Submarine Watch Officer Manning

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: At the request of the Commander, Submarine Forces Atlantic (CSL) Director of Operations (N3), Hero Solutions Group undertook a study of the manning of the 1120 LTs detailed to CSL, to determine how they could be most effectively utilized. For a variety of reason, CSL is experiencing a shortfall in manning of Submarine Watch Officers (SWOs), making it difficult to support a round-the-clock watch rotation while maintaining safety and effectiveness of the SWO. Specifically, we determined the optimum manning rotation to meet the requirement that the watch floor be fully manned, while performing the necessary functions of the eight “day-staff” 1120 LT billets. To determine this optimum rotation, we interviewed several personnel throughout the staff, including the LTs, their supervisors and the department directors (N-heads). We simulated various possible rotations to determine their effects on SWO manning and day-staff coverage. We also researched safety guidelines regarding fatigue and shift work safety from various sources to determine an acceptable work load. These are our recommendations: _ All 1120 LTs should report to N3 and remain on the SWO watch bill for an eight month period. _ All 1120 LTs not billets as a SWO will transfer to the next available day-staff billet once their initial eight month SWO rotation is complete. _ LTs billets as a SWO will be assigned to the N34 day-staff billet in the last several months of their tours. _ All 1120 LTs who are in a staff billet will stand weekday, day SWO proficiency watches twice per month. _ All 1120 LTs are required to attend mandatory SWO classroom training once per week. _ The unfunded N321A billet will no longer be manned by 1120 LTs. By implementing these recommendations, the CSL staff will be able to man the watch bill at a level such that all 1120 LT have a manageable workload that does not contribute to excess fatigue or diminish job effectiveness. Also, all LTs will gain valuable experience as a watchstander.