Thursday, August 2, 2012

Stick to the basics - a reminder


FM COMNAVSURFLANT NORFOLK VA
SUBJ/COMNAVSURFLANT REGULATIONS - SERIAL 002/SHIPS ROUTINE//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MESSAGE IS TO DIRECT SPECIFIC SHIP'S ROUTINE EVENTS. THIS MESSAGE IS SERIAL 002 OF COMNAVSURFLANT REGULATIONS ANNOUNCED IN REF A.
2. BACKGROUND. A CONSISTENT AND PREDICTABLE SHIP'S ROUTINE IS ONE OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR NAVY'S 236 YEAR HISTORY. SMART EXECUTION OF DAILY EVENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PLAN OF THE DAY IS A HALLMARK OF AN ORGANIZED AND EFFECTIVE SHIP AND CREW.
3. ACTION. THE FOLLOWING MANDATORY EVENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED BY ALL COMNAVSURFLANT AFLOAT COMMANDS AS PART OF THE SHIP'S DAILY ROUTINE:
A. COLORS. MORNING AND EVENING COLORS SHALL BE CONDUCTED DAILY, WHEN IN PORT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH REF B ARTICLE 1206, REF C CHAPTER 10, AND REF D. SPECIFICALLY:
(1) THE COMMAND DUTY OFFICER (CDO) SHALL TAKE STATION TOPSIDE, IN A POSITION TO VIEW AND DIRECT THE COLORS DETAIL (PREFERABLY ON THE FANTAIL OR FLIGHT DECK) DURING MORNING AND EVENING COLORS.
(2) THE OFFICER OF THE DECK (OOD) SHALL MUSTER AND INSPECT THE COLOR DETAIL PRIOR TO THE EXECUTION OF MORNING AND EVENING COLORS. DURING THE OBSERVANCE OF COLORS, THE OOD SHALL TAKE STATION FACING THE NATIONAL ENSIGN ON THE BROW OR BROW STAND.
(3) THE COLORS DETAIL SHALL BE IN THE PRESCRIBED UNIFORM AND PROPERLY TRAINED IN FLAG ETIQUETTE, AS OUTLINED IN CHAPTER 10 OF REF D.
(4) AT "FIRST CALL TO COLORS," THE COLORS DETAIL WILL ALREADY BE AT THEIR STATION AND PREPARED TO RAISE OR LOWER THE ENSIGN ON SIGNAL.
(5) THE SIGNAL BRIDGE SHALL FOLLOW THE ACTIONS OF THE CLOSEST SENIOR OFFICER PRESENT AFLOAT (SOPA) IN VIEW.
B. QUARTERS. WHEN IN PORT CONUS, CONDUCT MORNING QUARTERS DAILY (EXCEPT ON SATURDAYS, SUNDAYS, AND HOLIDAYS). CONDUCT QUARTERS TOPSIDE, AS PRACTICABLE, GIVEN WEATHER AND PREVAILING FORCE PROTECTION CONDITION.
(1) MORNING QUARTERS SHALL BE CONDUCTED AS AN IN-PERSON, FORMAL, MILITARY EVOLUTION. UNLESS AUTHORIZED TO BE ABSENT, EACH SAILOR WILL BE PRESENT.
(2) AT MORNING QUARTERS, DIVISIONS SHALL BE FORMED UP IN RANKS AND MUSTER TAKEN. WHILE THE DIVISION OFFICER AND/OR LEADING CHIEF PETTY OFFICER IS ATTENDING KHAKI CALL, THE DIVISION SHALL BE BRIEFED ON THE PLAN OF THE DAY.
(3) THE DIVISION OFFICER WILL INSPECT HIS/HER DIVISIONAL PERSONNEL AT EACH MORNING QUARTERS.
C. DUTY SECTION TURNOVER. WHEN IN PORT, THE ON-COMING AND OFF-GOING DUTY SECTIONS WILL BE MUSTERED PRIOR TO TURNOVER. THE OFF-GOING DUTY SECTION MAY BE RELEASED ONCE THE CDO IS SATISFIED HE/SHE HAS A COMPLETE DUTY SECTION INCLUDING, AT A MINIMUM, A QUALIFIED FIRE PARTY AND REQUIRED AT/FP SECURITY FORCES.
D. MESSING AND BERTHING. THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER WILL INSPECT MESSING AND BERTHING SPACES DAILY, WHILE AT SEA AND IN PORT, PER REF E. DURING WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS, THE COMMAND DUTY OFFICER SHALL CONDUCT THE INSPECTION OF MESSING AND BERTHING. RECORD MATERIAL DISCREPANCIES DISCOVERED DURING THE DAILY INSPECTION IN THE CURRENT SHIP'S MAINTENANCE PROJECT (CSMP).
(1) BERTHING. VERIFY ALL PERSONNEL HAVE AN ASSIGNED/LABELED RACK, LOCKER, SERVICEABLE LINENS, AND RACK CURTAINS.
(2) HEADS. ALL COMMODES, URINALS, SINKS, SHOWERS, AND DRAINS MUST BE CLEAN AND OPERABLE. SHOWER CURTAINS, MATS, BULKHEADS, AND DECKS MUST BE CLEANED AND SANITIZED TO PREVENT MILDEW.
(3) MESSING. ENSURE THOROUGH CLEANLINESS OF GALLEY SPACES, SERVING LINES, AND TRASH PROCESSING ROOMS.
(4) A FOOD SERVICE OFFICER AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVE SHALL INSPECT THE CULINARY SPECIALISTS AND FOOD SERVICE ATTENDANTS DAILY TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH SANITARY REQUIREMENTS.
E. SWEEPERS. CONDUCT SWEEPERS AT LEAST ONCE EACH DAY, IN PORT OR AT SEA.
F. 8 O'CLOCK REPORTS.
(1) THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OR CDO WHEN IN PORT, WILL CONDUCT 8 O'CLOCK REPORTS DAILY.
(2) THE CDO, AFTER COMPLETING HIS/HER REVIEW, WILL DELIVER THE 8 O'CLOCK REPORTS TO THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER FOR REVIEW ON THE FOLLOWING WORK DAY.
(3) THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER WILL FORWARD ALL 8 O'CLOCK REPORTS TO THE COMMANDING OFFICER.
4. RADM THOMAS SENDS.//

