Able Seaman qualifies as Officer of the Watch - RAN News

[dimsum]

After almost five months of training, Able Seaman Boatswains Mate Gemma Hawken joined an elite group and now routinely drives an Royal Australian Navy major fleet unit on a day-to-day basis.

Able Seaman Hawken is one the first sailors on HMAS Success to be awarded a Limited Navigation Watch-keeping Certificate. The Certificate allows Able Seaman Hawken to perform the duties of the Officer of the Watch when conducting single ship operations in open ocean by day or night.

The Limited Navigation Watch-keeping Certificate programme on Success is the brain-child of Lieutenant Commander Jared Webb, the Navigation Officer, who after hearing many Sailors ask ‘how hard can it be to drive a ship?’ put his mind to giving them the opportunity to find out. 

http://news.navy.gov.au/en/Jun2015/Fleet/2124/Able-Seaman-qualifies-as-Officer-of-the-Watch.htm#.VYx9lufOTeS

Personally, I think this is a great program.  It gives junior sailors a shot at either commissioning, if that's what they want to do, and/or at least gives them a good appreciation of the intricacies of being OOW.  I'm not sure what the follow-on effects this would be - does that mean NCM OOWs are double-hatted or become their own "Limited OOW" trade?  Does that mean potentially that MARS Officers become purely specialized as NAVO/Warfare Officers? 

 

[winnipegoo7]

I'm no expert on the subject of enlisted sailors conning ships, but it seems to occur in the US Navy. I'm not sure how common it is though.

USN Enlisted Officer of the Deck
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=86342

USN Enlisted Junior Officer of the Deck
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=47227

From the book 'Front Burner' in August, 2000:

... USS Cole was underway with a fully qualified, all-enlisted crew manning every watch position...

https://books.google.ca/books?id=rskiBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=uss+cole+complete+enlisted+watch&source=bl&ots=3e6QYdiVqz&sig=JJhYVvujGu54rRozxPsZiZPb4pw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-4GMVa6FCIf2yQSK0o2ACA&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=uss%20cole%20complete%20enlisted%20watch&f=false

 

[Underway]

  I've sailed on two ships where NCMs had limited OOW tickets.  One was a MS NCI Op who was trusted to stand anchor watches by themselves and 2OOW day watches.  The second was a LS Bosn who was a civi merchant mariner.  Day ticket on MCDVs no problems and was working on his night ticket. 

If the CO trusts you to stand watches on his ship, well he signed for it!

 

[dimsum]

  I've sailed on two ships where NCMs had limited OOW tickets.  One was a MS NCI Op who was trusted to stand anchor watches by themselves and 2OOW day watches.  The second was a LS Bosn who was a civi merchant mariner.  Day ticket on MCDVs no problems and was working on his night ticket. 

If the CO trusts you to stand watches on his ship, well he signed for it!

Interesting.  When the NCMs got their tickets, how did they get slotted in the OOW watch rotation given that they would presumably also be kept on their own trade's watch rotations as well?

 

[jollyjacktar]

I knew of someone who was granted OOW as a P2.

How it was granted IIRC, was his making a peanut gallery comment on the ship handling (lousy) of someone as they were attempting to bring the ship alongside.  He thought he could do better and said so outloud, the Old Man said if he could do it in 9 movements he would grant him his Bridge Watchkeeper. 

This man did it in 8, the Old Man kept his word, much to the annoyance of the Jr MARS officers.  He later CFR'd and finished with his own command.  Last I knew, he was a Merchant Skipper, as he put it "doing the same job (more or less) for way more money".