"'Top Gun' school for ships coming" Topic

"The Navy is launching a San Diego-based "Top Gun" school for young ship officers, modeling it on the aviator version that Hollywood made famous.

The point is to create a generation of Navy "ship drivers" who are experts at tactics the United States hasn't used in pitched battle since World War II — the guns, missiles, torpedoes and aircraft intended to defend their ship and fight others.

The school is starting up as the Navy is poised to embrace futuristic weapons — a laser gun and a super-fast cannon called a rail gun — and as the Chinese military inches closer to posing a credible threat to U.S. dominance in the Pacific…"
Full article here.
link

Amicalement
Armand

Sorry but the RN got there first! Every Thursday in the South Coast Exercise Areas off Plymouth RN Warship go to war with each other, and NATO ships, to see whos the best, under the auspices of Flag Officer Sea Training! Been going on since the Falklands War… The most realistic training you could encounter short of actual war is FOST's brief…

Woooop, woooooop, wooooooop!

Rig for collision. Repeat. Rig for collision!

I think there may be a difference in the focus here ("young officers" and "flag officers" are generally not the same), so no collision necessary.

Rob

No the Flag Officer is in charge of the whole organisation – which is pretty much an entire Navy on its own – 2 sets of ships, aircraft, helos, and subs – it a big operation.

But the operational assessment is very much on COs and on down…But politics comes into it.

For example my last ordeal down there on HMS Exeter, a Destroyer, we had to go down with out a ships flight (ie a Helo), as there was a shortage of Lynx spare parts.

The Admiral came on board at the end of the 6 week exercise to give us our final evaluation, after we had all, every man jack, given our all. The assessment is base on our performance and capability in all areas, Aviation, Above Water Warfare, Under Water Warfare, Engineering, Logistics, even the chaplain's abilities.

The entire ship's company, in full war gear, some of the youngsters a bit unsteady on their feet after weeks of sleep deprivation, was assembled in the (empty) hangar to meet the Admiral and hear the verdict:

'Just Satisfactory'

"Officers and Men of the Exeter, I know you are disappointed. But, through no fault of you own, you came here without your full capability, since you have no ship's flight, therefore in my assessment you are barely ready to go to war.
But if you were to go to war tomorrow, personally there is no ship nor ship's company I would rather fight alongside!"

Great words, but still a career breaker!

The US Navy used to have (early 80's) a plug in simulator for its warships to train with. An 18 wheeler would deliver a container to plug into all the combat systems, so the crew would train with all their actual equipment but getting signals generated on the pier.

The entire ship's company, in full war gear, some of the youngsters a bit unsteady on their feet after weeks of sleep deprivation, was assembled in the (empty) hangar to meet the Admiral and hear the verdict:

'Just Satisfactory'

"Officers and Men of the Exeter, I know you are disappointed. But, through no fault of you own, you came here without your full capability, since you have no ship's flight, therefore in my assessment you are barely ready to go to war.
But if you were to go to war tomorrow, personally there is no ship nor ship's company I would rather fight alongside!"

Great words, but still a career breaker!

If a USN ship ever got a 'barely passing' grade, that would end the careers of every officer onboard. The might be able to stay in for another few years, but they'd NEVER be promoted again.

And that's even considering the crazy bastards in the nuclear-power end, where they intentionally fail ~20% of each class and write evaluations so tightly that a SINGLE event like insufficient formality on watch will take a ship from outstanding to failing.

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I know the sub fleet would do "bottom gun" courses for junior officers, to get them up to speed for attack-sub missions. Even the boomer sailors got to play, and we had a really sharp JO for periscope attacks on shipping.