Spring 007 cov1

USV 

CLASSRON

Scan Eagle

SWOS Simulators

Inside 

this edition:

Vol. 32 No. 2

Spring 2007
“Death is all times 

solemn, but never 

so much as at sea.” Charles A. Dana

On the Back:

A member of the honor guard 

stands ready for an order 

to give a gun salute to two 

military veterans who were 

laid to rest in the Pacifi c 

Ocean during a burial at sea 

ceremony held on board USS 

Ronald Reagan (CVN 7). 

(MC Joanna Rippee/USN) 

On the Cover:

SN Isiah Price helps other 

deck department Sailors 

take in a line on the fantail 

of USS Harry S. Truman

(CVN 75) as the Nimitzclass aircraft carrier gets 

underway from Naval 

Station Norfolk. (MC 

Kristopher Wilson/USN)

 Surface Warfare (USPS 104-170)(ISSN 0145-1073) is published quarterly by the Department of the Navy, Director, Surface Warfare (OPNAV N861M), 2511 Jefferson Davis HWY, Suite 4300, 4th Floor, Arlington 

VA 22202. Periodicals postage paid at Arlington, VA, and at additional mailing offi ces. The Secretary of the Navy has determined this publication is necessary in the transaction of business required by law or the 

Department of the Navy. Funds for printing this publication have been approved by the Navy Publications and Printing Committee. 

Postmaster: Send address changes to Surface Warfare, OPNAV N861M, 2000 Navy Pentagon, Washington, DC 20350-2000.

On the Cover:

SN Isiah Price helps other 

deck department Sailors 

take in a line on the fantail 

of USS 

(CVN 75) as the Nimitzclass aircraft carrier gets 

underway from Naval 

Station Norfolk. 

Kristopher Wilson/USN)

 Surface Warfare (USPS 104-170)(ISSN 0145-1073) is published quarterly by the Department of the Navy, Director, Surface Warfare (OPNAV N861M), 2511 Jefferson Davis HWY, Suite 4300, 4th Floor, Arlington 

USV 

Classron

Scan Eagle

SWOS Simulators

Inside 

this edition:
Features

From brown water to missile defense 6

SNA National Symposium charts course for the Surface Navy.

Unmanned surface vehicles will think for themselves 8

New USVs offer tactical advantages.

Simulators offer a challenge 11

Reinforcing underway events.

Best ships in the Navy 16

Battle “E” recipients for 2006

CLASSRON: Ready for tasking 20

Better management for our surface ships

Reservist gets underway with ScanEagle 24

On the move with Ensign Scott Hamann and the new UAV

Fit for duty 26

Keep your heart healthy

Are you salty, Sailor? 38

How familiar are you with nautical terms?

Safety

All hands fall in for the safety brief 32

ATG focuses on anchoring and line-handling safety.

SWO Anchoring Review 37

A basic review for bridge watchstanders.

Departments

 2 Message from Commander

 3 Director’s Corner

30 Book Review

41 Ship Shape

42 Views from the Fleet

44 Captain’s Trivia

45 Changes of Command

 Sailors assigned to the morning color detail 

aboard the submarine tender USS Frank Cable

(AS 40) salute the holiday ensign. The flag was 

being flown at half-mast to honor the former 

President and Navy veteran Gerald R. Ford. 

(MC1 Jeremy Johnson/USN)

Rear Adm. Barry McCullough, USN

Director, Surface Warfare Division

Military Editor

Lt. Jennifer Rossi, USN

Managing Editor

MC1(SW/AW) Athena Blain, USN

Administration and Distribution

YN2 (SW/AW) Fredrica Johnson, USN

Staff Journalist

MC2 Heather Canterbury, USN

Editorial: 

Address editorial inquiries to:

Surface Warfare Magazine

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Continuous Training:

The surface Navy has achieved 

critical mass in the revolution known 

as continuous training. Training is no 

longer just a part of the routine; it is 

how we fight.

Part of the process must include 

what I call “brutal self-assessment.” 

Commanding officers must instill 

a culture where an “UNSAT” is not 

viewed negatively when conducting 

training but is a useful mechanism, 

essential to critical self-assessment. 

Training is about learning. That 

includes making mistakes, as well as 

getting it right when it really counts. 

We want to identify our warfighting 

weaknesses and correct them so the 

enemy can never prevail.

All of our surface force ships 

scheduled to receive Training and 

Operational Readiness Information 

System/Training Figure of Merit 

(TORIS/TFOM) have completed 

their installations. Eighty percent of 

those that were scheduled to receive 

those installations also have Distance 

Support 2.0 installed, which 

permits commanding officers to 

assess the readiness of their ships 

continuously. Trainers now have 

the tools to evaluate the ship’s 

warfighting proficiency with a 

critical eye and 

follow-up with 

early corrective 

action.

Results 

to date have 

shown a 

substantial 

reduction in the 

time required 

to achieve 

unit level 

warfighting 

proficiency. 

Today, after 

only a year 

under our 

belt, average cycle time is 13 weeks, 

down from the historical 16-week 

baseline. Armed with SHIPTRAIN 

and our continuing efforts to align 

Afloat Training Group (ATG) and 

Surface Force Training Manual 

(SFTM) requirements, I fully expect 

our commanding officers will further 

reduce cycle time. My long 

term goal is to achieve a 

continuous certification process 

and reduce biennial certification to 

two-three weeks.

This revolution in training is 

important because the surface Navy 

provides the Navy and our nation 

with “warships ready for tasking.” 

When combatant commanders send 

a demand signal, we must have ships 

ready to respond. Reducing the 

cycle time from 13 weeks to three 

weeks not only delivers more 

readiness, but directly supports 

the CNO’s employability and 

deployability objectives.

The requirements are straight 

forward, and the standards are clear. 

Gone are the days of ‘ramping up’ to 

deploy. We have to be ready 

when called. Training MUST prepare 

us to fight. Continuous training will 

do that and keep us ready – all the 

time, anywhere. 

T.T. Etnyre

Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy

Commander, Naval Surface Forces

Message from Commander, Naval Surface Forces

 Surface Warfare

Vice Adm. Etnyre congratulates Midshipman 

1/C Dorothy Vanduyne on her ship selection to USS 

McCampbell (DDG 85). (Lt. Jennifer Rossi/USN)
As we continue to modernize 

our existing fleet and build the 

fleet of tomorrow, we have made 

a commitment to Fleet Synthetic 

Training (FST) to optimize force 

readiness while reducing training 

costs. I see this as a valuable tool 

to hone our skills working through 

command and control issues which 

often occupy the first few days of 

operations at sea.

FST demonstrates the potential 

of globally-distributed inport 

training. Integrating embedded 

shipboard training devices, aircraft 

and submarine simulators into an 

interoperable network with joint 

and coalition partners can and has 

provided effective fleet training 

for our deploying strike groups. 

Further, state-of-the art simulation 

has potential to improve the pace 

of our recapitalization by reducing 

required flying hours and steaming 

days. Synthetic training may also 

mitigate environmental and range 

encroachment challenges we face.

There are plenty of potential 

benefits for unit-level and integrated 

training if we get this part right. Our 

emphasis needs to be on improving 

the fidelity of our simulations, and 

fully integrating multiple warfare 

areas into complex scenarios. That 

brings a certain cost and will require 

long-term investment. 

Finding the correct balance 

between simulation and underway 

training is a matter we are examining 

the highest levels of Surface Warfare 

leadership. Adm. John Nathman, 

Commander Fleet Forces Command 

has directed that we stand up the 

Fleet Training Domain. Led by Vice 

Adm. Barry Costello, Commander 

Third Fleet, and Vice Adm. Evan 

Chanik, Commander, Second 

Fleet, the Fleet Training Domain 

will ensure the fleet manages 

simulation development in the 

most productive and cost-effective 

manner. Fleet Training Domain 

leaders, in collaboration with the 

force commanders, are working 

to define the appropriate balance 

of live and synthetic training from 

unit-level through strike grouplevel throughout the Fleet Response 

Training Plan. Additionally, by 

incorporating simulation as part of 

the Enterprise approach to training, 

we will ensure that we acquire the 

right equipment at the right price. 

Leveraging technologies from the 

aviation and submarine communities 

will continue to augment our 

simulation capabilities. Our endstate goal should be to have a fullyintegrated training capability at the 

fleet level. 

As Surface Warriors, we must 

continue the development of our 

core competencies in order to safely 

operate at sea and “fight the fight” 

with our combat systems. Simulation 

allows us to maximize our time at sea 

by effectively testing our ship-driving 

and warfighting skills in challenging 

situations prior to actually taking 

ships to sea. Incorporating what 

we learn from simulation and 

combining that with our expected 

goals and outcomes from underway 

periods will make us more proficient 

warfighters. Additionally, simulators 

afford more than just a few to 

experience the “challenges” of the 

training opportunity. While we work 

to streamline and improve efficiency 

in our training, time at sea will 

remain an absolute in maintaining 

our operational skills. 

We want every Sailor and officer 

on every ship to be operationally 

proficient. Simulators enhance our 

operational proficiency and make our 

underway periods more meaningful, 

productive and safe. The combination 

of simulation and real world training 

ensure we are ready to meet the 

challenges of life at sea and afford 

all crewmembers the opportunity to 

train to specific goals and objectives. 

It is through this combined training 

opportunity that we are able to more 

safely and efficiently demonstrate 

our operational readiness at sea. 

Barry McCullough

Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

Director, Surface Warfare

Spring 2007 
 Surface Warfare

Here we are at the end of 

another round of editing and I 

have to say, working on this issue 

was quite interesting. I had the 

pleasure of attending the Surface 

Navy Association (SNA) National 

Symposium from Jan. 9-11 at the 

Hyatt Regency Hotel Crystal City, 

Arlington, Va. Beyond the briefings, 

luncheons and receptions, the Naval 

Heritage program on the “Surface 

Fleet at Okinawa” was superb. I 

really enjoyed listening to the 

historical impact of the Battle of 

Okinawa from the heroes who were 

there fighting. 

The cover of this issue is the first 

place award winner of SNA’s Capt. 

Raymond Komorowski Photography 

Award. MC3 Kristopher Wilson 

from the USS Harry S. Truman 

(CVN 75) was the winner and SNA 

hosted his stay in Crystal City for 

the symposium. He also received 

a $500 cash prize. I would like to 

announce that MC3 was just selected 

for the Syracuse University Military 

Visual Journalism Program (Military 

Photojournalism program (MPJ)). 

It is part of the Newhouse School’s 

Department of Defense programs 

in journalism. The program runs 

for ten months and he will earn 30 

credits towards an undergraduate 

degree. When he completes his 

course at Newhouse, he 

will be considered one 

of the best in the field of 

photojournalism in the 

Navy. Typically, Sailors 

completing this program 

go on to the premier naval 

media outlets such as 

All Hands or the Naval 

Media Center. The second 

and third place, as well 

as honorable mention 

winners are located on 

the Views from the Fleet 

pages. To read more about 

the award, go to the Views 

from the Fleet pages. Information on 

entry to the competition is located 

at www.navysna.org. For anyone 

who missed this year’s symposium, 

ensure you reserve the time 

next year! 

At the National Museum of 

the United States Navy on the 

Washington Navy Yard, there are 

monthly Naval History Seminars. 

In February, I had the honor of 

attending the talk by Capt. Jeffrey 

Sapp on “African American 

Naval Officers in the Wake of the 

Revolution.” He is quite a dynamic 

speaker and for anyone who hasn’t 

gotten to listen to him, you definitely 

missed out. If you can get over to 

the Navy Yard from noon to 1 p.m. 

to listen to any of the 

lectures given, I would 

highly recommend it. 

I also got a chance 

to head over to 

Annapolis, Md. for the 

Naval Academy Service Selection 

Night. The selection process at the 

Academy is quite an experience, and 

it’s the only time that Surface Warfare 

Officers get to select their exact ship. 

It was also great to see all of the ships 

that sent representatives or ballcaps, 

coins and letters of congratulations 

if they were deployed. The 

midshipmen definitely got a warm 

welcome into the Surface Navy from 

the flag officers in attendance and 

their future ships. USS Kearsarge

(LHD 3) even had their mascot in 

attendance to introduce the new 

JORG (junior officer requiring 

guidance) to the premier collateral 

duty! Congratulations to Zhra 

Ghavam for choosing the Kearsarge! 

You can visit BUPERS Online to see 

the full list of USNA midshipmen 

and their ship selections. Naval 

Reserve Officer’s Training Corp 

selected their ships from March 20-22.

In this issue, the Surface Warfare 

Officer School allowed us to cover 

their extensive shiphandling 

simulator program. We got a 

snapshot of it during the symposium 

By Lt. Jennifer Rossi, Military Editor Inside SW

 Capt. Jeffrey Sapp delivered a poignant message

on looking beneath the surface of a person’s skin color with 

his illustration of the “Golden Buddha,” a story of a Tibetan 

monastery that covered a sacred idol with clay. Years later, 

researchers found the priceless item by chipping away at 

the worthless outer layer. (MC2 Heather Canterbury/USN)

 Retired FORCM(SW) Karen 

O’Connor (left) and Mrs. 

Mary Ellen Komorowski pose 

with MC3 Kristopher Wilson, 

winner of the annual SNA 

Capt. Raymond Komorowski 

Photography Award. (MC2 

Heather Canterbury/USN)
Spring 2007

and wanted to show the fleet 

the opportunity that officers are 

receiving while in Newport, R.I. 

The Boeing Company has an 

employee in the Naval Reserve who 

was just commissioned. Ensign Scott 

Hamann is testing ScanEagle, an 

unmanned aerial vehicle, where he is 

currently deployed on USS Ashland

(LSD 48). Also in this issue is some 

coverage on unmanned surface 

vehicles. For those not familiar with 

the advances in small surface craft, 

please check out the stories and 

pictures we have in this issue. 

Our main safety article is on 

anchoring and linehandling safety. 

Afloat Training Group Norfolk 

provided us with a great article that 

reminds us that just because there 

are evolutions we do on a regular 

basis, it doesn’t mean they have any 

less of a chance of being an unsafe 

evolution. If it’s been a while since 

you looked critically at the way 

you are conducting these types of 

evolutions, it may be time to cast 

off some of those bad habits that 

have developed and pass some new 

practices on to your linehandling and 

anchoring details so they can start 

taking in the slack.