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm embarrassed that someone thought that this message was necessary.

Mike Lambert said...

And people wonder if we have the right people in command.

What's the rationale for the message? If you are unhappy with a ship's CO, tell him/her ! Don't blast the whole waterfront.

If it's a problem with a whole group of ships, then you have a problem Admiral and your message is not going to fix it.

didn't we learn this at RTC? said...

Anon @ 0752

What you said!

And what the blog owner said after that.

I'd love to know the provenance of this message.

This is like when you see one of those painfully obvious safety stickers on something. You know it's there because somebody did something really stupid!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree that this message ought to be irrelevant in the fervent hope that proper routines are already being followed.

Perhaps this directive was meant for any of those C.O.s who have been trying to "run their own ship the way they see fit," as some authors highlighted in this blog have advocated.

Anonymous said...

It is hard to believe that there are people in leadership positions who think that this is leadership. It is not. Even a lowly second class can see that. Geez!

Anonymous said...

If your ship don't do this, tell the IG and get your CO/XO fired!!

Anonymous said...

Having worked with the sender of this message in the past, I am not surprised. Peter Principle at play.

Anonymous said...

What is everyone talking about? Do you hear yourselves? THIS IS LEADERSHIP!!!!! When I was an XO, if I saw the standards were slipping, I would take a round turn on the individual and/or the command to fix it. THAT'S LEADERSHIP!! You see something wrong, you fix it.

Will this fix it? Probably not in all cases which is why you would apply more leadership. Hold the offenders accountable.

The Admiral probably noticed that some ships had shied away from daily routine, became sloppy in their procedures, blurred the lines too much, etc. and wanted to re-emphasize the procedures & processes.

Is everyone wrong? Probably not. Those that aren't will continue to be great. Those that are will hopefully see the error of the ways and fix themselves.

AMEN for taking the lead Admiral and thank you for your leadership!!!!

Very Respectfully,
Navy Girl

Anonymous said...

I see nothing wrong with this message. Instead, I see a leader communicating to his subordinates his basic expectations; I see a leader ensuring his subordinates are on the same page of music from the get-go; I see a leader disseminating his general expectations to everyone in a non-punitive manner to preclude individual issues later on (which always seem to put a dent in precious time and fragile egos). I'm a JO and have had two divisions in our Navy and, immediately upon taking over each division, I also wrote down day-to-day requirements and expectations of Sailors and myself (the DIVO) in a similar format and then ensured all parties read, understood, and signed the document. My intent was to create a contract of agreement between the Sailors and myself regarding their responsibilities which, I believe, was constructive--I ensured the Sailors unambiguously understood my expectations and their obligations to the division. Now, I'll certainly acknowledge that I went into the whole "contract of agreement" idea knowing that my Sailors would think I was micromanaging them. Still, I believe that, above all else, Sailors need and want guidance and direction and my document (in addition to our team meetings and individual conversations) ensured this. I believe the Admiral accomplished the same objectives with his message.

Anonymous said...

In the National Guard there appeared stenciled to the lid of a galvanized garbage can detailed instructions on how to porperly dump the thing. This message once again proves that Navy Beats Army. Is there any wonder why so many "Leaders" are being bottom blown?

Anonymous said...

i guess he has fixed all the other issues on the waterfront such as maintenance, funding, training, having enough people, and optempo that he can now focus on stuff like this. Maybe I was raised in a different Navy but that stuff is listed in the SORM and the Division Officer's Guide and strikes me as common sense.

Anonymous said...

Anon at 12:52..

I agree with your comment about the SORM and DIVO Guide. Apparently some (a lot) are not adhering to it.

Back to the basics...If we can't do the basic stuff right, how are we going to get the difficult stuff right?

Very Respectfully,
Navy Girl