Posted on Dec 15, 2017
Options in the Stars: Automated Celestial Navigation Options for the Surface Navy
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So first this guy complains that “an OOD” obviously not him (note he is an O-2) had challenges monitoring five different consoles with assistance of six different withstanders. Not sure what class of ship that is, maybe a carrier since I have never stood watch on one of those bridges. On the small boys I have stood OOD on the most I had to worry about was two radar consoles and the GCCS display that showed our ship geo-referenced with other ships/contacts. Yes there was GPS, Radios, 1MC etc… gut those really did not take up much time and or effort. My main concentration was on the bridge navigation radar and visual situational awareness. OOD is not that challenging of a watch station when operating in the open ocean if you follow simple seamanship rules. But then this guy wants to take what is already the most complicated ships on the face of the earth and add Automated Celestial Navigation (CELNAV), while I agree it would be a nice capability in a potential adversarial near peer conflict where the Russians or Chinese interrupt the GPS signal. If that happens we have a lot more problems than a ship needing constant updates on its position. I do agree that we should teach Celestial to our Junior Officers and once on the ship they should have to participate in the Navigation Team’s “Days work in Navigation” This is and always has been a shipboard requirement, if Navigator and ship’s senior officers are not upholding that requirement then shame on them. Remember the saying “all forms of Navigation”. In my opinion Celestial is a perishable skill and must be performed regularly to maintain proficiency. Like manual Maneuvering boards using them instills good seamanship. It is hard to explain but forcing your mind to manually work through these complicated task increases your situational awareness. Train well and when the crap hits the fan you will react the way your were trained. I think we just need to return to applying good seamanship and reassess our worldwide requirements versus our assets. You overwork a crew and they are going to make mistakes. LT Brad McInnis CDR Mike Kovack PO1 Jay Lefever
Options in the Stars: Automated Celestial Navigation Options for the Surface Navy
Posted from cimsec.org
Surface Warfare Officer (SWO)
Surface Warfare Officer School (SWOS)
111x: Surface Warfare Officer
Maritime Navigation Course
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 2
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I may be showing my age (get off my porch young un), but I get really tired of these people with no experience trying to say we need to change everything. As a 1st tour DIVO on a DDG, which is what this officer is, you do not know anything. You are too busy cramming all the info into your head, that you do not have time to actually assimilate the data. Frankly, the 1st tours that think they know everything are the problem... I, and most of my contemporaries, didn't really learn the art of SWO until we were on out 2nd tours...
That being said... CELNAV is a pain. There is a reason why it is relinquished to doing onoy a sun line and one fix a day. I used to challenge the QM's in my watch teams to see who could get the best CELNAV fixes. I would hold weekly competitions where at he end of the week, the QM with the most accurate CELNAV fix would get a soda and a call out on the 1MC. Not surprising at all, they got really good and really quick at it (amazing what practice does for you). All for the price of a soda...
I think there is a generational shift going on, where the younger officers starting out are much more reliant on tech. That's fine, just remember that all the tech in the world won't save you when it goes down. I went completely dark outside buoy 1SD, and not a single bit of high tech could help us. Is till have a sinking feeling that a lot of these recent accidents had the WO on the bridge struggling to get the perfect solution on the radar so they didn't have to call the CO, and it bit them. We have all done it, but all you need to do is step out on the bridge wing look at the situation with a seamanship eye, and TURN THE DAMN SHIP! It really is as simple as that...
This grumpy old sailor is going to go grab a fresh mug of coffee, good day all! SN Greg Wright
That being said... CELNAV is a pain. There is a reason why it is relinquished to doing onoy a sun line and one fix a day. I used to challenge the QM's in my watch teams to see who could get the best CELNAV fixes. I would hold weekly competitions where at he end of the week, the QM with the most accurate CELNAV fix would get a soda and a call out on the 1MC. Not surprising at all, they got really good and really quick at it (amazing what practice does for you). All for the price of a soda...
I think there is a generational shift going on, where the younger officers starting out are much more reliant on tech. That's fine, just remember that all the tech in the world won't save you when it goes down. I went completely dark outside buoy 1SD, and not a single bit of high tech could help us. Is till have a sinking feeling that a lot of these recent accidents had the WO on the bridge struggling to get the perfect solution on the radar so they didn't have to call the CO, and it bit them. We have all done it, but all you need to do is step out on the bridge wing look at the situation with a seamanship eye, and TURN THE DAMN SHIP! It really is as simple as that...
This grumpy old sailor is going to go grab a fresh mug of coffee, good day all! SN Greg Wright
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I have long railed against the tech spread on the bridge and loss of basic skills. I don't think more automated systems are the answer. Things like electronic charting are a disaster waiting to happen. We need to take bridge watch teams back to old school bridges, and let combat worry about all the consoles.
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OK I have a Question. When I was on board the Enterprise, even though I was an AO, I knew 3 of the Quartermasters and the Ships Navigator cause I would go up to the Bridge (being part of the Cruise Book Staff helped) and I would get the Sextant and take a reading and using the old Can Dead Men Vote Twice at Elections (Compass, Deviation, Magnetic, Variation, True, Add East) that I had learned in NJROTC from our NSI. I would try and keep those skills alive and see if I could take a accurate plotting. At the time I was quite good according to the Navigator, Our NSI Capt. C. B. Wall was a good teacher. With all the new electronics, Satellites, digital positioning, LORAN and the such do they even teach how to use a Sextant any more and manual plotting on a Chart in QM A school?
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