Download - Royal Australian Navy

all i ever knew about naval ranks, i learnt from star trek
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society and compartmentalise it. This would allow for sections of the structure to be
modified individually as needed, at less expense, without affecting the overall rank
structure of the navy itself.
The following proposal is an attempt to address what I see as two of the main problems
facing Commonwealth navies in the near future; the accelerating rate of technological
change and the higher cost of training qualified Officers and NCMs. Training wasted
easily equates to money wasted. The navy footing the bill for degrees in ‘Military
Studies’ and other non-career coursing is increasingly difficult to justify in this
era of fiscal restraint. The four year Bachelor of Arts Degree does not help a Bridge
Watchkeeper who is studying for his ticket while performing the myriad of other duties
he or she is tasked with. Furthermore, training our technicians to a level that allows
them to effect emergency repairs to our combat and propulsion systems is wasted if
we do not recognise their competencies.
The Plan
My proposal is to break the rank structure into three distinct career flows; a ‘Command’ flow,
a ‘Technical’ flow and a ‘Non-technical’ flow. To simplify understanding I have chosen to
adopt the naming convention of earlier times and call these three structures: Commissioned
Officers, Warranted Officers and NCMs. Additionally there would be a large pool of nonassigned
individuals in basic or skill sets training and on-board ships as Able Seamen.
An individual seeking to join the navy would initially enter the naval service through the
non-assigned pool or by virtue of previous training/education directly into the Warranted
or NCM ranks. After serving for some time in this capacity, the individual would be allowed
to apply for their choice of career flow. Aptitude testing and other criteria would determine
where this individual will ultimately be placed. The NCM ranks would be generated both
from Able Seamen choosing this as their career and some direct entries with specialised
training which is deemed attractive by the navy. The direct entry option would allow the
navy to enrol persons that may have previously received certain required training not at
the navy’s expense. The NCMs would assume the roles of many of the ‘working’ trades of
the navy much as they do now. The Warranted Officer ranks would be generated in much
the same way. These would consist of the technical trades such as Electronics and Marine
Systems Engineers, Meteorologists and some Logistics Personnel among others. These
personnel would either be trained by the navy from the Able Seamen or direct entries
with the appropriate civilian equivalencies. Warranted Officers would assume many of
the positions previously held by Commissioned Officers; Ship’s Technicians, Engineering
Officers, Logistics Officers, Fleet Technical Officers and Ship’s Configuration and Design
Officers as well as those sections of Headquarters with a technical bent. The Command role
would be simplified to just that … Command. The Commissioned Officers would assume
the Command role and be generated internally from within the other rank structures.
They would include Bridge Watchkeepers, Ship and Shore Establishment commanding