examination of surface warfare readiness. Major changes loom on the horizon. In the meantime, separate from the larger discussion of "fixing" surface warfare professional development, experienced shipboard leaders can take action within the lifelines to ensure safe navigation, evaluate proficiency, and ensure adherence to standards.
These recommendations speak to leadership and management practices that commanding officers (COs) can implement without creating additional administrative requirements or acquiring additional funding.
- Get department heads involved in bridge/combat information center (CIC) watchstanding. Ensure the department heads stand occasional watches as officers of the deck (OODs) while entering or leaving port. It is easy for department heads to get "trapped" in the tactical action officer (TAO)/department head routine. They need this professional development, ship-driving experience as future executive officers (XOs)/COs.
- Avoid (but do not eliminate) the "A-Team" mentality. Sometimes you do need the "A-Team" on deck. Following one overseas port visit, I stationed qualified OODs on both the fo’c’sle and fantail (on radios with the OOD) to help us get under way from a tight berth. Always view the watchbill with an eye toward a strong bridge/CIC team. Give newer OODs an experienced CIC watch officer (CICWO).
- Consider the use of "interim" qualifications for OODs and CICWOs. I granted Interim qualifications when I trusted experienced junior officers (JOs) and wanted them to stand the watch in a specific situation (like an Atlantic Ocean transit), but I did not want to rush the actual OOD or CICWO board or board multiple JOs at once. I received great feedback from the JOs on the value of that experience.
- Spend time in CIC during routine events. Observe what is happening outside special evolutions. Send the XO to CIC during sea and anchor detail to observe how the CICWO and radar navigation team are supporting the bridge watchstanders.
- Emphasize the importance of the CICWO qualification and role. Make sure JOs understand it is not just a "check in the box" en route to qualifying as OOD. Get TAOs to use their CICWOs. Have qualified OODs stand watch in CIC, too. I encouraged sharp operations specialists to qualify as CICWOs, but I did not assign routinely them as CICWO, because I wanted to establish clear boundaries between the CIC watch supervisor (CICWS) and CIC watch officer roles. A great CICWS is the best trainer and mentor for a CICWO. Both the CO and XO should be on CICWO qualification boards.
- Leverage the second-tour division officers. Experienced division officers anchor the bridge and CIC watchbills. Do not let them get consumed by the admin part of their jobs or too focused on achieving TAO/engineering officer-of-the-watch (EEOW) qualifications. Develop a good plan and fair timeline for them to earn those advanced qualifications, but remind them of the importance of serving as OODs/CICWOs. Also consider assigning them as a junior OOD/junior OOW for a less-experienced OOD.
- Use your newest, sharpest JOs as special-evolution OODs. Being OOD for sea and anchor detail or an underway replenishment detail is a great opportunity for young JOs. Although the evolutions are complex, the OOD always will have experienced backup. My default plan was to allow the OOD on the watchbill to handle the special evolution during the watch—and if it was supposed to be the navigator’s OOD watch during sea-and-anchor detail, that was a great opportunity for a department head to take the deck. Remember: The watch before the underway replenishment rendezvous or prior to stationing the sea-and-anchor detail may be more challenging for the OOD than the actual event.
- Discuss lessons learned and case studies in small wardroom groups, plus separate groups of engineering and CIC watchstanders. I had a discussion on a buoy strike case study with central control stations watchstanders to hear their perspectives and discuss whether our actions would have been effective in the same scenario. I assigned an experienced, EOOW-qualified first-class petty officer (who was working on his OOD qualification) to brief and lead the discussion. Those deckplate watchstanders appreciated participating in their own lessons-learned session.
- Ensure the Plan of the Day accounts for sensible meal hours. On special-evolution days, get everyone fed before they take the watch. I hardly ever ate a traditional breakfast, but the young sailors need that meal before an early detail. Give the supply department enough notice to plan accordingly.
- Ask a final question to the group at the navigation brief. What is different this time since our last sea-and-anchor detail and/or our previous visit to this port? I always had a couple observations ready in case no one spoke up, but after the first few briefs someone always provided an idea.
Above all, emphasize the importance of teamwork and communication among the watchstations. Everyone inside the lifelines plays a critical role in completing the most challenging evolutions at sea, and even with improvements in training and certifications, a critical and watchful eye on internal processes pays dividends in proficiency and safety.
Captain Donegan retired in 2017 after 25 years of service. He taught seamanship and navigation at the U.S. Naval Academy, served as executive officer of the USS Trenton (LPD-14), and commanded the USS Laboon