Naval construction force readiness training, peacetime construction and the war mission: a question of congruency

Abstract

In the study, the author examines the congruency between Naval Construction Force (NCF) peacetime training and construction tasking policies and the war mission. Following an introduction of NCF organizational relationships and organizational components, the author provides a brief history of the NCF. The NCF mission is identified by examining several key documents while training and construction tasking policies are abstracted from COMCBPAC/COMCBLANT/COMRNCF Instruction 1500.20E and OPNAV Instruction 5450.46G, respectively. The mission is redefined by the author in terms of "critical mission parameters" or constraints. The analysis then examines the degree of support contained in the policy documents for contraposing policies to the critical constraints. The analysis is conducted at two levels. The first level of analysis used the content analysis technique to evaluate training and peacetime construction tasking policies at the policy source level. The second analysis examines the congruency of policies at the working level. The general conclusion is that current training and construction tasking policies are consistent with the war mission. The major deficiency noted is the lack of specific policy requiring that NCF units exercise routinely with supported commands. A second finding is that policy relative to cross-rate training appears to be self-contradicting.