| |
CHAPTER 4
MILITARY DUTIES OF THE NAVAL OFFICER
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
1. Describe the authority of naval officers.
5. Identify the duties and responsibilities of the
command duty officer.
2. Identify the duties and responsibilities of the
officer of the deck underway.
6. Identify the duties and responsibilities of the
3. Identify the duties and responsibilities of the
officer of the deck in port.
combat information center watch officer.
7. Identify the duties and responsibilities of the
4. Identify the duties and responsibilities of the
division officer.
engineering officer of the watch.
The duties of the naval officer are many. They
are often complex, dealing with technical areas
or personnel problems. One of your challenges
as a naval officer is to carry out successfully all
the duties you are assigned in an efficient manner.
To achieve this task requires much forethought.
Although your duties remain somewhat consis-
tent, the conditions vary on a day-to-day basis;
sometimes they even change during the course of
the day.
After your entry-level training, your first duty
assignment will probably be as a division officer.
Division officers are assigned by the commanding
officer to manage a division of the unit’s organiza-
tion. Standard Organization and Regulations of
the U.S. Navy, OPNAVINST 3120.32B, generally
referred to as the SORN, outlines the division
officer’s duties. Note, don’t confuse the SORN
with the SORM. The SORM is the Standard
Organization and Regulations Manual for your
individual command. We will look at some of the
division officer’s duties later in this chapter, but
first let’s look at your authority and responsibility
as a naval officer.
AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
When you accept your commission as a naval
officer, you assume many responsibilities. Your
peers in the civilian sector would have to
work several years into their careers before
assuming such responsibilities. To handle these
responsibilities, you need the authority to carry
them out. Authority within the Navy means
seniors have the legal right to require subordinates
to obey their lawful orders. Your authority
can be either general or organizational. You
use general authority to fulfill the duties and
responsibilities of your assignment or specific
billet within an organization. By virtue of your
commission, you are granted the organizational
authority to perform your duties and respon-
sibilities based on United States Navy Regulations,
1990.
NAVY REGULATIONS
Navy Regulations outlines the authority of
naval personnel in great detail. (Chapter 10 of
Navy Regulations, which has several articles
4-1
|
