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Each Sailor who falls under the surface community is required to earn the ESWS pin as their primary warfare device and must complete the program within 30 months onboard for E-1-through E-4 or within 18 months for E-5 through E-9. The surface warfare community has program coordinators and designated signers responsible for the training and qualification of Sailors.
“The overall goal of the program is for Sailors to understand the surface capabilities the ship has to offer, which in turn makes the Sailors more capable warfighters and better prepared to protect the ship,” said Senior Chief Operations Specialist Quentin Brown, Ford’s ESWS lead coordinator.
In order to begin the program, Sailors must achieve certain prerequisites based on their pay-grade before receiving their ESWS qualification booklets. Once issued books, it is the Sailor’s responsibility to seek out training and walkthroughs with the different departments.
“I think the hardest part about the whole process was memorizing different departments’ terms and acronyms,” said Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Zach Wogan. “I can’t stress the importance of walkthroughs enough. You get to ask questions on subjects the subject matter experts can elaborate on.”
Ford’s surface warfare program gives Sailors an opportunity to step into the lives of Sailors’ rates other than their own and observe their daily operations.
“Once you qualify, you will get a better understanding of how everyone’s roles fit together in one big well-oiled machine,” said Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Okito Warner, one of the first two Sailors to qualify onboard Ford.
“I definitely gained a better appreciation for other rates during the process. I thought ops [operations department] sat behind a computer all day but I was wrong.”
Qualified Sailors are expected to know the basic operations of each of the covered departments well enough to demonstrate a working knowledge through a written test and an oral board. During the oral board, representatives from each department will ask the Sailors a number of questions in order to judge their level of knowledge.
“Seeing Sailors walk out of a room having passed their board with their head held high is the most rewarding feeling, knowing that they have the confidence and know-how to be capable warfighters,” said Machinist Mate 1st Class Ashley Chavez, an ESWS coordinator.
“This is a proud pin that should never be taken lightly,” said Machinist Mate 1st Class Daniel Ries, an ESWS coordinator. “It is never given, it is earned. It is not a uniform décor, it is a badge of honor. Earn it with grit and wear it with pride.”
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.13.2017 10:30 |
| Story ID: | 255065 |
| Location: | AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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