When we started reviewing all 

the linehandling commands and 

discussing the evolutions involved, 

we were reminded that there are 

several things to think about 

before you can head into an 

anchorage. We decided to provide a 

little SWO review for those that were 

interested in brushing up on their 

anchoring “math.” 

Along with this “math” review, 

I started looking into some of the 

words like fathom. Where did the 

word fathom come from—why 

not just use feet or yards? Well, 

the official meaning is listed in our 

section on “How Salty are you, 

Sailor?” but the big part to remember 

is fathom came from the word faetm

meaning “to embrace.” Because 

people embrace those they love, the 

outstretched arms from fingertip to 

fingertip is on average six feet and 

one fathom came to equal just that—

six feet.

Along with just the words, around 

the office we started talking about 

the animals on the foc’sle. I was 

able to come up with 10 of them. 

How many are you able to come up 

with? Guess before you look at the 

answers but these are the ones that I 

got: dogging wrenches, turtle backs, 

alligator skin, elephant foot, wild cat, 

cat head, monkey’s fist, pelican hook, 

bull nose and rat tail stopper. I guess 

we could also include the rat guards 

if we include the cathead so maybe 

we have 11. Are there any others 

anyone can think of? If so, email me 

at surfwarmag@navy.mil, subject 

line: animals on the foc’sle. 

Special congratulations go to all 

those commands awarded the Battle 

Effectiveness Award for the 2006 

calendar year as well as those who 

received multiple and consecutive 

Command Excellence Awards. For 

all those wondering, yes it is the 

Battle Effectiveness Award now and 

there is a new Command Excellence 

Award, the Purple “E”. There is a 

little explanation of the changes to 

the Battle “E” that came out in the 

Jan. 1, 2006 version of the Surface 

Force Training Manual (SFTM) in 

this issue. So once again, congrats 

to the winners and best of luck next 

year to those who weren’t selected! 



 There will be at least one familiar face aboard 

their new ship. Midshipmen 1/C K.C. Dalton (left) and 

Matt Garcia-Bragiel select USS Germantown (LSD 

42) together at the U.S. Naval Academy Ship Selection 

ceremony on Feb. 22, 2007. (Lt. Jennifer Rossi/USN)
The Surface Navy Association 

(SNA) hosted their 19th annual 

national symposium Jan. 9-11 at the 

Hyatt Regency Hotel in Crystal 

City, Va. 

SNA members, active duty Navy 

personnel and industry leaders 

spent three days attending briefs, 

luncheons and visiting booths 

throughout the hotel, learning 

about the direction the surface Navy 

is heading. 

While this year’s theme was Brown 

Water to Missile Defense, the briefs 

covered all aspects of the surface 

Navy from special guest speakers 

Vice Adm. Terry Etnyre, Commander 

of Naval Surface Forces and Rear 

Adm. Barry McCullough, Director of 

Surface Warfare to U.S. Coast Guard 

Commandant Adm. Thad Allen.

One of the main focuses on this 

year’s symposium revolved around 

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. 

Mike Mullen’s vision of interoperable 

services. Components from the U.S. 

Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps 

gave their expert opinions on joint 

operations for Sailors either already 

stationed in the Middle East or 

preparing to head there. Members 

from the newly-formed Navy 

Expeditionary Combat Command 

also gave overviews of their 

command and answered questions 

regarding riverine squadrons and 

individual augmentees. 

Junior officers and enlisted 

Sailors also enjoyed a luncheon 

with their respective peers and had 

the opportunity to speak to their 

detailers and hear firsthand about 

developments in their community. 

The heads of the detailing community 

were available daily to discuss career 

tracks and assist in any assignment 

concerns or questions. Many Sailors 

in attendance took advantage of 

picking the detailers’ brain over 

detailing assignments.

SNA hosted an awards ceremony 

on the last day to recognize 

outstanding active duty and retired 

Sailors whose achievements in the 

surface Navy community “represent 

all of our heroes, past and present, 

who have served their Navy and 

their nation in the surface ships 

of the fleet.”

Cmdr. Henry Hendrix, 

commanding officer of Tactical Air 

Control Squadron 11 onboard USS 

Pelileu (LHA 5), Vice Adm. W.J. 

Holland, Jr., and Eric McVadon 

received the Surface Navy Literary 

Award for articles published during 

the 2006 calendar year. 

SNA also recognized annual Capt. 

Raymond Komorowski Photography 

Award recipients. Thirty-nine 

pictures were submitted that captured 

images of the work, recreation and 

professional diversity of the surface 

warfare community. USS Harry S. 

Truman’s (CVN 75) MC3 Kristopher 

Wilson took first place and received 

a check for $500 and an expense-paid 

trip to the symposium to receive his 

award. Wilson’s winning photo is 

featured on the cover of this issue of 

Surface Warfare Magazine. This is the 

second consecutive year a member 

of Truman’s media department won 

first place. All contest-placing photos 

are featured in this issue in our Views 

from the Fleet section. Ensign 

Danny Ewing, Jr., USS Stethem (DDG 

63) placed second and YN2(SW/AW) 

Marie Goodwin, USS Mount Whitney

(LCC 20), placed third. 

Submission forms for next year’s 

photo contest can be found on the 

SNA web site: www.navysna.org/

awards. The prize for first place is 

$500, $250 for second, $200 for third 

Surface Navy Association National Symposium awardees for 2007 have their photo taken after the award 

luncheon, Jan.11, 2007, with SNA board members. (MC2 Heather Canterbury/USN)

By MC1(SW/AW) Athena Blain, Managing Editor

National SNA Symposium

is not just for officers

 Surface Warfare
place, and one honorable mention 

will receive $50. The contest is open 

to both professional and amateur 

photographers. Submission deadline 

for next year is Dec. 1, one month 

prior to the Symposium. For more 

information on the photo contest, visit 

the SNA web site. 

The awards luncheon also honored 

two Sailors for their leadership 

abilities. Lt. j.g. Jason Osborne, 

USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), and 

SK1(SW) Kimberly Magasark, USS 

Whidbey Island (LSD 

41), received the Admiral 

Zumwalt Award for 

Visionary Leadership. The 

award is unique in that 

nominees are nominated by 

their peers. Obsorne stated 

that he was “humbled to 

be at the symposium with 

genuine American heroes.” 

SNA also recognized 

four Sailors for the Admiral 

Arleigh Burke Surface Warfare 

Operational Excellence Award. Lt. 

Cmdr. Jimmy Brown of USS Shiloh

(CG 67), Lt. j.g Joseph Gorgol, USS 

Bulkeley (DDG 84), OSC(SW) Walter 

Knutzen of USS Mobile Bay (CG 

53) and NCC(SW/AW) Clint Laney, 

USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 

81)were the top four of forty-four 

candidates. This prestigious award 

recognized superior achievement in 

the operational aspects of Surface 

Warfare by qualified Surface 

Warfare Officers and Enlisted 

Surface Warfare Specialists. 

The guest speakers for the 

historical naval event are one of 

the highlights of the Symposium 

every year for attendees. Every 

year, SNA also gives tribute to these 

“individuals whose contribution to 

an action or campaign, concluding 

not less than 50 years ago, typifies the 

finest traditions of the U.S. Navy” in 

the Historical Remembrance Award. 

Capt. Russell Crenshaw, Jr., USN 

(ret), Coxswain Marvin Perret, USCG 

(ret) and Rear Adm. Robert Spiro, 

Jr. USN (ret) received the award for 

their contributions at the Battle of 

Okinawa. Perret, who enlisted in 

the Coast Guard in 1933 at 18 as a 

boatswain’s mate, stole the hearts of 

all who had the chance to speak with 

him. The spry 81-year-old, wearing 

his old uniform, spoke about his 

experience piloting a landing-craft 

vehicle/personnel (LCVP) through 

enemy fire during Okinawa.

The symposium ended with 

closing remarks by Vice Adm. Kevin 

Green, president of SNA, and the 

annual banquet featuring Adm. Gary 

Roughhead, Commander, U.S. Pacific 

Fleet as the keynote speaker. 

Every January, SNA hosts 

the National Symposium in the 

Washington. The seminars and 

round-tables are free to all interested 

active duty Sailors. Certain dinners 

and luncheons have minimal costs, 

but participants can pick and choose 

what they would like to attend. SNA 

also holds two other symposia for 

West Coast Sailors who may not be 

able to make the trip to DC. The San 

Diego Symposium is scheduled for 

August 23 of this year, and another 

will be held in Monterey sometime 

this summer. Check the SNA web 

site, www.navysna.org, for details.

ET2(SW) Steven Jardina (left) and DC2 Stephen

Swanson from USS Mitscher (DDG 57) visit displays 

set up by industry leaders during the three-day 

symposium. (MC2 Heather Canterbury/USN)

Spring 2007

 Naval Education and Training Command (NETC)

FORCM(SS/SW/AW/PJ) Michael McCalip gave Sailors 

an overview of the future direction of NETC at the 

Enlisted Roundtable held the first day of the SNA 

National Symposium. (MC2 Heather Canterbury/USN)

Retired USCG Coxswain Marvin Perret spoke to

SNA National Symposium attendees during the Naval 

Heritage Program brief on his first-hand account of the 

Battle of Okinawa. (MC2 Heather Canterbury/USN)
Unmanned Surface Vehicles 

will venture into 

dangerous waters

think

By Edward Lundquist, N86 Public Affairs

Craft

themselves

will for

 Surface Warfare
9

The U.S. Navy is looking at new 

ideas and solutions for unmanned 

surface vehicles (USVs) to protect 

ships as well as mission systems 

for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). 

Research is underway to give these 

systems more capability, including 

the ability to operate autonomously.

Unmanned systems offer many 

tactical advantages. USVs can 

perform diffi cult and dangerous 

extended missions in high sea states 

with low personnel risk and are not 

limited by human factors. USVs are 

ideally suited to patrol in shallow 

coastal waters where many 

threats lurk.

LCS is a modular focused mission 

warship that will address one of 

three missions: mine warfare, antisubmarine warfare and anti-surface 

warfare. The main combat capability 

resides in the offboard systems 

in those reconfi gurable mission 

packages. Weapons and sensors are 

integrated into the mission packages, 

packed into modifi ed 20-foot 

containers. LCS will be the fi rst ship 

to employ unmanned vehicles on 

such a large scale.

“LCS has moved past exploring 

the “potential” of unmanned systems 

and is deploying them as the primary 

combat capability for a Navy 

warship,” says Ken Montgomery 

of the LCS program offi ce. “Our 

interests are shifting from capability 

demonstrations to production costs 

and capacity.”

Most of the fi rst-generation 

systems to be deployed from LCS 

were initially developed for 

other purposes. 

For example, the Naval Undersea 

Warfare Center in Newport, R.I. 

developed a remote control version 

of a rigid-hull infl atable boat 

(RHIB) called Spartan Scout for 

unmanned missions. Spartan Scout 

is an advanced concept technology 

demonstration (ACTD) used for 

evaluating concepts for LCS.

Bob Brizzolara of the Offi ce of 

Naval Research’s (ONR) Unmanned 

Sea Surface Vehicle (USSV) Program 

says ONR is looking at new purposebuilt systems instead of converting 

existing manned boats into remote 

control drones. “Converted manned 

craft have limitations, such as sea 

keeping, speed, tow force, persistence 

and payload.

Research is focusing on how to 

best control multiple unmanned 

systems with the fewest number 

of operators, because manpower is 

a signifi cant life-cycle cost driver. 

The Navy is looking at more secure 

networks with more bandwidth 

for sharing information between 

the USV and the ship, and between 

the ship and other nodes of the 

network. The more processing that 

can be performed on the USV means 

less raw information has to be sent 

elsewhere for processing. 

Of great interest is developing 

autonomous vehicle control so 

multiple vehicles can work together 

as a team and make independent 

tactical decisions. If a weapons 

release decision needs to be made, 

there will be a “man in the loop” with 

positive weapons control. 

Other key areas being explored 

for USV improvement are 

communications and data links; fault 

monitoring; payload interface and 

navigation sensors. 

Today’s research and development 

efforts will result in improved 

endurance, speed and payload 

and will expand the USV’s 

operational envelope.

 USSV-HS is one of the new models of unmanned 

vehicles the Navy is looking to adopt to perform 

dangerous extended missions. (Photo courtesy 

of Offi ce of Naval Research, Sea Platforms and 

Weapons Division)

Spring 007
10 Surface Warfare

 ONR has designed and built a 

pair of very different aluminum 

USVs. One craft, the USSV-HTF, 

is designed to maximize high tow 

force (HTF). The other, USSV-HS, 

is optimized for high speed (HS). 

The 39-foot monohull USSV-HTF 

displaces 18,000 pounds while the 

36-foot USSV-HS is a hydrofoil 

displacing 20,000 pounds. Both 

were designed to fi t within the LCS 

weight and size limitations. Both are 

twin-diesel vessels and were built by 

Maritime Applied Physics Corp., of 

Baltimore. These craft are currently 

being evaluated in at-sea testing.

The Navy is working on 

developing autonomous vehicle 

control with dynamically planned 

navigation, on-board situational 

awareness and digital nautical charts, 

which have been corrected and fused 

with current data. 

“Autonomy is the property 

that is introduced once the system 

begins making its own decisions,” 

says Eric C. Hansen, head of the 

Autonomous Maritime Navigation 

(AMN) program with Naval 

Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) 

Carderock Division’s Combatant 

Craft Department in Virginia Beach, 

Va. “Once you combine goals with 

on-board resources, and an accurate 

picture of the situation, the mission 

computer can use the data to choose 

the appropriate tactical behaviors to 

achieve the goals.”

The AMN research is focusing 

on tying the on-board systems 

management to the navigation 

tools to allow rational and dynamic 

mission replanning when presented 

with complex changing situations, 

Hansen says. 

The Navy is teaming with 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

(JPL) to develop reasoning, 

situational awareness, dynamic path 

planning, and onboard resource 

management for USVs, drawing 

upon JPL’s experience developing 

unmanned spacecraft, including the 

Mars Rovers.

“Signifi cant autonomy has 

been developed and matured 

for the Mars Rovers and other 

planetary exploration spacecraft. 

Longer duration USVs and UUVs 

(unmanned undersea vehicles) 

have a very similar problem set 

as spacecraft,” Hansen says. “A 

spacecraft and a ship at sea are 

quite similar.”

