{"id":30970,"date":"2018-07-27T13:56:43","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T13:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/27\/what-deckplates-need-to-know-about-winning-the-next-great-naval-battle\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:21:30","slug":"what-deckplates-need-to-know-about-winning-the-next-great-naval-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/07\/27\/what-deckplates-need-to-know-about-winning-the-next-great-naval-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"What deckplates need to know about winning the next great naval battle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NAVAL BASE NORFOLK, Va. \u2015 If the Navy\u2019s going to win the next war against a great or rising power, America\u2019s chief petty officers must prepare deckplate sailors to fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the message Fleet Master Chief (SW\/IW\/AW) Russ Smith told chief petty officers during a Friday CPO call here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His words come in the wake of warnings from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson<\/a>, who tells sailors that the military is facing rising competition<\/a> with peer and near-peer nations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The CNO\u2019s message, if you haven\u2019t heard it or don\u2019t understand it, means that there are navies out there that have very capable ships, submarines and aircraft that can hurt us,\u201d Smith said. \u201cSo the kind of warfare we need to start preparing for is very different than the kind we\u2019ve faced over the past 17 years \u2014 we\u2019re likely to face maritime threats in the future the likes of which we haven\u2019t faced since World War II.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottom line: Prepare yourselves and your sailors now because all of your lives depend on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interim master chief petty officer of the Navy asked for a show of hands \u2014 how many chiefs recall \u201crefresher training,\u201d when crews would got to sea to practice core sailor skills such as damage control and firefighting until those often complex concepts became habit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s about developing the muscle memory after countless receptions and drills,” he said. “That muscle memory you get from constant drills lasts a lifetime and that\u2019s the kind of mentality we need to have on our ships and in our crews, today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t