Strategic Readiness Review

Navy, Marine Corps Had a Good Safety Record in 2020 But Have Plans to Get Better

Boatswain’s Mate Petty Officer First Class Jarret Hal conducts a safety brief before a underway replenishment, on the Alreigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG-72) on Jan. 24, 2021. US Navy Photo

Navy leaders in all communities are taking a hard look at how they can use data to prevent training accidents and operational mishaps, even as 2020 proved to be a good year for safety amid a high operational tempo, the service’s vice chief told lawmakers this week.

In 2020, the service...

GAO Report on Surface Warfare Officer Training

The following is the Nov. 14, 2019 Government Accountability Report, Navy Readiness: Actions Needed to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Changes to Surface Warfare Officer Training.

From the report

The Navy has relied on added skill checks conducted throughout a SWO’s career to ensure that each SWO has basic ship-driving skills, but has not put key processes and assessments in place to evaluate comprehensively the effectiveness of its changes to ship-driving training. Senior Navy officials stated...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/15/gao-report-on-surface-warfare-officer-training

Top Stories 2018: Navy Operations

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) as the ship transits the Strait of Gibraltar on Dec. 4, 2018. US Navy Photo

USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2018.

If 2018 made anything clear, it’s that the U.S. Navy noticed the increased Russian submarine activity in the Atlantic and won’t let it go unaddressed.

Much of the U.S. Navy’s major activities this year were focused on the Atlantic Ocean, on NATO allies...

https://news.usni.org/2018/12/26/top-stories-2018-navy-operations

U.S. Surface Warfare Officers Will Now Use Logbooks to Record Time at Sea

Photo of a sample page of the new Mariners Skills logbook for US Navy surface warfare officers. US Navy Photo

Surface warfare officers are borrowing a lesson from naval aviators and will now keep a logbook of their time underway throughout their career, according to a new Navy instruction obtained by USNI News.

Now, when new ensigns report to the Basic Division Officer Course they will now be issued a “Surface Warfare Mariner Skills Logbook” in which they will record everything from bridge time...

https://news.usni.org/2018/09/14/u-s-surface-warfare-officers-will-now-use-logbooks-record-time-sea