ONR’s USSV program is also 

looking at autonomous launch and 

recovery of USVs; more compact 

power sources and energy storage; 

lightweight structural materials, blast 

and ballistic protection; and cost, 

manufacturability and repairability. 

In addition to the LCS missions, 

USVs will be employed to patrol 

waters around moored ships. USVs 

can monitor waterborne traffi c, and 

can investigate, question or warn 

suspicious craft to maintain a safety 

zone around a ship. USVs can 

provide force protection, conduct 

bottom surveys and seabed profi ling, 

inspect battle damage and can be 

confi gured to carry a weapon. USVs 

can travel to an area of interest at 

high speed and then remain on 

station for a prolonged period of 

time operating at slower speeds. 

“Because they can be made tactically 

expendable and with a shallow draft, 

they can operate very close to shore, 

or in other high threat areas such 

as constricted river environments, 

they greatly reduce warfi ghter risk,” 

Hansen says. 

 USSV-HTF (pictured above) was designed by 

Maritime Applied Physics Corp. to maximize high 

tow force. The USSV-HS, also designed by Maritime 

Applied Physics Corp., is best suited for high speeds. 

(Photo courtesy of Offi ce of Naval Research, Sea

Platforms and Weapons Division)
Spring 2007 11

Training that was once conducted 

with a dedicated “school ship” 

destroyer and a flotilla of Yard Patrol 

Craft (YPs), is now accomplished 

more effectively, efficiently and 

economically with state-of-the-art 

simulators. Hands-on shiphandling 

training at Surface Warfare Officers 

School (SWOS) in Newport, R.I., is 

staffed by fleet-qualified officers of 

the deck (OOD) and Coast Guardqualified instructors including retired 

major command experienced naval 

officers and master mariners to 

provide intensive mentoring based 

on their many years of experience.

Navy training today involves a 

combination of classroom instruction, 

computer-based training, simulation, 

and live evolutions, both inport 

and, where appropriate, at sea. 

This training is conducted in both 

individual and team environments 

and focuses on basic qualification, 

proficiency, and refresher evolutions.

“Basic navigation is a prerequisite 

for officer of the deck qualification,” 

o f f e r c h a l l e n g e s t o i m p r o v e r e a l s k i l l s

By Edward Lundquist, N86 Public Affairs

SimulatorS

 Lt. David Blair verifies his console settings prior 

to running a simulation on the littoral combat ship 

trainer at Surface Warfare Officer School. (MC1 

David Frech/USN)
12 Surface Warfare

The Conning Officer Virtual 

Environment (COVE) provides 

intensive and realistic simulated 

shiphandling training for 

conning officers.

SWOS is training watchstanders 

for all classes of U.S. Navy warships, 

including ships that haven’t even 

joined the fleet. “We can produce 

a full range of high-fidelity 

hydrodynamic ship models and 

tactical simulations for cruisers, 

destroyers, frigates, mine warfare 

ships, amphibs, coastal patrol ships, 

and unrep (underway replenishment) 

ships, even the new littoral combat 

ship (LCS),” says Lt. Cmdr. Dan 

Evans. “We can simulate pulling into 

port, getting underway, mooring or 

anchoring, in day or night, with good 

or reduced visibility. We can input a 

small boat attack so the students can 

see how fast things can happen.”

Lower fidelity models for tankers, 

lifeboats, pilot vessels, tugs, cruise 

ships, ferries, and sailboats, can also 

be inserted into a simulation, thus 

providing for more complex 

student challenges.

 Some scenarios involve screening 

a mission essential unit (MEU). “We 

let the students experiment, and 

place their ship in various positions 

relative to the MEU. They can see 

how hard it is to stop an incoming 

threat when they’re in the wrong 

position,” Evans says.

Although the Full Mission Bridge 

(FMB) can help hone shiphandling 

techniques, it is best employed 

training watchstanders’ skills. The 

wrap-around image projection offers 

a 360-degree panorama from the 

bridge. Step out of the bridge wing 

and you can see what is astern.

Complete port scenarios are 

available for almost all Navy ports 

and most ports in the Fifth Fleet 

area of operations. For example, an 

officer can be placed in a situation 

where he has to bring his ship into 

Bahrain, with other merchant traffic 

coming and going, and the officer is 

faced with a potentially threatening 

fast-moving surface contact. He or 

she can deploy a helicopter or one or 

more RHIBs (Rigid Hull Inflatable 

Boat) to investigate the craft, 

determine intent, try to clear the craft 

from the vicinity of the ship, and 

take decisive rules of engagement 

(ROE) action if necessary. There 

are RHIB simulators integrated 

with the FMB so other officers can 

gain experience handling a RHIB 

during the scenario. The FMB 

allows watchstanders to engage 

threats during a maneuvering detail 

situation, or in the vicinity of oil 

platforms or in choke points. They 

can communicate with other vessels 

using the bridge-to-bridge radio, and 

can employ lights, whistles, loud 

hailers, flares or engage with .50-cal. 

machineguns. Students must defend 

against pierside and underway small 

boat attacks, determine hostile intent 

and practice non-lethal measures and 

warning shot procedures. Linking 

COVE trainers allows other students 

 Lt. Wayne Gehman discusses scenario settings in 

the 360 degrees Full Mission Bridge (FMB) simulator 

control room. (MC1 David Frech/USN)

 A student at Surface Warfare Officer School 

receives hands-on training with the Conning Officer 

Virtual Environment (COVE) simulator for his 

prospective ship. Students are able to do pier work, 

underway replenishments and navigate in different 

virtual environments under different weather 

conditions. (MC1 David Frech/USN)
Spring 2007 13

to train in controlling friendly or 

attacking boats during one of 

these scenarios.

“The focus is on shiphandling 

skills, but we really test command 

and control when under attack. 

The FMB teaches bridge team 

management,” Evans says. A student 

can see how fast a situation unfolds.”

Train To Qualify

Lt. Cmdr. Barry Burrows will be 

the Chief Engineer on USS Freedom

(LCS 1). He’s at SWOS for a six-week 

course that will prepare to qualify 

him as an OOD aboard his class of 

ship. Usually, LCS will operate with 

an OOD and a readiness control 

officer (RCO), who performs as an 

engineering officer of the watch 

(EOOW), but from the bridge. “He 

came in with his OOD Letter and 

we’ll build upon that skill set,” says 

Lt. Cmdr. Tom Mays. “We’ll give 

him simulator experience in highspeed vessels (HSV), Bridge Resource 

Management (BRM), and automatic 

radar plotting aid (ARPA).”

There is a big difference controlling 

a ship with screws and rudder and 

LCS, which will be controlled by 

four large waterjets. For instance, 

“Instead of a Williamson turn for a 

man overboard situation, we’ll stop, 

pivot, and go back and pick 

up ‘Oscar.’”

The relationship between 

propulsion thrust and steering are 

different for LCS than for legacy 

platforms. On conventional 

platforms, thrust comes from 

propellers and steering from the 

rudders. On LCS, thrust and steering 

are combined and must be managed 

with a completely different mindset.

Everyone reporting to LCS will 

have journeyman skills and will have 

previous sea duty experience. SWOS 

will also be training senior enlisted 

personnel who will be serving as 

RCOs on LCS. The SWOS training 

for RCOs entails nine weeks, while 

the LCS OOD training is six weeks 

long. After SWOS, personnel in 

the LCS pipeline will proceed to the 

LCS “schoolhouse” at San Diego 

for further integrated training. In 

addition to shiphandling, SWOS 

offers simulators for engineers going 

to gas turbine and diesel ships.

“We can simulate any engineering 

evolution, and insert any casualty. 

After we’ve given them that 

knowledge and practical application, 

Afloat Training Group (ATG) 

comes to SWOS and validates that 

knowledge. We can sign off 

 At the Surface Navy Association National 

Symposium, attendees were given the opportunity to 

test the Conning Officer Virtual Environment (COVE) 

simulator at the Surface Warfare Officer School booth. 

(MC2 Heather Canterbury/USN)

Train to Qualify for LCS

1. Get your “resume” 

together by earning 

qualifications on initial 

sea tour.

2. Come to SWOS for 

individual OOD and 

RCO training.

3. Receive certification from 

Afloat Training Group 

(ATG).

4. Report to the LCSRON 

for unit training with the 

Integrated Training Team 

(ITT).

5. Report to the ship 

and demonstrate 

your capability to the 

commanding officer.
14 Surface Warfare

75 percent of a student’s personal 

qualification standards (PQS).”

Prospective commanding 

officers (CO) and executive officers 

(XO) receive training, taught by 

experienced retired Navy captains 

and civilian master mariners. 

The training includes 16 hours 

of training in four sessions. The 

SWOS shiphandling training utilizes 

extremely realistic voice-actuated 

“helmet” type simulators with oneon-one mentoring.

“The sessions begin in a familiar 

port under normal conditions, 

and continue with increasingly 

challenging winds, current and 

traffic. Later, students can choose 

the pier, homeport, ship type, and 

evolution. Whatever they feel they 

need,” says Capt. Bud Weeks, U.S. 

Navy (Ret.). “We start off with their 

own homeport in the ship type to 

which they’re assigned. Then we 

challenge them with onsetting and 

offsetting wind and current. Next 

we do underway replenishment, 

adding casualties such as loss of 

lube oil pressure on own ship or loss 

of steering on the oiler. And we do 

lots of landings. You can never get 

enough landings.”

Weeks reminds his students that a 

few feet is all that’s keeping them off 

the front page of Navy News.

According to Weeks, the CO’s are 

tasked with writing their own ship’s 

Restricted Maneuvering Doctrine 

(RMD) while at SWOS. They can 

promulgate the doctrine when they 

get to their ship.

Engineering training powered 

by simulation

SWOS operates an engineering 

classroom for guided-missile frigate 

(FFG) engineering students. “We 

teach chief engineers (CHENGs), 

main propulsion assistants (MPAs) 

and auxiliary officers (AUXOs),” 

says Lt. Tristan Wagner. We start all 

the engineering students with three 

weeks of theory, thermodynamics, 

and fluid mechanics. Then we split 

students by ship type. FFG students 

will get five to six weeks of FFG 

specialty training.”

Desktop training provides 

the opportunity for students to 

become fully familiar with system 

configuration, control panels and 

 Lts. Chris Yitalo and Charlie Perkins navigate the littoral combat ship simulator, making a harbor approach 

during routine operations. (MC1 David Frech/USN)

 Navy Personnel got first-hand exposure to 

SWOS simulators at the Surface Navy Association 

National Symposium. (MC2 Heather Canterbury/USN)
Spring 2007 15

displays. “When they get in the 

trainer, they are not hunting for 

buttons,” says Lt. Cmdr. Mike Steen.

It’s fairly realistic,”says Wagner, 

but “instead of grabbing a throttle, 

you’re clicking a mouse.” 

 Other training offered at SWOS is 

critical to officer combat readiness. 

The Generic Reconfigurable Training 

System (GRTS) allows training to be 

configured for a specific ship class 

and type.

The SWOS Multi-Mission Team 

Trainers (MMTT) are GRTS-based 

trainers that reinforce the tactics 

and watch team coordination that is 

taught in the tactical action officer 

(TAO) portion of the department 

head course. Additionally, the 

MMTT build upon the technical 

information that the TAO students 

learn while at the Center for Surface 

Combat Systems in Dahlgren, Va. 

“That is the basis for the department 

head transformation—from technical 

to tactical,” says Hughes. “Students 

learn the technical knowledge in 

Dahlgren and then come to SWOS to 

apply the tactical knowledge gained 

in the TAO course.”

“The trainers reinforce any event 

that can be done underway,” says 

Cmdr. Mike Huck, director of the 

fleet training department at SWOS. 

“We allow the student to perform 

tasks that they would not normally 

be allowed to do underway because 

of their experience level. Very few 

commanding officers would allow 

their newly qualified OODs to 

dock their ship with only one tug. 

Simulators allow a student to build 

upon their experience level and 

classroom training to demonstrate 

skills that they will perform as they 

get more senior.”

“SWOS continues to lead in 

training officers to serve at sea,” 

Executive Officer Cmdr. Burt 

Quintanilla summarizes. Surface 

Warfare Officer School embraces 

the 21st century with cutting edge, 

high-tech and effective training. 

The simulators play a critical role 

in preparing our officers to perform 

their jobs at sea. 

 Simulators have desk-top computer training systems to familiarize students with system configurations. 

(MC2 Heather Canterbury/USN)

 Surface Warfare Officer School invited industry leaders and Navy personnel to test their simulators 

at the Surface Navy Association National Symposium held Jan. 9-11, 2007 in Arlington, Va. (MC2 Heather 

Canterbury/USN)
pleasure,” said Vice Adm. Terry Etnyre, Commander, Naval 

Surface Forces.

Forward Deployed Naval Forces, Japan had the following winners: 

USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), USS Patriot (MCM 7) and USS Essex (LHD 2). 

Hawaii-based recipients of the award are USS Russell (DDG 59) and USS Lake Erie (CG 70).Everett, 

Wash.-based USS Ford (FFG 54) received the award.

San Diego homeported award winners are: USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), USS Curts (FFG 38), USS 

Decatur (DDG 73), USS Howard (DDG 83), USS Pinckney (DDG 91), USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 

6), USS Ogden (LPD 5), USS Rushmore (LSD 47) and USS Bunker Hill (CG 52).

Mayport, Fla. had the following winners: USS Vicksburg (CG 69), USS Boone (FFG 28), USS De Wert

(FFG 45) and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80).

Norfolk, Va. award recipients include: USS Anzio (CG 68), USS Monterey (CG 61), USS McFaul

(DDG 74), USS Mitscher (DDG 57), USS Mahan (DDG 72), USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), USS Iwo Jima

(LHD 7), USS Trenton (LPD 14), USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) and USS Stout (DDG 55).

The mine countermeasure (MCM) ships include: Crew Constant, Crew Exultant, and 

Crew Fearless. 

The patrol coastal crews include: Crew Bravo, Crew Charlie, and Crew Hotel.

A ship’s sustained superior performance in six different areas contributes to the award. 

These areas are Maritime Warfare; Engineering/Survivability; Command, Control, Communications 

and Information Warfare; Logistics Management Excellence, Commander, Naval Surface Forces 

(CNSF) Ship Safety Excellence and Effi ciency Excellence.

