Questions & Responses
Q1. Has the Navy reviewed the GAO’s findings and is there a statement
you can provide about that process?
A1. The Navy provided detailed responses directly to the GAO, and those responses
are included within the GAO report. The Navy concurred with GAO’s four
recommendations, outlined the methodology by which GAO recommendations are
being implemented, highlighted key material contained within report footnotes, and
provided supplemental material as required.
 Since 2017, the Navy has made a several changes to enhance Surface
Warfare Officer (SWO) ship-driving training and has concrete funding for
additional improvements. These changes include a threefold increase in the
number of initial mariner skills (i.e., ship-driving) training hours for SWOs by
2021. In addition, the Navy added classroom and simulator time to existing
training courses to improve mariner skills. Also in fiscal year 2021, the Navy’s
current four-week Junior Officer of the Deck (JOOD) course will transition to a
six-week Officer of the Deck (OOD) Phase 1 course and a three-week OOD
Phase 2 course will be added.
 The Navy is committed to the development, assessment, and sustainment of
mariner skills proficiency for individual Sailors and watch teams. Specifically,
the Navy designed and is building Mariner Skills Training Centers (MSTCs) in
Norfolk and San Diego that consolidate critical navigation, seamanship, and
shiphandling training for Sailors and watchteams into one facility. Each facility
will house 30 COVE III / NSST-2 simulators for individual training during the
Surface Warfare Officer School courses, as well as a number of Integrated
Navigation Seamanship and Ship handling Trainers (I-NSSTs), ranging in size
from small Conning Officer Trainers to large-scale Integrated Navigation Team
Trainers, to support both individual, team and unit training. MSTCs will also
provide a wide variety of instructional courses, including the OOD courses;
Radar Observer, Automated Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) and ECDIS-N radar
training; and Bridge Resources Management (BRM) mentoring workshops.
Q2. Has (or will) each of these recommendations from the GAO been
implemented? If so, when and how were they implemented? If they were
not or won’t be implemented, why not?
A2. The Navy's means of accomplishing each of the four GAO recommendations are
described in detail within the Navy responses. The Navy is committed to manning,
training, and equipping a Surface Force that is second to none, operates safely,
controls the seas, and provides the Nation with combat naval power when and
where needed.
Q3. Are there any other changes the Navy has made to improve the
changes to SWO training that weren’t covered in this report that you’d
like to highlight?

 A3. Positive results are emerging from the numerous improvements to Surface
Warfare Officer (SWO) mariner skills training and assessment.
 Student performance on JOOD Course Navigation, mariner skills assessments
– reflect vast improvements compared to that overserved during 2018 fleetwide OOD Competency Checks.
 2018 OOD Competency Checks spanned a random sampling of 164 OODqualified junior officers across the world-wide Fleet Concentration Areas.
JOOD Course students are newly commissioned officers with no prior
shipboard experience. Based upon the depth of JOOD Course training, the
quantity of simulator repetitions involving all types of mariner skills scenarios
(including high-density shipping traffic and in-extremis maneuvering), and
close student/instructor interaction, inexperienced JOOD Course students are
performing as well or better than the OOD-qualified officers tested in 2018.
Specifically, the number of recent JOOD Course students who completed the
mariner skills assessment with “No Concerns” increased by 5%. Those
completing the mariner skills assessment with “Some Concerns” held steady,
but those showing “Significant Concerns” decreased by 15%. Based on the
01 November JOOD Course data, in totality, the 320 JOOD Course graduates
have been exposed to challenging applications of Rules of the Road and
shiphandling decisions within challenging traffic management scenarios.
 Approximately 1,100 cumulative JOOD Course graduates are expected
annually across three JOOD Course sites (Norfolk, San Diego, and Newport).
 The JOOD Course mariner skills competency check is one of ten planned
mariner skills milestone assessments that define the SWO training and
assessment continuum, as revised in 2018. These ten assessments,
evaluations, and competency checks span all career milestones, and include
four Go/No-Go assessments that determine eligibility for follow-on
milestones. Additionally, Fleet OOD Competency Checks planned for 2020,
will provide direct comparative data relative to the 2018 OOD Competency
Checks.
 The Navy will continue to use the results of NSS milestone assessments
coupled with strong qualitative student and Commanding Officer feedback
regarding the quality and depth of classroom, simulator, and at-sea training
as the basis for SWO training and assessment improvements.
 Concurrent initiatives provide additional means of enhancing mariner skills
proficiency development, assessment, and sustainment at both individual
and watch team levels. These include: Navigation, Seamanship, and
Shiphandling Trainer (NSST) improvements (including integrated Bridge and
Combat Information Center (CIC) capabilities); more challenging MobilityNavigation (MOB-N) and Mobility-Seamanship (MOB-S) training and
certification criteria; and Bridge Resource Management Workshops (BRMWs)
leveraging the expertise of Strategic Sealift Officer and post-Major Command
SWOs.
Closer look at the numbers:
 In Summer 2019, the Navy implemented the Junior Officer of the Deck (JOOD)
course for newly commissioned Ensigns.
o As of NOV 19, 320 JOOD graduates existed across the Fleet. These
officers completed a Mariner Skills Assessment (OOD Competency
Check) prior to departing the course.

 o

This exam encompasses various ship-handling scenarios including
high-density shipping and in-extremis maneuvering. Results of this
"OOD level" assessment are as follows:
 Total Assessments = 320
 No Concerns = 66 (21%)
 Some Concerns = 244 (76%)
 Significant Concerns = 10 (3%)

o

This is an improvement over the 2018 OOD Competency Check
baseline results that follow:
 Total Assessed = 164
 No Concerns = 27 (16%)
 Some Concerns = 108 (66%)
 Significant Concerns = 29 (18%)

Additional Talking Points/Fact Sheet
 As part of the JODD Course, students who demonstrate “Significant
Concerns” on their Mariner Skills Assessment are afforded extensive
remediation to correct skill deficiencies before re-taking this examination.
The instruction and rigor of this process, coupled with the quantity of
simulator repetitions to which JOOD Course students are exposed, facilitates
the vast majority of students who experienced difficulty during their initial
Mariners Skills Assessment improving their skills and performance during reexamination.
 The final JOOD graduation numbers are significant. Out of 320 students, 310
or 97% of the total number of graduates completed a Fleet OOD Competency
Check with either “No Concerns” or “Some Concerns.” Most significantly, it
must be understood that JOOD Course students “BEAR NO SHIP EXPERIENCE.”
Compared with the 2018 Fleet OOD Competency Check data, JOOD graduates
are performing as well as or better than their fleet counterparts who have
OOD Qualification and between one and two years of at-sea experience in the
application of Rules of the Road in traffic management scenarios.
 Key data from other NSS milestone evaluations is as follows. This data
attests to Surface Community commitment to ensuring an NSS proficiency
quality cut at all milestones:
o Command Assessment (Shiphandling Portion) --- Go/No Go --- Data as
of 22 OCT 19
 Total Assessments = 1,477
 First Pass = 69% (1,021)
 Overall Pass = 81% (1,197)
 Note: This important assessment has been in place since 2013.
o

Prospective Commanding Officer --- Go/No Go --- Data as of 11 OCT 19
 Total Assessments = 161
 First Pass = 60% (97)
 Overall Pass = 96% (154)

o

Major Command --- Go/ No Go --- Data as of 03 SEP 19

 - Total Assessments 30 First Pass 37% (11)
- Overall Pass 93% (28)