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upon the active interest of the other officers in getting
you qualified, because your qualifying will lighten the
workload for them. You will probably be on watch or
standing duty 1 day out of 6, or more frequently. The
senior watch officer will brief you on your duties.
RELIEVING THE WATCH
Chances are you will be put on the watch list
immediately upon reporting. Whether your duty is as
OOD (in port) or junior officer of the deck (JOOD)
(under way), the first thing to remember is to get on
deck early. Collect as much information as possible
before you report to relieve the watch. Remember
also that relieving the watch is a serious evolution.
You should complete the appropriate watch officer
personnel qualification standards (PQS) as soon as
possible. The Watch Officer’s Guide (Naval Institute
Press) is also a good source of information.
It is
available as a Navy nonresident training course
(NRTC) through your Educational Services Office.
RELIEVING AS A DIVISION OFFICER
Through your correspondence with your
executive officer or sponsor, you will have a pretty
good idea of your new duty assignment. As we stated
earlier your first assignment usually will be as a junior
or assistant division officer. That depends largely on
the officer complement aboard the ship or station and
the needs of the command.
If assigned as a division officer, you will be given
a date, normally in writing, stating when you must
relieve the present division officer.
Relieving a
division officer requires planning and organization
for a smooth transition.
Start planning your relieving schedule as soon as
you receive your duty assignment. The effectiveness
of your relieving procedure will have a large
influence on your initial success as a division officer.
Before you relieve, you should have a realistic
awareness of the division’s effectiveness and plans to
correct any deficiencies that exist. The objective of
the relieving procedure is that upon relief you will
have positive control of your division. To accomplish
this objective, you need a clear understanding of the
division’s personnel deficiencies and capabilities,
material condition, operations, and mission.
If your new division has a division chief or a
leading chief, this person can be an invaluable source
of information about the division and its personnel. If
your division has no chief, talk to your command’s
senior enlisted adviser. A command’s senior enlisted
adviser is a command master chief (E-9), a command
senior chief (E-8), or a command chief (E-7).
Regardless of the title, your senior enlisted adviser
can give you a good perspective of your new division.
This person can also assist you in other areas, such as
counseling and personnel problems. Make sure you
cultivate a good relationship with your command’s
senior enlisted adviser.
We also recommend the
Division Officer’s Guide to help you in your duties.
You should take the following steps in
preparation for relieving as a division officer:
As quickly as possible, learn the identity of
your personnel and call them by rate and name. Learn
as much as you can about their personal histories and
professional capabilities by using the division
officer’s notebook and each individual’s service
record as sources of information.
Establish
communication with your personnel through formal
and informal interviews. Observe their appearance,
military bearing, and cooperation among themselves
and with members of other divisions. Review your
division’s Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS)
Program. Make sure it is up to date for each person
and is being carried out aggressively.
Review the
master training plan for all formal school
requirements. Note the projected rotation date (PRD)
of division personnel and when a relief is to report.
Review the Enlisted Distribution Verification Report
(EDVR) for required Navy enlisted classification
codes (NECs) for the division to ensure the right mix
of personnel is on board.
Inspect the material condition of the division
for cleanliness, damage control, safety, and
habitability.
Inventory and inspect all equipage
before assuming custody. Survey missing equipage.
Routing of the survey is the responsibility of the
division officer being relieved.
Do not accept
responsibility for past bad housekeeping. A good aid
in making a material inspection is the checkoff list for
the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). Be
sure to note whether discrepancies listed during the
last inspection have been corrected.
Also, check
divisional file copies of all pending deferred action
documents to get a firm idea of the division’s material
readiness status. Look at any active casualty reports
(CASREPs).
Make sure the division’s planned
maintenance system (PMS) is up to date and effective.
Check the division equipment deficiency log (EDL)
and the current ship’s maintenance program (CSMP).
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