By MC1 Paula Ludwick, Naval Surface Forces, 

U.S. Pacifi c Fleet Public Affairs

Twenty-nine ships and six crews were announced as winners of 

the 2006 Battle Effectiveness Award, or Battle “E,” award Feb. 16.

The Battle Effectiveness Award is given annually to ships that 

demonstrate the highest state of departmental readiness in their 

group and their ability to execute their wartime tasks.

“Congratulations to all award winners. Your success in 

meeting mission area excellence standards is noted with 

Surface Force Ships

and Crews Earn Battle “E”

1 Surface Warfare
With the recent release of the 

Battle Effectiveness (Battle E) Award 

winners by Commander, Naval 

Surface Forces (CNSF), Surface 

Warfare Magazine wanted to review 

just what it takes to be the best ship 

in each organization. 

From the Surface Force Training 

Manual (SFTM, COMNAVSURFOR 

3502.1), Chapter fi ve, the Battle 

Effectiveness Award has replaced the 

Battle Effi ciency Award and will still 

be called the Battle “E.” 

It recognizes sustained superior 

performance in an operational 

environment and sustained 

continuous readiness throughout 

the Fleet Response Training Plan 

(FRTP). On a daily basis, ships must 

demonstrate excellence as well as 

superior achievement during all 

certifi cations and qualifi cations 

conducted throughout the 

competitive period (the calendar 

year.) There has also been a new 

award announced —the Effi ciency 

Excellence Award. 

To be eligible for the Battle 

“E,” a ship must have been 

in commission for 50 

percent or more 

of the award 

cycle,must earn 

at least four of 

the six Command 

Excellence Awards, 

and must have 

demonstrated the 

ability and readiness 

to effectively perform

its primary missions in an 

operational environment. 

Also, failure or poor performance 

(failure to meet applicable 

certifi cation criteria) during a major 

qualifi cation, inspection, assessment 

or certifi cation will be disqualifying 

for the Battle Effectiveness Award. 

Some of these are the Engineering 

Operations Certifi cations (EOC), 

Final Evaluation Problem (FEP), 

Supply Management Certifi cation 

(SMC), INSURV (Board of Inspection 

and Survey), Force Maintenance 

and Material 

Management 

Assessment 

(3MA) 

and 

EKMS (Electronic Key Management 

System) Inspection. 

The ship must have maintained 

currency in all Maintenance and 

Unit Level Phase mission area 

certifi cations (as listed in Figure 2-4-2 

of the SFTM.) 

A high level of safety awareness 

and Operational Risk Management 

(ORM) must be consistently 

demonstrated in all phases of 

shipboard operations. A satisfactory 

ORM training program, as assessed 

by ATG during Unit Level Training 

and Readiness Assessment (ULTRA) 

events, is required. 

Any action that requires a 

formal investigation will not be 

disqualifying until the investigation 

boards results are announced. 

As mentioned earlier, four out of 

six Command Excellence Awards 

are required to obtain the Battle “E.” 

The Command Excellence Awards 

selected by their Immediate Superior 

in Command (ISIC) from all ships 

that meet the required standards 

outlined in the SFTM. ISICs are 

asked to consider the quality and 

intensity of ship’s operations 

and material readiness in 

selecting awardees. 

Performance in 

primary 

By Lt. Jennifer Rossi, Military Editor

Battle Effectiveness and 

Command Excellence Awards

Spring 007
mission areas during the 

Integrated and Sustainment 

Phase training 

and while deployed are also 

carefully considered. 

The fi rst award is for 

Maritime Warfare (Power 

Projection/Sea Control) 

Excellence. This is awarded 

to a ship that has sustained 

superior performance and 

readiness to conduct the 

ship’s prescribed military 

missions as described in 

OPNAVINST C3501.2 

(Naval Warfare Mission 

Areas and Required 

Operational Capability/

Projected Operational 

Environment (POC/POE) 

Statements.) Refer to the 

SFTM, Chapter 5, Section 

5104 for all the minimum criteria. 

The Engineering/Survivability 

Excellence Award is the second of 

the Command Excellence Awards, 

and it recognizes sustained 

superior engineering and damage 

control readiness. 

Engineering readiness 

is explained in 

COMNAVSURFORINST 3540.2 

(Engineering Readiness Process) 

and shipboard personnel should 

also be familiar with OPNAVINST 

5090.1 (Environmental and Natural 

Resources Program Manual) and 

for all reportable spills. Minimum 

criteria can be reviewed 

in SFTM, Chapter 5, 

Section 5105. 

The next award is the Command, 

Control, Communications and 

Information Warfare Excellence 

Award which recognizes sustained 

superior performance in shipboard 

operations relating to matters 

of command, control, and 

communications, intelligence, 

electronic warfare and 

cryptologic employment. 

Minimum criteria are listed 

in the SFTM, Chapter 5, 

Section 5106. 

The fourth award is 

the Logistics Management 

Letter Short Name of Award Award

Battle “E” Battle Effectiveness Award

Black “E” Maritime Warfare (Power Projection/Sea Control) 

Excellence Award

Red “E” Engineering/Survivability Excellence Award

Green “E” Command, Control, Communications and Information 

Warfare Excellence Award

Blue “E” Logistics Management Excellence Award

Yellow “E” CNSF Ship Safety Excellence Award

Purple “E” Effi ciency Excellence Award

1 Surface Warfare
Excellence Award which is awarded 

for excellence in management of 

material, fi nancial and personnel 

resources. Consistently poor 

performance in the Continuous 

Monitoring Program (CMP) or 

during the FRTP may result in loss of 

eligibility. Additional information on 

the criteria can be found in the SFTM, 

Chapter 5, Section 5107. 

The CNSF Ship Safety Excellence 

Award is the fi fth award, and 

it recognizes excellence in the 

maintenance and execution of afl oat 

safety, occupational health-related 

programs and initiatives and ORM. 

Ships should reference OPNAVINST 

3590.24 (CNO Surface Ship Safety 

Awards Program) and OPNAVINST 

5100.19 (Navy Occupational Safety 

and Health (NAVOSH) Program 

Manual for Forces Afl oat, VOL 

I/II/III) to ensure they meet the 

specifi cations of having functioning 

afl oat safety, hazardous material 

(HAZMAT)/hazardous waste, 

occupational safety and heath 

programs and ORM aboard 

their ships. 

The CNSF Ship Safety Award is 

a pre-requisite for nomination to 

the CNO Surface Ship Safety Award 

(as described in SFTM, Chapter 5, 

Section 5209). Minimum criteria can 

be found in the SFTM, Chapter 5, 

Section 5108. 

The fi nal and newest award 

added to the Command Excellence 

Awards is the Effi ciency Excellence 

Award which recognizes effi ciency 

and effi cient use of resources as 

an important part of the Battle 

Effectiveness and maintaining 

overall readiness. Minimum 

criteria can be found in the SFTM, 

Chapter 5, Section 5109. Battle “E” 

Awards are to be displayed from 

the time of announcement of the 

award until the announcement of 

the next cycle’s awards. The awards 

are displayed from forward to aft 

in the following order: Battle “E,” 

Maritime Warfare “E,” Engineering/

Survivability “E,” Command and 

Control “E,” Logistics Management 

“E,” CNSF Ship Safety “E,” and 

Effi ciency “E.” The FFG-7 class ships 

display the Command Excellence 

Awards below the Battle “E” due 

to limited space availability. Figure 

5-1-2 in the SFTM demonstrates 

the display and a more specifi c 

description is located in the 

SFTM, Chapter 

5, Section 5112c. 

If a ship receives consecutive 

awards, service stripes of the same 

color are added. If the Battle “E” is 

won fi ve consecutive times, a gold 

“E” shall be displayed with a silver 

star above the “E,” which replaces 

the service stripes. 

If the ship wins a Command 

Excellence Award fi ve consecutive 

times, a star of the same color of 

the award is added and replaces 

the service stripes. Service stripes 

will be added until another star can 

be added for winning another fi ve 

consecutive awards. This display is 

also shown in fi gure 5-1-2 in 

the SFTM. 

Congratulations to all the 

recipients of the 2006 Battle “E” 

and Command Excellence Awards! 

Spring 007 19
The U.S. Navy has created a 

new way to better manage surface 

ships by type or class. New “class 

squadrons” are being established, 

known as CLASSRONs to coordinate 

the support of ships by type, 

wherever they may be home ported. 

Eight CLASSRON Implementation 

Teams were established on Oct. 1, as 

an initiative of 

the Navy’s 

new Surface 

Warfare 

Enterprise (SWE). 

The CLASSRONs will be located 

in Norfolk, Va.; San Diego, Calif.; 

Ingleside, Texas; and Mayport, Fla. 

(see chart).

The implementation teams have 

begun staffing, defining roles and 

establishing procedures that will 

lead to CLASSRONs achieving full 

operational capability in the spring 

of 2007.

According to Vice Adm. Terrance 

Etnyre, Commander, Naval Surface 

Forces, CLASSRONs will not replace 

current Immediate Superior in 

Command (ISIC) organizations 

such as carrier strike groups and 

expeditionary strike groups, but will 

support them with warships ready for 

tasking by aligning manning, training, 

equipping and maintaining processes 

of ships by the class. 

When fully operational, 

CLASSRONs will 

align SWE 

readiness and cost control processes 

with established waterfront support 

organizations to provide greater 

overall enterprise effectiveness. 

The CLASSRON is part of a triad 

that includes the commanding 

officer of the ship, the ISIC and the 

CLASSRON. The commanding 

officer of each CLASSRON will 

report to the SWE Chief Readiness 

Officer, Rear Adm. D.C. Curtis, 

Commander, Naval Surface Forces 

Atlantic, and will serve waterfront 

support organizations as a supporting 

commander.

The new “squadrons” do not 

eliminate existing operational 

squadrons, such as destroyer 

squadrons (DESRONs) or 

Amphibious Squadrons (PHIBRONs). 

Those will still remain the ISIC. The 

CLASSRONs will support the 

ISIC and better manage 

resources. 

CLASSRON:

Ready for tasking in blue, green and brown water

By Edward Lundquist, N86 Public Affairs
A guided-missile destroyer, 

for example, will still belong to a 

DESRON, and will report as it does 

today to one of the numbered fl eets 

for operational control (OPCON). 

But now a single entity will be 

looking out for all DDGs across 

manning, training, maintenance and 

equipping, no matter what squadron 

they’re in, or where their homeport 

is.

The goal of the new CLASSRONs 

is to assess current readiness, analyze 

metrics across ships of a class, 

examine class trends, determine root 

causes, establish lessons learned 

and provide recommendations 

and solutions, while emphasizing 

readiness and cost control processes. 

The effort 

is part of the 

Navy’s Sea 

Enterprise 

concept, 

which is 

manifested 

in the 

Surface 

Warfare 

Enterprise, 

led by Vice 

Adm. Etnyre and the leadership 

of the Surface Navy, which comprise 

the board of directors. Etnyre says 

SWE is not changing the way the 

Surface Navy does business just for 

the sake of change, “but because 

we believe that only a clean-slate 

approach can ensure we will have 

the technologies, systems, platforms 

and people for the needs at hand,” 

he says. “We have organized for 

the future effi ciently to provide our 

product: warships ready for tasking.”

“What we didn’t have is 

a command that integrates 

requirements and readiness across 

manning, training, maintenance 

and equipping a warship so that 

it’s ready for tasking,” says Capt. 

Bill Valentine, commander of Afl oat 

Training Group Norfolk. “And it’s a 

continuous process.”

The CLASSRONs provide 

cradle-to-grave management and 

oversight of the hulls and the crew, 

and serve as the link between all 

the other external agencies. “The 

CLASSRON will have a dotted line 

1

 The Surface Warfare Enterprise (SWE) stands up the Guided-Missile Frigate Class Squadron (CLASSRON) on 

board Naval Station Mayport. CLASSRONs will provide the Immediate Senior in Command and Type Commands 

with the ability to fi nd process ineffi ciencies and provide the ability to apply resources to achieve a desire result. 

(MC2 Elizabeth Williams/USN)

CLASSRON Ships Headquarters

Guided missile destroyers DDG 49 Norfolk

Guided missile cruisers CG 22 San Diego

Coastal patrol craft PC 8 Norfolk

Frigates FFG 30 Mayport

Amphibious Assault LHA/LHD/Steam LPD 23 Norfolk

Littoral Combat Ship LCS 12+ San Diego

Landing Ship Dock/Platform LSD / LPD 17 21 San Diego

Mine Warfare MCM 22 Ingleside
relationship with everyone in the 

funnel,” says Capt. Brian Goulding, 

commanding officer of the Regional 

Support Organization Norfolk. “The 

CLASSRON’s relationships with 

external organizations will improve 

the support those organizations 

provide to a specific class of 

ship.”

Ships will be at a higher state of 

readiness more often, able to go into 

harm’s way to do their mission 

and come back with everyone they 

sailed with.

From the top down, the type 

commander (TYCOM) now can 

ask one person about a class of 

ship. From the bottom up, the 

commanding officer and squadron 

commander now have a single place 

to meet the 

needs of Naval 

Sea Systems 

Command 

and the 

Program Executive Office. “They 

never had that kind of advocacy 

before,” says Valentine.

They’ll use a common set of 

SWE metrics for all ships in a class. 

The staff will have visibility and 

capability for objective and informed 

management and oversight decisions 

of things like steaming days, fuel 

costs or resource allocation.

“We collect so much data today, 

but we don’t really know what to do 

with it all,” says Valentine. “Now 

we’ll know.”

In fact, says Valentine, the Navy 

collects more than 12,000 discrete 

data elements on the training and 

readiness alone, on every ship. “Now 

we have it down to 2,500 or so.”

The difference is “an order 

of magnitude,” says Capt. Mike 

Davis, who is the Commander 

Naval Surface Force Atlantic 

(COMNAVSURFLANT) Chief of 

Staff. “Eventually, we may ask for 

different data so we can be consistent 

across the enterprise.” 

What is collected will be 

consistent. Instead of spurious 

short-fused data calls, the same 

data will be collected in the same 

way on the same 

schedule. Much 

will be collected 

and transmitted 

electronically, 

freeing up 

Sailors to do 

more important 

tasks.

“We’ll 

collect less, but 

use it more 

Surface Warfare

 Commander, Naval Surface Forces Vice Adm. 

