The Navy is embarking on another training overhaul that aims to get better trained sailors to the fleet faster and to provide them with more training opportunities through their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The brass pledges\u00a0to cut upfront training time for sailors fresh from boot camp, in part with\u00a0more virtual reality trainers that will help them\u00a0learn their new trade faster. This would enable\u00a0efficiency is what\u2019s allowing <\/span>Navy leaders to trim the number of sailors in training billets at any time as part of a mandate\u00a0to cut\u00a0<\/strong>6,300\u00a0sailor positions\u00a0downsize <\/span>over the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Striving to be more efficient in training sailors is a worthy goal,\u00a0The effort is a worthy one, <\/span>but we’ve seen a similar initiative run aground when\u00a0officials must move carefully not to repeat the mistakes of the past when <\/span>CD-ROMs replaced instructors and schoolhouse funding was immediately cut immediately<\/span> \u2014\u00a0before the new training’s effectiveness was evaluated.\u00a0Speeding up sailor’s learning time\u00a0acceleration of this training\u00a0<\/span>should not come at the expense of genuine learning. The last thing the service should do is send less prepared seamen and junior petty officers to fleet crews that are strained by rising missions and manpower gaps. Sailors reporting to the fleet must be ready to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n An earlier “revolution in training” provided some insights that Navy leaders must heed as they continue to shift\u00a0shifted much <\/span>more instruction to computers. A\u00a0with\u00a0severe side effects according to a <\/span>2009 Naval Inspector General report into the earlier effort revealed severe side effects. \u00a0Commands said new sailors were reporting without basic knowledge of their rate and were taking twice as long to qualify for watches. Sailors weren’t absorbing computer-based\u00a0training and\u00a0instead gamed multiple-choice tests until they got the right answers. Some leaders worried that a generation of ill-trained\u00a0sailors could erode operational readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simulators are an increasingly valuable and sophisticated part of sailor training and it is used to teach even the most advanced skills,\u00a0The service has long used simulators to teach advanced skills, <\/span>from flying jets to conning submarines. And<\/span>\u00a0Training centers must remain at the forefront of virtual reality training, with the likelihood that leaps in simulation technology\u00a0leaps will <\/span>allow the service to make nearly any sailor task\u00a0realistic to learn in a harm-free virtual scenario. Undoubtedly, that training is going to yield a better sailor. <\/span>And personnel bosses also must ensure that sailors’ sea-shore rotationstracks<\/span> are altered to add in the\u00a0promised follow-on training, so that corners aren’t cut in providing the lost initial training when these sailors need it later.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n But<\/span>\u00a0There\u2019s also <\/span>no substitute for a fleet or FMF-seasoned petty officer standing before a class. Those instructors have\u00a0\u00a0who\u2019s <\/span>been in their trainees’ shoes. They\u2019re a fount of knowledge and a role model who can help answer the questions and relate to the trainees in a way simulators never will. \u00a0the simulator can\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Speeding up sailor’s learning time acceleration of this training should not come at the expense of genuine learning. The last thing the service should do is send less prepared seamen and junior petty officers to fleet crews that are strained by rising missions and manpower gaps. Sailors reporting to the fleet must be ready to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personnel bosses also must ensure that sailor’s sea-shore tracks are altered to add in the\u00a0promised follow-on training, so that corners aren’t cut in providing the lost initial training when these sailors need it later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Navy has been down this road before.<\/span>An earlier “revolution in training” shifted much more instruction to computers with\u00a0severe side effects according to a 2009 Naval Inspector General report. \u00a0Commands said new sailors were reporting without basic knowledge of their rate and were taking twice as long to qualify for watches. Sailors weren’t absorbing computer-based\u00a0training and\u00a0instead gamed multiple choice tests until they got the right answer. Some leaders worried that a generation of undertrained\u00a0sailors could erode operational readiness.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the Navy moves forward with its next training leap, it must ensure that the streamlining still produces a competent and enthusiastic new crewmember.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A push to speed up sailor instruction must be careful to not repeat mistakes that lessened the training’s value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":75647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":14,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[259],"class_list":["post-40251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"VHXG6CRVDJASHCHN2QG7SWXGCY","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/2016\/02\/29\/improve-sailor-training-carefully-editorial\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n