Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center

SWO Boss Sets Goal for 75 Mission-Capable Surface Warships Ready to Deploy

Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, speaks with Capt. Wayne P. Liebold, executive officer of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2), during a scheduled visit to the ship on Jan. 5, 2023. US Navy Photo

The Navy has set a new goal to have 75 mission-capable surface ships that are prepared to deploy at any given moment

The readiness objective to keep a little less than half of the surface ship inventory ready to deploy is part of a larger...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/10/swo-boss-sets-goal-for-75-mission-capable-surface-warships-ready-to-deploy

SWO Boss: Surface Fleet Reforms See Positive Results Five Years After Fatal Collisions

Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, commander, Naval Surface Force, speaks with junior officers at the Mariner Skills Training Center, Pacific (MSTCPAC) on May 6, 2022. US Navy Photo

Surface warfare reforms crafted to improve mariner skills and manage demand for ships are trickling into the fleet five years after two fatal collisions in the Western Pacific forced the Navy to retool how the service trains the surface fleet.

Multiple investigations and criminal prosecutions found that basic failures in...

https://news.usni.org/2022/06/17/swo-boss-surface-fleet-reforms-see-positive-results-five-years-after-fatal-collisions

GAO: Navy Struggling to Retain Surface Warfare Officers; SWOs Want More Training, Specialization

Sailors on the bridge of USS Antietam (CG-59). US Navy Photo

Surface warfare officers are leaving the Navy at a higher rate than other unrestricted line officers despite reforms in training the service has instituted since two fatal collisions in 2017, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Compared to aviators, submariners and the special warfare/explosives ordnance disposal community, “SWOs had shorter average careers and higher separation rates compared with...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/18/gao-navy-struggling-to-retain-surface-warfare-officers-swos-want-more-training-specialization

GAO Report on Surface Warfare Officer Career Path

The following is the Government Accountability Officer June 17, 2021 report, Navy Readiness: Actions Needed to Evaluate and Improve Surface Warfare Officer Career Path

From the report

SWOs are U.S. Navy officers whose primary duties focus on the safe operation of surface ships at sea. In 2017, the Navy had two collisions at sea that resulted in the death of 17 sailors and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to Navy ships. Following the collisions, the Navy identified deficiencies in the SWO...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/18/gao-report-on-surface-warfare-officer-career-path

Surface Navy to Kick Off Program to Track, Assess Sailors Combat Skills

Fire Controlman (Aegis) Chief Petty Officer Michael Schwemmer (front) and Lt. Nick Marmureanu, an Integrated Air and Missile Defense Warfare Tactics Instructor and the Fire Control Officer assigned to USS Stockdale (DDG 106), conduct Combat Information Center training on April 3, 2021. US Navy Photo

The surface navy community is rolling out a new way to track and assess sailors’ experience and proficiency in combat skills – with the promise that commanders could tailor future training and build...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/03/surface-navy-to-kick-off-program-to-track-assess-sailors-combat-skills

VIDEO: Navy Expanding Use of Virtual Trainers for Surface Ship Crews

The crew of USS Benfold (DDG-65) trains in the Combined Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD)/Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Trainer (CIAT) in San Diego, Calif., on March 5, 2020. USNI News photo.

The surface navy continues to expand and evolve its use of virtual trainers, as it looks to train and certify individual sailors and watch teams ashore so they can make best use of their time at sea.

The Navy now fields systems as simple as a microphone paired with a simulator display screen to...

Surface Warfare Training Growing More Complex with Tougher Scenarios

Chief Intelligence Specialist William Buller video records pre-aim calibration (PAC) fire maintenance on MK-45 MOD 4 5-inch 62 caliber lightweight gun aboard USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) on July 7, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy’s plans to create tougher advanced-phase training events for surface ships are made possible by improvements in individual-level training for surface warfare officers and sailors, according to the officers that oversee the spectrum of surface training.

Rear Adm. Scott...

New SWO Boss Eyeing Advanced Warfighting Training, Mainstreaming LCS

Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, Commander, Naval Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet, meets with Sailors during a tour of the Amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) on Aug. 13, 2020. Kitchener also evaluated Boxer’s current state of readiness during his visit. US Navy photo.

The new head of the Navy’s surface fleet said his predecessor made major improvements in training and readiness, and he wants to use them as a foundation to improve the tactical side: more advanced warfighting training, more...

Navy Continues Advanced Surface Training, Deemed Mission-Essential, During COVID Restrictions

Lt. Caleb Bekemeier (standing), an Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Warfare Tactics Instructor (WTI) assigned to Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC), discusses surface warfighting tactics with Chief Electronics Technician Christopher Schmidt, assigned to USS Stethem, during a training opportunity conducted at Combined IAMD and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Trainer (CIAT) San Diego. Bekemeier returned to SMWDC last week after mentoring the crew of USS Freedom...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/01/navy-continues-advanced-surface-training-deemed-mission-essential-during-covid-restrictions

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