Terrance Etnyre, speaks to Sailors from USS Freedom

(LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2) and the Littoral 

Combat Ship Class Squadron (CLASSRON) during the 

CLASSRON’s ribbon cutting ceremony at Naval Station 

San Diego. (Cmdr. Jane Campbell/USN)
efficiently and effectively,” 

says Davis. 

Analysis from one CLASSRON can 

be compared with another, and the 

right information can be delivered to 

the SWE board of directors to make 

informed decisions. 

For the deck plate Sailor, 

CLASSRONs will better identify 

deficiencies, track progress and 

implement permanent solutions to 

class-wide problems. This efficiency 

will ultimately lead to increased 

readiness and improved warfighting 

capability. 

“CLASSRONs will better align the 

Surface Warfare Enterprise. Aligning 

the Surface Warfare Enterprise 

process teams with established 

waterfront support organizations, 

operational commanders, and 

assigned ships will ensure the 

readiness and cost control 

processes required to 

provide greater overall 

Enterprise effectiveness are 

in place,” Curtis says. “This 

will ensure we are producing 

warships ready for tasking at the 

right time, at the right cost.”

 Each CLASSRON 

will have similar 

functions, but 

some types of 

ships are more 

complex, or 

have bigger 

numbers, or 

both. There will 

be similarities, 

such as the 

CG and DDG 

CLASSRONS. 

Both classes of 

ships have the 

Aegis Combat 

Weapons System 

and similar gasturbine propulsion 

plants.

“You have a high-level group 

involved in fixing the problem. The 

CLASSRON will be able to address 

the specific processes. What kinds 

of Sailors are really needed? What 

Naval Enlisted Classifications 

(NECs) and schools are required for 

a particular watch station or job, and 

how can we ensure those Sailors have 

the right training,” Valentine says. 

One of the ways the Navy 

measures unit readiness is with a 

Training Figure of Merit (TFOM). 

Using new and objectively measured 

ways to train the entire crew, TFOM 

is an invaluable tool for use by the 

commanding officer and the 

ship’s training 

teams to 

self-assess 

proficiency levels and generate 

resource requirements based on 

warfighting capability requirements. 

“Altogether, these initiatives allow 

the ship to maintain a steady strain 

instead of constantly being in a crisis 

management mode,” Valentine says.

The Surface Force continues 

to remain at the leading edge 

of warfighting, Curtis says. 

“Establishment of the 

CLASSRONs, as the key 

enabler to the Surface 

Warfare Enterprise, will 

produce warships 

ready for tasking in 

the blue, green and 

brown water.” 

Spring 2007 23
24 Surface Warfare

One man, one machine, one 

mission and two careers 

came together for Navy 

Reservist and Boeing employee Scott 

Hamann as he headed off to serve the 

U.S. Navy in the Indian Ocean and 

Mediterranean Sea last year. 

Hamann became a member of the 

Navy Reserve in the 1990’s after an 

active duty career. Some years later 

he took a job with Boeing working in 

Flight Operations on the ScanEagle 

Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). 

Hamann’s work and reserve status 

came together in 2006 as he was 

assigned to support the ScanEagle 

aboard the USS Trenton (LPD 14). 

“Having twenty-one years of active 

and reserve experience helped me 

quickly acclimate to the shipboard 

environment,” Hamann said. “The 

Trenton was also about the same age 

as my first ship, the USS William H. 

Standley (CG 32), there were a lot of 

similarities. It brought back a lot 

of memories.”

One thing, however, was very 

different in this shipboard experience 

for Hamann—the presence of 

ScanEagle. With more than 20,000 

hours of combat flight time, the 

ScanEagle has been demonstrating 

its effectiveness with the Navy and 

Marines in a number of theaters of 

operation—including Operation Iraqi 

Freedom. “The Navy crew felt 

ScanEagle was a tremendous 

asset,” said Hamann.

ScanEagle is a lowcost, long-endurance 

autonomous unmanned 

vehicle developed and 

built by Insitu, Inc. in 

partnership with Boeing. 

On the Trenton with 

Hamann, the primary mission 

was intelligence, surveillance and 

reconnaissance (ISR) in the 

Indian Ocean. 

The Trenton then sailed to the 

Mediterranean Sea in mid-July to help 

evacuate U.S. citizens from Lebanon 

during the conflict there. Hamann’s 

work there was recognized by the 

ship’s executive officer. “Hamann 

was a huge asset during our recent 

participation in NEO (noncombatant 

evacuation order) from Lebanon,” said 

Lt. Cmdr. Don Donegan in a letter to 

Hamann’s reserve commanding officer. 

“He actually ‘lead the charge’ of his 

fellow ScanEagle detachment onboard 

Trenton and helped us with the crucial 

task of in-processing personnel.”

Hamann’s years of service and 

work to get a bachelor’s degree 

in 2003 led to his commissioning 

as an ensign aboard the Trenton

last August. “I really enjoy being 

on board Navy ships,” Hamann 

said. “I didn’t realize how much I 

missed the camaraderie. It was very 

fulfilling to work onboard Trenton

and accomplish such a successful 

mission. I was honored that Trenton’s

CO was willing and able to swear me 

in. It was especially moving to have 

my new friends present during the 

Reservist serves with

 Navy Reserve Ensign Scott Hamann carries ScanEagle onboard USS Trenton (LPD 14). (Photo courtesy of The 

Boeing Company)

 Sailors onboard USS Cleveland

(LPD 7) launch ScanEagle. (Photo 

courtesy of The Boeing Company)

By Marc Skylar, 

Communication 

Specialist, The 

Boeing Company

ScanEagle

on Navy ships
ceremony. The crew really made me 

feel special. I will never forget 

the experience.”

In September, Hamann returned 

to Boeing and assumed another 

task that kept his Navy ties. He 

took on the ScanEagle team lead 

position for the USS Ashland (LSD 

48). The job entailed ensuring that 

all the contracts were fulfilled, and 

that equipment needed for the 

ScanEagle’s deployment on the ship 

were ordered­—a job that Hamann’s 

experience had him perfectly 

prepared to execute. He then sailed 

again late last year with ScanEagle 

and is currently the detachment leader 

aboard the Ashland. 

Ensign 

Scott Hamann enlisted in 

the Navy on Oct. 8, 1984 and reported to Great Lakes 

Naval Training Center for basic training on Dec. 18. He graduated from 

Electronics Technician School on March 7, 1986 and reported to his first 

command USS William H. Standley (CG 32) as an ET3. During the course of his 

tour, Hamann filled the AN/SPS-40 Search radar technician billet, made 2nd Class 

and qualified for Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS). On Oct. 8, 1990, he left 

active duty service.

Hamann enlisted in the Navy Reserve on Dec. 15, 1990 at the Navy and Marine Corps 

Operation SupportCenter in St. Louis. Over the last 15 years, he has served in the following 

Navy Reserve units: MSC FE HQ Detachment 118, SIMA San Diego 

Detachment 2318, USS Frank Cable (AS-40) Detachment K, PHD NSWC 

Detachment 618, NEAT Unit 113 and CDS-26 Detachment C. 

He was promoted to ET1 while serving at PHD NSWC on Feb. 16, 2001. 

Hamann, later, received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at 

SIU-Edwardsville. 

From March to August 2006, Hamman rode USS Trenton (LPD 14) for an 

assignment from his civilian career at The Boeing Company to fly ScanEagle 

UAVs. During this time, Hamann was sworn in as an ensign in the Civil 

Engineer Corps field by Trenton’s Commanding Officer Cmdr. Samuel 

Norton. Trenton was involved at the time in anti-piracy operations in the 

Indian Ocean, and in mid-July was diverted to the Mediterranean Sea to 

assist in the evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon. In September, 

Hamann became Boeing’s ScanEagle team lead aboard USS Ashland (LSD 48).

Hamann is currently assigned to Navy Reserve SeaBee unit NMCB-15. 

Spring 2007 25

 ScanEagle launches from USS Cleveland (LPD 7). (Photo courtesy of The Boeing Company)
26 Surface Warfare

Heart disease is pervasive in 

both men and women and there are 

several contributing factors. Some, 

like aging or heredity, are things you 

can’t change. The good news is, there 

are other things you can change to 

prevent heart disease.

Consult your physician: The first 

thing to do is talk to your physician. 

Find out your specific level of risk. If 

your risk is high, find out which risk 

factors you should concentrate on. 

Finding out you’re at low risk, 

on the other hand, can eliminate a 

lot of worry.

Smoking: Cigarette smoking is the 

most important preventable cause 

of premature death in the country. 

People who smoke increase their 

heart disease risk two to four times. If 

you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, 

don’t start. Evidence also indicates 

that exposure to secondhand smoke 

at home or work increases your risk 

and the risk of respiratory disease in 

your children.

Physical inactivity: Physically active 

individuals have a 60 percent to 75 

percent lower risk of heart disease 

than those who are inactive. Try to 

get at least 30 minutes of moderateintensity exercise (like brisk 

walking) every day. This can even be 

performed in intermittent or shorter 

bouts (at least 10 minutes) of activity 

throughout the day. When it comes to 

exercise, the more the better!

Obesity: Being more than 30 percent 

over your ideal body weight makes 

you more likely to develop heart 

disease, even with no other 

risk factors. 

Stress and depression: Studies 

show your body’s physiological 

reaction to high levels of sustained 

stress — increased blood pressure, 

an outpouring of adrenaline, and 

other changes — makes you more 

susceptible to serious disorders like 

heart disease. Depression, more likely 

suffered by women, is also dangerous 

to the heart in both women and men.

High blood pressure: It increases 

the risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney 

failure and congestive heart failure. 

Aim for a blood pressure of under 

140 systolic (top) and 90 diastolic 

(bottom), with 120/80 being optimal. 

Have your blood pressure checked at 

least every two years.

High cholesterol and high 

triglycerides: Those with total 

cholesterol over 200 are more 

susceptible to heart disease. The 

goal is to have an LDL (“bad” 

cholesterol) lower than 160, HDL 

(“good” cholesterol) over 45, and 

to keep triglycerides to 200 or even 

lower. Triglycerides are emerging 

as a significant predictor of risk in 

women. If yours are high, talk with 

your doctor about what to do.

When to see a cardiologist:

Any time you have a significant 

heart or related condition, you may 

require the attention of a cardiologist, 

a doctor who is highly trained in 

diseases of the heart. Symptoms 

like shortness of breath, chest 

pain, or dizzy spells often require 

special testing. Most importantly, 

cardiologists are experts in 

diagnosing and treating heart 

attacks, heart failure and other 

heart-related conditions.

Your primary-care physician may 

recommend a cardiologist or you can 

choose one yourself. If you suspect 

you have a heart problem, visit 

your doctor.

Fit For Duty

The

Don’t be its next victim

Deadliest Disease...

By Pat Ovist, RN, Portage Health

 Pat Ovist is a registered nurse and health educator 

at Portage Health. In addition to educating the 

community on heart health, she also coordinates CPR 

certification classes for the community.
Spring 2007 27

Hypertension, commonly called 

high blood pressure, is often referred 

to as “the silent killer”. The reason 

for this is because those with high 

blood pressure often do not feel sick 

and it may cause no symptoms for 

a long time. However, it increases 

the risk of heart disease and stroke, 

which are the first- and third-leading 

causes of death among Americans. 

High blood pressure also can result in 

other conditions, such as congestive 

heart failure, kidney disease and 

blindness. 

In order to understand why this 

happens, one must understand what 

the term high blood pressure means 

and what is occurring in the body.

The heart pumps blood through 

vessels to bring oxygen and nutrients 

to the body. Blood pressure is the 

force of the blood against the vessel 

walls. It depends on your blood flow 

(the volume of blood being pumped 

by your heart) and the resistance of 

your blood vessels to blood flow. 

The more the pressure, the harder the 

heart is working.

Blood pressure often goes up and 

down during the day. When it goes 

up and stays high, then it is high 

blood pressure. 

An easy test measures blood 

pressure. It uses an inflatable cuff 

around an arm. Blood pressure is 

usually measured while you are 

seated with your arm resting on a 

table. Your arm should be slightly 

bent so that it is at the same level as 

your heart. If the pressure is high, 

the test will be repeated on several 

days to get an accurate reading. 

The test gives two numbers: The 

systolic pressure (the top number) is 

the pressure of blood in the vessels 

as the heart beats. The diastolic 

pressure (the bottom number) is 

the pressure of the blood between 

heartbeats. The numbers are usually 

written like a fraction with the 

systolic above or to the left. 

Both numbers in a blood pressure 

test are important, but for people 

who are 50 or older, systolic 

pressure gives the most accurate 

diagnosis of high blood pressure. 

For most Americans, systolic blood 

pressure increases with age, while 

diastolic increases until about age 

55 and then declines. However, in 

younger people especially, diastolic 

blood pressure is an important 

hypertension number. The higher 

the diastolic blood pressure, the 

greater the risk for heart attacks, 

strokes and kidney failure. Those 

who do not have high blood pressure 

at age 55 face a 90 percent chance of 

developing it during their lifetimes. 

So high blood pressure is a condition 

that most people have at some point in 

their lives. 

Optimal blood pressure is systolic 

less than 120 and diastolic less 

than 80. If your blood pressure is 

between 120/80 and 139/89, then 

you have prehypertension. This 

means that you don’t have high 

blood pressure now but are likely 

to develop it in the future. Stage 

1 hypertension is when the top 

number is consistently 140 to 159 or 

Fit For Duty

The Silent Killers: 

 Blood Pressure & Diabetes

By Pat Ovist, RN, Portage Health

 Command Fitness Leader YNC Terrance Winfield leads a physical fitness session during a command physical 

fitness session aboard nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). (MCSN John Scorza/USN)
28 Surface Warfare

Fit For Duty

the bottom number reads 90 to 99. 

Stage 2 hypertension is when the top 

number is consistently 160 or over 

and the bottom number reads 100 

or over. 

Blood pressure readings may 

be affected by many different 

conditions, including:

Cardiovascular disorders, 

neurological conditions, kidney and 

urological disorder, psychological 

factors such as stress, anger, or fear, 

various medications, pre-eclampsia 

in pregnant women, and “white 

coat hypertension” may occur if 

the medical visit itself produces 

extreme anxiety.

