Navy Seeing Better Trained Ensigns After Surface Warfare Reforms, Say Sailors
By: Mallory Shelbourne
April 10, 2023 6:20 PM • Updated: April 11, 2023 7:25 AM
ABOARD GUIDED-MISSILE DESTROYER USS HALSEY OFF THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA – When Cmdr. Amanda Browning joined the Navy, she learned how to drive and operate a ship from a set of CD-ROMs on a computer aboard Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG-53). Twenty years ago, new surface warfare officers learned on the job after a cost-saving decision to trim upfront training, and the results were far from consistent.
Following the 2017 fatal collisions in the Western Pacific that killed 17 sailors, the Navy reversed course and invested billions of dollars in virtual shore trainers on both coasts and made time for new SWOs to get a feel for a 9,000-ton warship in the safety of a trainer.
While SWOs previously trained in an ad-hoc system that left evaluations up to individual ship commanders, young officers now experience an institutionalized training pipeline that leads to multiple go/no-go assessments. Since making those changes, the Navy has had a 99.27 percent pass rate for the first mariner skills assessment, according to a spokesman for Naval Surface Forces.
https://news.usni.org/2023/04/10/navy-seeing-better-trained-ensigns-after-surface-warfare-reforms-say-sailors