High blood pressure can and 

should be treated to reach a 

healthy level to prevent long term 

complications of the condition. In 

the older population it could reduce 

hospitalizations for heart failure, 

improve medical outcomes, enhance 

quality of life and reduce overall 

health costs. 

Once a diagnosis of 

hypertension is made, the initial 

treatment consists of a healthy 

weight guideline; increase in 

physical activity (American 

Heart recommends 30 minutes 

of aerobic activity most days 

of the week, e.g. walking 

at a brisk pace, swimming, 

bicycling); adopting a low 

salt diet (typically less than 

2,400mg/day of sodium); eating 

a balanced diet, which is high 

in fruits, vegetables and low-or 

non-fat dairy products; reduce 

the intake of foods high in 

saturated fat and cholesterol.; 

limit alcohol consumption to no 

more than one drink per day; 

and stopping smoking. When 

necessary the physician may 

prescribe medication which 

should be taken as ordered. If 

the medication is difficult to 

tolerate, report it to your doctor 

and an alternative may be 

available.

It is because of the 

seriousness of the consequences 

of hypertension that it is 

important to get your blood 

pressure checked on a routine 

basis, especially if there is a 

family history. Hypertension 

can be treated and add years to 

your life; know your numbers. 

 Sailors take time out of their day to maintain physical readiness by using cardiovascular equipment on the 

starboard side sponsor aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). (MC3 Ron Reeves/USN)
Spring 2007 29

The Navy today has a 

culture of fitness that is no 

longer just about just 

passing the semi-annual 

physical fitness assessment. Instead, 

it’s about Sailors having the 

stamina to wage war and respond 

to terrorism.

“This culture of fitness we’re 

talking about is much more than 

getting to the gym three times a week 

for 60 minutes,” said Vice Adm. John 

C. Harvey Jr., the Chief of Naval 

Personnel. “Sailors need to 

be ready for the ultimate 

stresses you get at sea and 

on the ground, in places like 

Iraq and Afghanistan.” 

With the added stresses 

that Sailors currently face, it’s 

important for Sailors to make 

it a priority to incorporate 

fitness and overall wellness 

in their lives. 

Heart disease and high 

blood pressure are two of the 

medical concerns we face. 

Therefore, it is vital that 

you take charge of your 

health now.

Conducting preventative 

health maintenance will not 

only be beneficial, but could 

also be life-saving.

According to the National 

Institutes of Health, more than one 

million Americans have heart attacks 

each year, and about half a million 

people die from heart disease 

every year.

Navy medical clinics have 

programs in place such as heart 

smart classes, cardiac education 

classes and healthy cooking classes, 

that focus on heart health. These 

classes provide Sailors with the skills 

they need to lower their cholesterol 

by learning therapeutic lifestyle 

changes as well as assisting you 

to learn more information on the 

diseases of the heart or if you have 

any risk factors linked to developing 

these diseases.

Contact your local health provider 

or local medical facility today to 

make sure your body is in tip-top 

shape. There are many programs out 

there to help you become the ultimate 

fighting machine.

Fit For Duty

Navy’s culture ensures 

By MC2 Heather Canterbury, Staff writer

heart-healthy Sailors

 Command Fitness Leader YNC Terrance Winfield and YN3 Sam Jones lead a command physical fitness session 

aboard nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). (MCSN John Scorza/USN)
Book Review

In a dramatic coming-of-age story, 

Khaled Hosseini brings us the tale of 

Amir, a wealthy Pashun boy of the 

ruling Sunni Muslim class in Kabul, 

Afghanistan, in his best-selling novel 

The Kite Runner. Hosseini’s fi rst 

novel runs the gamut of emotions 

from fond reminiscence of childhood 

play to a grown man’s remorse for a 

young boy’s pranks and cruelty. It 

shows us all how social prejudices 

can twist our logic and our sense of 

morals. The power of this story will 

emotionally move even the most 

cynical.

Blood, brotherhood and betrayal 

are common themes throughout 

the book. In his teen years, Amir 

betrays his closest and truest 

friend, Hassan, in the most awful 

way. Hassan, a servant-class Sh’ia 

Muslim Hazara, grew up with 

Amir, and has always given him 

the unfaltering love Amir feels his 

father has denied him. Even after 

Amir’s treachery, Hassan remains 

faithful and forgiving. Not able 

to live with his own guilt, Hassan 

manufactures ways to cut his closest 

friend out of his life, until he is fi nally 

successful. His guilt eats away at 

him throughout his adulthood until, 

years later, he revisits his homeland 

and tries to rectify his mistakes. 

His journey to emotional maturity 

and responsibility travels from a 

life of privilege in Kabul to a poor 

immigrant in America.

The story’s plot is interwoven with 

the political upheaval in Afghanistan, 

from the fall of the monarchy to the 

Soviet invasion to the thousands 

fl eeing into America from a brutal 

Taliban regime. Hosseini expertly 

brings the readers into the war-torn 

streets of Kabul and creates a wellrounded protagonist who is likable 

yet all-together fl awed. 

The novel is written in Amir’s 

fi rst-hand account, and 

demonstrates how one 

tragic event can haunt 

over a lifetime. The 

betrayal stems from not 

only Amir’s personal 

weakness of jealousy, 

but is also shaped by 

cultural prejudices and 

his country’s hostile social 

climate. Readers follow 

Amir on his path towards 

redemption and come to 

love him regardless of all 

his faults. 

The Kite Runner, written 

in 2003, caused a sensation 

in the book-reading 

world as the fi rst novel 

written by an Afghan 

in English. Hosseini, 

an Afghan-American 

physician in Los Angeles 

won multiple awards for 

his heartbreaking tale 

of undying friendship 

and the bonds of family, 

including Entertainment Weekly’s Best 

Book and San Franciso Chronicle’s

Best Book for 2003. The novel was 

the number three best seller in 

2005 in the United States. The fi lm 

adaptation of the book is due in 

theaters in November 2007.

Amir’s emotional voyage to save 

Hassan’s family in Afghanistan and 

confront the evils of his past will 

have you on the edge of your seat. 

Don’t pick up the book unless you 

are going to have the time to read it 

all in one sitting. You’re not going to 

want to put it down!

The Kite Runner

By Khaled Hosseini

2003, Riverhead Books Publishing, 

New York, NY

ISBN 1594489505

List Price: USD $25.95

Reviewed by MC1(SW/AW) 

Athena Blain, Managing Editor

The path towards redemption

30 Surface Warfare
Book Review

It’s one of the most powerful 

symbols of World War II. The 

patriotic pull of the photograph 

is incredibly potent, and it swept 

across America during the war. The 

men in the photo were viewed as 

heroes to war-wearied United States 

citizens, and photographer Joe 

Rosenthal achieved instant fame and 

the Pulitzer Prize. One photograph 

became the badge of hope for 

Americans during the war. 

The image of five Marines and one 

Sailor atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo 

Jima on Feb. 23, 1945, surmounting 

incredible odds to raise the American 

flag, still creates a visceral emotion 

in most. This one image has 

become a highly recognized symbol 

of America’s strength and unity. 

Many details, though, behind the 

photograph have gotten lost 

through the years, and the 

names of the brave six have 

disappeared along with 

the details.

James Bradley and Ron 

Power’s book, Flags of Our 

Fathers, brings the names 

and deeds of these American 

heroes sharply back into the 

focus of the American public. 

The book was created solely 

in the memory of these heroes, 

chronicling the lives of all six 

men. Written as a memorial 

for his father, who was the 

corpsman in the photo, James 

Bradley lovingly reshapes the 

men’s lives for the rest of us to 

witness. Flags of Our Fathers

describes the lives of the men 

before and after the pivotable 

picture, and is a touching 

tribute from a son to his father 

and all he held dear.

The men from the photo 

came from all corners of 

the country. The leader, Sgt. Mike 

Strank, was a Czech immigrant 

who held the respect and love of 

all Marines who served with him. 

Harlon Block, a Texan son, was a 

recognized high school football star 

in his county. Franklin Sousley was 

a freckle-faced Kentucky boy, who 

dreamed of becoming a hero; Rene 

Gagnon was a mill hand from New 

Hampshire; Ira Hayes was a quiet, 

Pima Indian from Arizona, and 

John Bradley was the brave Navy 

Corpsman from Wisconsin. In two 

weeks time from the photo, three out 

of the six would become casualties, 

and the lives of the other three would 

be irrevocably changed. 

In a 1/400th second space of 

time, these men would be forever 

immortalized in what is arguably 

the most famous photo of all time. 

Photographer Joe Rosenthal didn’t 

even know if he got his shot until 

weeks later when the photo had 

spread like fire across the United 

States. Out of the three in the shot 

who survived, two were destroyed in 

the after-effects of the photo’s fame 

and one retreated to his hometown, 

rarely speaking of the events even to 

his own family. 

While the book recounts the 

events leading up to one of the most 

recognized photo in history, the story 

is mostly about the men and the 

aftermath of the photo. It illuminates 

the struggles the surviving men 

encounter after the war. Grief, 

guilt and post-traumatic stress are 

a reoccurring theme throughout the 

book. As with any war, survivors 

have to pick up where they left off 

and rebuild their lives. Some do it 

successfully, and others are destroyed 

by the demons they bring back from 

the battlefield. Bradley and Powers 

show incredible insight to the plight 

of the six men, their families and all 

the lives that were touched by this 

one incredible photo. 

Published in May 2000, Flags of 

Our Fathers, was on the New York 

Times nonfiction bestsellers list for

 46 weeks, and six weeks at number 

one. The film adaptation, directed 

by Clint Eastwood and produced by 

Steven Spielberg, debuted on Oct. 

20, 2006, and earned two Academy 

Award nominations.

Flags of Our Fathers

By John Bradley and Ron Powers

2000, Bantam Publishing, 

New York, NY

ISBN 0553111337

List Price: USD $27.00

Reviewed by MC1(SW/AW) 

Athena Blain, Managing Editor

Heroes of Iwo Jima: 

 The lives behind the faces

Spring 2007 31
32 Surface Warfare

“Remove all rings, watches and 

bracelets. Roll down your sleeves 

and tuck in your pant legs. If you 

require a hard hat, make sure you 

have a chin strap. Anchor crew; get 

your goggles. Line handlers; handle 

the line hand over hand. Do not 

stand in the bight of a line. If you see 

a safety violation, shout it out...”

Any Sailor who has ever been 

assigned to an anchoring or mooring 

detail has (or should have) heard 

and heeded the command and the 

brief that followed. To some it may 

seem the start of the evolution but, 

truth be told, the on-station safety 

brief is the last in a long series of 

steps that if properly followed, vastly 

improves and all but ensures a safe 

and successful mooring or 

anchoring evolution. 

Planning is the first step in 

everything from a trip to the grocery 

store to launching a fighter jet off 

the deck of a carrier. Planning for 

anchoring or mooring a ship takes 

knowledge, foresight and common 

sense. Keep in mind that the 

anchoring and mooring details are 

two separate entities. Is the ship 

going alongside a pier, mooring to 

a buoy or anchoring at a specific 

location? Once we know the 

objective, that question has already 

been answered. The questions of 

who, when, where, and how still 

remain. Each step in the planning 

phase is as vital as the next.

The skill sets involved as a 

member of a mooring or anchoring 

detail are relatively easy to master. 

The objective is quite straight 

forward and simple. Be advised 

that simple does not always mean 

easy. Safety of our most valuable 

resource, our Sailors, is the most 

important factor in planning any 

evolution. Their skill and knowledge 

are the starting points. As leaders 

or leaders in training, we should 

have commensurate knowledge of 

the Sailors under our supervision. A 

junior officer in his/her first Division 

Fall in For the 

By BMC(SW/SCW) Martha Monahan, ATG Norfolk N80

“All Hands

Safety Brief!”

 BMSN Ruben Casilla prepares to release the mooring lines as amphibious dock landing ship USS Oak Hill 

(LSD 51) departs from Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Little Creek. (MC2 Joshua Kasten/USN)

 BM3 Rueben Lee uses a capstan to remove the 

slack on a double-braided line used on tugboats 

moored at Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka. 

(MC2 Nardelito Gervacio/USN)

SAFETY
Spring 2007 33

SAFETY

Officer tour in deck department 

would do well to read and keep 

on hand a current copy of the 

Boatswain’s Mate Non-Resident 

Training Course (NAVEDTRA 14343).

Qualifications are required for any 

shipboard evolution to be performed. 

For an anchoring detail the positions 

include: safety observers (always), 

petty officer-in-charge (POIC), 

phone talker, brakeman (a trained 

and qualified Sailor assigned to set 

or release the anchor chain brake on 

command), a pin man (designated to 

pull the pin on the pelican hook), and a 

maulman (he/she hits the pelican hook 

with a sledge hammer or maul to free 

the anchor chain). For the mooring 

detail, the anchor crew stays in place. 

Line petty officers and line handlers 

are standing by to make up or cast off 

line from the pier. On many ships, a 

capstan operator is also standing by. 

Each member of the detail must be 

properly trained and qualified.

The Surface Force Training Manual 

(SFTM, COMNAVSURFOCINST 

3502.1) lists the qualification 

requirements for deck personnel. 

Guidance on anchoring is provided 

in the Naval Ships Technical Manual 

(NSTM) Chapter 581 (Anchoring. 

Each ship must have one qualified 

anchoring detail and one qualified 

mooring detail. The qualification 

process is designed to build on 

knowledge already gained. A Sailor 

can’t be a qualified POIC if he/she 

is not first qualified as a line handler 

for mooring or a brakeman for 

anchoring. The supervisors must 

know the jobs of their crew. The 

same is true for Seamanship Training 

Team (STT) members, they MUST be 

qualified for the position they 

are observing. 

Each member of the detail has 

a specific job. With coordination 

and teamwork, success is a near 

certainty. The safety observer is 

just that, an observer! That lesson 

was brought tragically home on a 

ship while entering port in 1998. 

The safety observer sustained life 

threatening and permanent injury 

because he jumped in to help a line 

handler entangled in an improperly 

handled tug line messenger. He 

obviously injured himself but he also 

jeopardized the entire crew. Hands 

off is the golden rule if you are 

an observer.

 BM3 Matthew Evans secures the riding stopper after a precision anchorage onboard USS Nitze (DDG 94). 

(Lt. Jennifer Rossi/USN)

 BM3 Zachery Pierce puts an round turn on Line 3 as USS Nitze (DDG 94) returns to port. 

(Lt. Jennifer Rossi/USN)
34 Surface Warfare

For proper coordination, one 

person must be in charge. The POIC 

is the primary supervisor of the 

evolution. When anchoring, they 

have to lead the brakeman. For line 

handling, they relay orders to the 

line petty officers and utilize the 

phone talker to receive orders from 

the bridge and to make reports to 

the bridge. The POIC must have 

the ability to keep an eye on every 

aspect and all Sailors involved 

through each step of the process. If 

the POIC is second-guessed by their 

crew or unsure of the next step, chaos 

will ensue. The POIC must be welltrained and confident in their job. A 

recent mooring to a buoy evolution 

ended with minor personnel 

injuries (rope burns) and a parted 

line due mainly to each person not 

performing the task to which they 

were assigned and there were too 

many people yelling out orders or 

recommendations.

Clear and concise communication 

is pivotal in all deck evolutions. The 

phone talker on every station must 

have a thorough knowledge of the 

evolution. He/she is communicating 

directly with the bridge and needs to 

be ready to relay information from 

the station and commands from the 

bridge. If during mooring alongside 

a pier, the phone talker does not 

relay commands accurately, the line 

handlers on the ship and pier are in 

potential danger. It is also important 

to rely on the primary means of 

communication, confusion is the 

result and mishaps could very well 

SAFETY

 The portside anchor chain is released into the Pacific Ocean from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS 

Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during a precision sea and anchor detail off the coast of San Diego. (MC2 Jordan 

Beesley/USN)

 SN Edward Castoire heaves a mooring line as the 

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS 

Hopper (DDG 70) moors in Guam for a port visit. 

(MC2 John Beeman/USN)
Spring 2007 35

SAFETY

occur if contradicting orders are 

coming from the radio and phones. 

Proper phraseology is mandatory in 

all deck evolutions. 

Line handling commands, when 

properly used, could easily make the 

difference between life and death. 

The NSTM Chapter 582 (Mooring 

and Towing) lists the definition of 

each line handling command. “Hold 

line one!” is often used when the 

command should be “check” or 

“surge.” The command to hold is 

an emergent one. Many ships have 

mooring bills that state only the 

commanding officer can issue that 

order. Line petty officers must pay 

close attention to the POIC. Usually, 

this order is used when a ship is 

mooring alongside a pier or a ship 

that is frequently checking one line 

while simultaneously slacking or 

surging other lines on the same 

station. A capstan operator should 

not be assigned any other tasks and 

they should stay focused solely on 

orders from the line petty officer.

“The navigation brief is now 

being held in the wardroom.” If you 

are in a supervisory role, you are 

late. Assessment criteria and points 

on the Training and Operational 

Information System (TORIS) and 

Training Figure of Merit (TFOM) 

data cards require key personnel 

to attend the brief. Aside from the 

assessment criteria, it is prudent that 

safety observers and supervisors 

attend. Pertinent information such 

as: recent logistical developments, 

weather conditions, tug boat and 

 Sailors on the foc’sle of dock landing ship USS Harper’s Ferry (LSD 49) are preparing to perform an 

anchor drop test while inspectors examine the durability and performance of the anchor chain. 

(MCSA Charles Green/USN)

 Boatswain’s mates paint the anchor chain aboard 

the guided-missile destroyer USS Stetham (DDG 

63) while the ship is in dry dock (Ensign Danny 

Ewing/USN)
36 Surface Warfare

SAFETY

pier-side line handling support 

will be disseminated during the 

brief. For anchoring, depth of 

water, scope of chain, primary and 

alternate anchorages will also be 

reviewed. Knowledge is power. A 

crew or detail who knows as much 

as possible about the evolution are 

apt to be more engaged, focused and 

committed to the success of it. 

Every formal brief includes 

Operational Risk Management 

(ORM) information. Listing the 

hazards and mitigating factors put 

in place to reduce or minimize those 

hazards keeps the focus on safety. 

As we all know, safety is paramount. 

Doing it right means doing it safe. 

A formal brief should be timely too, 

within twenty-four hours of the 

planned evolution.

A thorough and proper inventory 

and inspection of all gear, equipment 

and machinery required for 

performing an anchoring or mooring 

is of utmost importance. Mooring 

lines without heaving lines attached 

won’t make it to the pier. Dropping 

the hook with no mauls, safety 

goggles, pinch bars or de-shackling 

kits is foolhardy and inviting disaster. 

Waiting until the detail is called away 

to complete these critical steps is far 

too late in the game to 

achieve success.

“Now go to your stations all the 

special sea and anchor detail.” By 

this time, nearly all line handlers, 

anchor detail personnel and the 

POIC are already on station. The 

question now is, are they “manned 

and ready?” This is the time to check 

the watchbill once more, establish 

communications with all the other 

stations involved, and ensure the 

windlass room is manned. Line petty 

officer should use this opportunity 

to inspect their line handlers. 

Most boatswain’s mates-in-charge 

require their details to be on station 

fifteen minutes prior to sea and 

anchor being called away to ensure 

timeliness and readiness. 

“All hands fall in for the safety 

brief.” Next time you hear those 

words, take a moment to think 

about everything that goes into 

making these evolutions happen. 

How many different aspects of 

planning, training, maintenance, 

and manpower management come 

into play? What is your role in 

this? What are your responsibilities? 

Are you ready in all respects to get 

underway? 

Table 582-2-1 LINE HANDLER COMMANDS

Command Meaning

Pass one (or number one) Send line number one over to the pier. Place the eye 

over the bollard or cleat, but do not take a strain.

Slack (slack off): Pay out the line specified, allowing it to form 

an easy bight.

Take a strain: Put line under tension.

Take in the slack: Heave in on line, but do not take a strain.

Ease: Pay out number three line enough to remove most 

of the tension.

Avast heaving: Stop heaving (taking in).

Check: Hold line, but not to the breaking point, let the line 

slip as necessary.

Hold: Take enough turns so that number two line will 

not slip.

Double up and secure: Run additional lines, or bights of lines, as needed, to 

make the mooring secure.

Single up: Take in all lines except a single standing part to each 

station, preparatory to getting underway.

Stand by your lines: Man the lines, ready to cast off or moor.

Take in one: Retrieve line number one after it has been cast off. 

When used by the conning officer, it means to slack 

one, cast it off and then pull it back aboard. When 

used by the officer in charge on the forecastle, it is 

preceded by the commands slack one and cast off one 

and means merely to retrieve line number one and 

bring it back on deck.

Up behind: Cease hauling on the line and slack it quickly.

Cast off: A command to those tending the mooring lines on the 

pier or on another ship to disengage or throw off the 

lines from over the bollards or cleats.
Spring 2007 37

SAFETY

SWO Review

By Lt. Jennifer Rossi, Military Editor

Ever get confused when explaining 

the “math” related to anchoring to a 

new Sailor or officer? Here is a helpful 

review to ensure you remember the 

different requirements for anchoring:

The Letting-Go Circle: This 

circle is drawn around the intended 

position of the anchor at the center of 

the berth with a radius equal to the 

horizontal distance from the hawsepipe 

to the pelorus.

Swing Circle: This is a circle 

centered at the position of the anchor, 

with a radius equal to the sum of the 

ship’s length plus the length of chain 

let out.

Drag Circle: This is a circle 

centered at the final calculated position 

of the anchor, with a radius equal to the 

sum of the hawsepipe to the pelorus 

distance and the final length of chain 

let out. All subsequent fixes should fall 

within the limits of the drag circle.

Anchor Chain Calculations:

15 fathoms/shot of chain and 6 feet/

fathom of chain = 90 feet/shot of chain

15 fathoms x 6 feet = 90 feet

Shot fathom 1 shot

Each shot of chain is marked with 

a repeating color pattern for the 

detachable link, an increasing number 

of white adjacent links to indicate 

which shot as well as a wire wrapped 

to indicate the number of shots around 

the last white link on each side of the 

detachable link. The pattern repeats 

red, white and blue until you get the 

next to last shot which is painted 

completely yellow and the last shot is 

painted all red. All anchor links not 

painted a designated color are 

painted black. 

 For example­—the first shot of chain 

has a red detachable link, one white 

link on either side of the detachable 

link and one wire wrapped around 

the white link on each side. All other 

links in the shot are painted black The 

second shot has a white detachable 

link with two white adjacent links on 

either side and 2 wire wraps around 

the last white link on each side of the 

detachable link. All other shots are 

painted black.

The amount of anchor chain paid 

out (or scope) at an anchorage is five to 

seven times the depth of the water. So 

if the water is 60 feet deep, how much 

anchor chain do you need to let out? 

When you do the math you get 300 to 

420 feet of chain. Three shots of chain 

is equal to 270 feet and five shots of

chain is 450 feet so four shots of chain

(360 feet) would be a good starting 

point for the amount of chain you want 

to release for the anchorage.

What would the fourth shot of chain 

look like? It would be a red detachable 

link with four white adjacent links on 

each side of the detachable link and 

also four turns of wire on the last white 

link on each side of the detachable link. 

All other links on that shot are 

painted black.

If your ship is 500 feet long and the 

distance from the hawespipe to the 

pelorus is 120 feet, what is the radius of 

the letting-go, swing and drag circles?

Letting-Go Circle = 120 feet (distance 

from the hawespipe to the pelorus)

Drag circle = 120 feet (hawespipe to 

pelorus) plus 360 feet (anchor chain 

length) = 480 feet

Swing Circle = 500 feet (length of 

the ship) plus 360 feet (anchor chain 

length) = 860 feet

 BMCS Hobart Allen watches from a forecastle 

porthole as the starboard anchor is cleaned and 

raised after a precision anchoring exercise aboard the 

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman

(CVN 75). (MC3 Kristopher Wilson/USN)

 Ensign Joshua Christe peers through the centerline 

pelorus on the bridge aboard the amphibious assault 

ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) as the ship transit the 

Suez Canal. (MC1 Robert J. Fluegel/USN) 
Tactics

T e s t y o u r m a s t e r y o f t h e o r i g i n s o f l a n g u a g e o f t h e s e a !

 “Old Salts of the Square-rigger Navy” Photograph taken onboard USS Mohican in 1888 by Assistant 

Surgeon H.W. Whitaker, USN. The Sailors in the photograph are from left to right: captain of the foc’sle, seaman, 

and captain of the hold David Ireland, captain of the hold Gilbert H. Purdy, Chief Carpenter’s Mate John T. Griffi th 

and GMC John King. Photo courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.

Compiled by Lt. Jennifer Rossi, Military Editor

SALTYare you, Sailor?

How

38 Surface Warfare

We’re looking for the newest 

version of this picture. Can you 

and your shipmates recreate this 

photo for this generation of Sailors?
Spring 2007 39

Do you think you are a salty 

Sailor? Did you ever wonder 

where some of the terms 

that are used on the ship come from? 

There is a history and tradition 

behind many of the terms used in 

anchoring and linehandling. See 

how many you recognize! 

anChor: This term is derived from a 

Greek word for “hook” or “crook.” 

Sailors say today “drop the hook,” or 

refer to the anchor as “the old mud 

hook”. The original Greek meaning 

has been lost, and the word today 

has only one connotation—the means 

of holding a ship when she is not 

underway. 

One expert on Chinese history 

writes that ships carrying anchors, 

rudders and oars were known as 

early as 2000 B.C. Supposedly, 

Emperor Yu invented the anchor, but 

emperors in those days often took 

credit that belonged to their subjects. 

Emperor Yu was said to have been 

the fi rst to use anchor chains. The 

peculiar noise of chain running out 

gave rise to the Chinese mariners’ 

expression mao, which is Chinese 

signifi es “cat” or “iron cat.”

Bags of sand or stone were used 

as anchors by the early navigators. 

In time, stone anchors were used 

by the Greeks and Romans. In the 

book of Stephanus Byzantius, titled 

De urbibus (“On Cities”), there is the 

statement that the town on Ancyra 

in Egypt derived its name from the 

manufacture of anchors in 

its quarries. 

Large lead trunks exhibited as 

ancient Greek anchors may be found 

in the archeological collections of 

the Boreli Museum in Marseilles, the 

British Museum in London, the Old 

Museum in Berlin and in many small 

museums in southern Europe. 

The Romans used the anchor as 

a symbol for wealth and commerce, 

while the Greeks gave to the anchor 

a signifi cance of hope and steadiness, 

a meaning that persists in religion 

and heraldry today. For the early 

Christians the anchor symbolized 

steadfastness, hope and salvation. 

Pictures of anchors comparable in 

shape to those used today may be 

seen in the catacombs. The drawings 

sometimes have an inscription, such 

as Spes in Christo, “Hope in Christ.” 

The foul anchor with a line wound 

around the shank may be found on 

the world- renowned sculptures of 

the Temple of Neptune in Rome. The 

anchors of modern aircraft carriers 

weigh 60,000 pounds each. Their 

1,800-foot anchor chain weighs 

almost 250 tons and are the longest 

and strongest ever forged.

anChor’s aweigh: When the anchor 

is aweigh, or clear of the bottom, the 

ship is no longer fast to the land, but 

is free to sail on its own. Aweigh is 

from the old English woeg, meaning 

“to raise.”

to BaCK: To back a piece of gear 

means to rig or set up a preventer. To 

back an anchor refers to the practice 

of sending an extra anchor to the 

bottom or holding group with its 

shank made fast on the chain of the 

fi rst anchor in order to back it or 

assist it. It also means to shackle or 

otherwise secure the extra anchor 

to the chain near the lower anchor 

before letting go. “To back chain” is 

sometimes confused with “to veer 

chain,” but in general usage it means 

easing out a few fathoms in deep 

water before letting go the anchor. 

BeCKet: An eye for securing a line 

to a block. Anchors on sailing ships 

had a becket on one fl uke, which 

could be used to either secure the 

anchor while it was up, or to attach 

an anchor buoy to while it was out. 

Certain insignia, including naval 

aviator’s wings, display this 

historic detail. 

Tactics

 “Modern Salts” “Spinning a yarn in the casemate of 5”/51 Gun Number Eleven of USS Arkansas (BB 33) 

on Oct. 27, 1940. The men are from left to right: GM2 N.I. Fewell, BM1 R.D. Dennies, Coxswain G.E. Lehto and 

GM1 W.A. Crook. Photo courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
40 Surface Warfare

Bitter End: The end of anchor chain 

secured aboard or the free end of 

a line or rope. “A bitter end is but 

a turn of cable about the bits, and 

veare it out a little and little, and the 

bitter’s end is that part of the cable 

doth stay within board” (Seaman’s 

Grammar, 1653).

Cathead. Projections on bows 

for rigging tackles for purposes of 

hoisting anchor aboard, “to cat and 

fish.” The term appears in English 

as early as 1626. A lion’s face was 

sometimes carved on wooden 

timbers for good luck; hence the 

term, “cathead.”

Fathom: From Anglo-Saxon faehom, 

Dutch vadem, Latin patene, referring 

to the act of stretching two arms 

wide as rough measurement of 6 feet. 

(hence 6 feet in one fathom)

Forecastle, Foc’sle: In the twelfth 

century, castles to fight from, similar 

to those towers of wood used ashore, 

were placed forward and aft on the 

Norman ships. The word forecastle 

survived from this practice. 

Fouled Anchor: An anchor that 

is foul of the cable or chain. The 

symbol is found in various Admiralty 

and Navy crests. The device is also 

on the cap badge of the American 

naval officer, the device of a chief 

petty officer, the rank of some 

midshipmen, and the buttons and 

cap badges of the British officer. 

Although artistic to the landsman, 

many sailors regard it as an emblem 

if careless and poor seamanship. And 

it was sometimes called the “Sailor’s 

disgrace.” It was the badge of Lord 

Howard of Effingham in 1601, when 

he was lord high admiral, and was 

used first in this connection as a 

naval seal. As a badge, it had been 

used before this time.

Hawse Pipes: Hawse is an old name 

for “throat,” and since the head was 

forward as well as the “eyes,” the 

term throat pipe or hawse pipe came 

into being. The “pipe” is the opening 

through which the anchor chain runs. 

Enlisted men who became officers 

were said to have Come Through the 

Hawse, meaning that they had once 

worked forward or on the forecastle.

Hawser: From the French term 

hausser, “to hoist.” In the early 

eighteenth century and before, cables 

made of hemp, bass, or Indian grass 

were used with the anchors. The 

change from hemp to chain cables 

came in 1812. Hemp cables for 

a 1,000-ton ship were 8 inches in 

diameter and usually 120 fathoms 

long. The friction of the cable 

through the hawse was enormous; tar 

on the surface of the hemp often took 

fire and men stood by with buckets 

of water.

How’s the Anchor: “How’s the 

Anchor?” (not “hawse the anchor”

or “house the anchor”) is a request 

for information from the focsle as 

to the direction and strain on the 

anchor chain.

Moor: From the Dutch word marten, 

“to tie, to fasten.”

Pelorus: Supposedly the name of 

Hannibal’s pilot and navigator, given 

to the stand where we now observe 

the compass.

Rope: Today, most fiber rope is called 

line by sailor and the term “rope” 

refers to wire ropes. Old sailors 

assert that there are only seven ropes 

on a ship­—the man rope, head rope, 

hand rope, foot rope, bell rope, buoy 

rope and dip rope. Master mariners 

and old salts can undoubtedly come 

up with lists of others. Most modern 

sailors are not used to the subtle

distinctions of what we refer to 

as tall ships. 

The phrase “To Know the Ropes” 

comes from the days of squaremasted sailing vessels, where it took 

a sailor a long time to get to know 

what specifically all of the running 

and standing rigging did—that is, to 

know the ropes. 

Round Turn: To take a turn around 

a bitt or bollard, to check the strain 

or weight of the load. “To Bring Up 

With a Round Turn” is a nautical 

phraseology for a “call-down” or 

reprimand.”

Way: Movement of the ship. Often 

used with modifiers such as 

“steerage way” (having enough 

movement for the rudder to have 

effect), being under way ( not being 

attached to the ground or pier), or 

having “way on” (being under power 

or sail propulsion). Note that it is 

possible to be underway and not 

have way on.

Weigh: From the Anglo-Saxon woeg. 

To lift the anchor from the ground. 

This term must not be confused with 

way. “To weigh anchor” is to raise 

the anchor clear of the ground.

Wide berth, give someone a: 

To allow enough room around an 

anchored vessel to allow her to swing 

in all directions.

Terms found in Chapter 14 Nautical 

Words and Naval Expressions 

from Naval Ceremonies, Customs and 

Traditions by Cdr.Royal W. Connell 

(Ret.) and Rear Adm. William P. 

Mack (Ret.). The book is published 

by the Naval Institute Press originally 

in 1934 but has been reprinted and 

the 6th edition was published in 2004. 

It can be found in the Naval Institute 

Press’ Blue and Gold Library. 

Tactics
SAFETY

Spring 2007 41

How expert are you at identifying surface combatants from foreign navies? 

Can you tell whether a ship on the horizon is an ally or an enemy? It’s time 

to test your ship identification skills. How about all of you manning the “big 

eyes” take a look at the ship pictured below and let us know what type of 

vessel it is, its name and what nation operates it.

Send your entry to surfwarmag@navy.mil with Ship Shape in the subject 

line. Be sure to include your rate, name, ship or unit of assignment, and 

current mailing address. The first individual to provide the correct information 

will receive recognition in the next issue of Surface Warfare.

The winner of this issue is QMCM(SW) Michael Jones stationed at the 

Surface Warfare Officer School. Jones was the first to correctly identify the ship 

as the Spanish corvette SPS Infanta Elena (P-76).

 This ship recently 

circumnavigated the 

globe, and participated in 

a wreath laying ceremony 

at the USS Arizona 

Memorial.

 Spanish corvette SPS Infanta Elena (P-76).
42 Surface Warfare

Capt. Raymond Anthony Komorowski, USN

1925-2002

Prior to his active duty retirement, Capt. Komorowski spent an illustrious career, including command tours 

aboard USS Hartley (DE 1029), USS Manley (DD 940) and USS Boston (CA 69). His final assignment prior to 

retirement was as Special Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Surface Warfare) from 1973 to 1975. 

At the DCNO’s behest, Capt. Komorowski established Surface Warfare Magazine in 1975, where he continued 

as editor and advisor until 1990. Concurrently, he became a founder and national vice president of the Surface 

Navy Association, an office he held for eight years.

It is in his memory that the Surface Navy Association conducts its annual Capt. Komorowski Photography 

Contest. To enter next year’s contest, look for the contest rules on the SNA Web site: www.navysna.org/awards. 

The winning photo of this year’s contest is featured on the cover of this issue of Surface Warfare Magazine. Here 

are the 2nd, 3rd and honorable mention from this year’s submissions.

Second

Place
Spring 2007 43

 Aboard USS Stethem (DDG 

63), QM3 Carrin Johnson plots 

the ship’s position while underway 

participating in Multi-Sail 2006. 

(Ensign Danny Ewing/USN)

 Aboard USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC-20), 

HSC-28 DET 1 crew members, AW2(AWN/NAC) 

Cody Roach and AW1(AW/NAC) Carlos Hernandez 

conduct search and rescue jumps out of the MH-60S. 

(YN2(SW/AW) Marie Goodwin/USN)

 HT3(SW) David Marcoux 

conducts welding repairs on the 

bridgewing of USS Whidbey 

Island (LSD-41) at sunset. (Lt. 

Scott Pugh/USN)

Third

Place

Honorable

Mention
Congratulations for the second time in a row 

to this issue’s Salty Dog, OS1(SW) Scott Bennett, at 

NOSC Everett Training Command. Bennett was the 

first person to correctly identify all five answers on 

the Physical Fitness Readiness Program.

Here are the answers:

1. Upon failure of a Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA), 

the member signs a Page 13 or a special evaluation to 

withdraw their advancement recommendation. If they pass 

the next official PFA they will be reinstated, eligible for 

advancement and will need to submit a special evaluation 

to reinstate their eligibility.

2. Failure of the body fat composition or any part of the PFA constitutes 

as a failure. Failing both will only be counted as one failure.

3. Sailors are allowed to PCS transfer if they fail to meet BCA or PRT 

standards, however, they must meet all requirements including obliservesome designated duties like instructor or recruiter may be restricted to 

personnel who are in standards and pass their PFA. 

4. In a PFA code P/WS means pass within standards, and N/XX is: N =not 

tested, only used when members don’t participate in one or more non-medically 

waived PRT events. XX = used only for rare cases where it is not possible to weigh/measure the member. 

* Both need justification in the comments on performance block of the Fitness Report or evaluation.

5. Sailors reporting to a new command during the PFA must be measured for body composition. If they fail, even 

though they are not required to participate in the PFA they will be on the Fitness Enhancement Program, but the 

failure will not count as an official PFA failure because they did not participate in all PFA components.

This issue’s challenges are presented below.

The first person to correctly answer all five questions will receive recognition in the next issue. Good luck!

1. In a dense fog you hear the rapid ringing of a bell for five seconds followed by the rapid 

ringing of the gong for five seconds. What does that signify? What other signal may 

they sound and why?

2. At night you see a vessel with an all-round white light. How big is this vessel, what 

do the lights signify?

3. What signal flag do you fly when you are going to anchorage?

4. What day shape does a ship at anchor display?

5. How many different types of stockless anchors does the Navy 

use and what are their names?

Send your replies to surfwarmag@navy.mil with 

“CAPTAIN’S TRIVIA” in the subject line.

44 Surface Warfare
Changes of Command

USS Bonhomme Richard/June 

Capt. Neil Parrot relieved

Capt. Stephen Greene

USS Boone/May

Cmdr. Newman Evans relieved

Cmdr. Marc Dalton

USS Carney/May

Cmdr. Glenn Kuffel, Jr. relieved

Cmdr. Patrick Shea

USS Chung Hoon/Apr

Cmdr. James Aiken relieved

Cmdr. David Welch

USS Cole/June

Cmdr. Carey Krause relieved

Cmdr. Bradley Roberson

USS Constitution/June

Cmdr. William Bullard III relieved

Cmdr. Thomas Graves

USS Curtis Wilbur/June

Cmdr. Theodore Zobel relieved

Cmdr. Brian O’Donnell

USS Curts/April

Cmdr. Yvette Davids relieved

Cmdr. William Debow

USS Decatur/May

Cmdr. Paul Schlise relieved

Cmdr. John Steinberger

USS Dubuque/May

Capt. Bruce Lindsey relieved

Capt. William Hamilton

USS Farragut/June

Cmdr. Scott Dugan relieved

Cmdr. Deidre McClay

USS Fitzgerald/April

Cmdr. Daniel Dusek relieved

Cmdr. David Hughes

USS Ford/April

Cmdr. Dean Vesely relieved

Cmdr. Michael Van Durick

USS Jarrett/June

Cmdr. Andrew Feinberg relieved

Cmdr. Eric Kyle

USS Mahan/April

Cmdr. Richard Miller, Jr. relieved

Cmdr. Frank Olmo

USS McCampbell/May

Cmdr. William Triplett relieved

Cmdr. Vincent McBeth

MCM Crew Persistant/May

Lt. Cmdr. Lloyd Reinhold relieved

Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Miller

USS Momsen/April

Cmdr. Michael Sparks relieved

Cmdr. Patrick Kelly

USS O’Kane/April

Cmdr. Paul Druggan relieved

Cmdr. James Duke

PC Crew Foxtrot/June

Lt. Patrick Keller relieved

Lt. Cmdr. David Faught

PC Crew Golf/June

Lt. Christopher Brown relieved

Lt. Orlando Bowman

PC Crew Kilo/May

Lt. Milciades Then relieved

Lt. Cmdr. Brian Diebold

PC Crew Lima/April

Lt. Joel Lang relieved

Lt. Cmdr. Keith Biando

PC Crew Mike/April

Lt. Micheal Wagner relieved

Lt. Cmdr. Michael Brasseur

USS Ponce/April

Cmdr. Daniel Brintzinghoffer relieved

Cmdr. Wesley Brown

USS Preble/June

Cmdr. Fred Smith relieved

Cmdr. Kevin Hill

USS Rodney M. Davis/May

Cmdr. James Minta relieved

Cmdr. Donald Gordnier

USS Samuel B. Roberts/May

Cmdr. Wallace Lovely relieved

Cmdr. John Weeks

USS San Jacinto/April

Capt. Matthew Sharpe relieved 

Capt. Charles Neary

USS Shiloh/June

Capt. Alan Abramson relieved

Capt. King Dietrich

PC Crew Alpha Lt. Scott Larson

PC Crew Bravo Lt. William Ehret

PC Crew Charlie Lt. William Gantt

PC Crew Delta Lt. James Quaresimo

PC Crew Echo Lt. Shelby Baecker

PC Crew Foxtrot Lt. Patrick Keller

PC Crew Golf Lt. Christopher Brown

PC Crew Hotel Lt. Jeffrey Sturm

PC Crew India Lt. Cmdr. Theodore Nunamaker

PC Crew Juliet Lt. Nakia Cooper

PC Crew Kilo Lt. Milciades Then

PC Crew Lima Lt. Joel Lang

PC Crew Mike Lt. Micheal Wagner

MHC Crew Detector Lt. Cmdr. Shanti Sethi

MHC Crew Endurance Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Carlson

MHC Crew Excel Lt. Cmdr. Antonio Hull

MHC Crew Gallant Lt. Cmdr. Rome Ruiz

MCM Crew Bulwark Lt. Cmdr. John Reilley

MCM Crew Conflict Lt. Cmdr. Angel Cruz

MCM Crew Constant Lt. Cmdr. Quinn Skinner

MCM Crew Dominant Lt. Cmdr. Bertram Hodge

MCM Crew Exultant Lt. Cmdr Scott Curtis

MCM Crew Fearless Lt. Cmdr. James Storm

MCM Crew Impervious Lt. Cmdr. James Lowell

MCM Crew Implicit Lt. Cmdr. Michael Morera

MCM Crew Leader Lt. Cmdr. Vince Baker

MCM Crew Persistent Lt. Cmdr. Lloyd Reinhold

MCM Crew Reaper Lt. Cmdr. Adam Aycock

MCM Crew Swerve Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Nicholson

USS Guardian (MCM 5) Lt. Cmdr. Steven DeMoss

USS Patriot (MCM 7) Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Schultz

List of all O-3/O-4 Commands
4 Surface Warfare

“Death is all times 

solemn, but never 

so much as at sea.”

Charles A. Dana