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Many naval veterans will tell you ships are living creatures, the
engines pumping out massive amounts of energy, allowing tons of
steel to cut through the oceans.
Their miles of intricate
pipes and wires work as circulatory and nervous systems, all of
which are controlled by the ship’s brain – better known as the
combat information center (CIC). Inside the CIC are hundreds of
sensors, dials and screens that help ships see miles over the
horizon and defend themselves in case of danger.
But,
without well-trained operators and world-class tacticians supporting
each ship’s commanding officer, the computing power in even the most
advanced CICs in the Navy don’t come together to provide operational
and strategic commanders the capacity and options they need to carry
out the Navy’s mission to win wars, deter aggression, and maintain
freedom of the seas.
In 2015, the Navy capitalized on an opportunity to enhance the
lethality and warfighting capacity of the surface fleet by standing
up Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC).
"I've been waiting 33 years for this day; what a great day
this is for our surface warfare community,” said Vice Adm. Thomas
Rowden, commander, Naval Surface Forces, during a ceremony
celebrating the SMWDC’s creation, June 09, 2015. "The establishment
of SMWDC signifies a major milestone in how we support CNO's
'warfighting first' focus, advancing combat capability and warfare
competencies of our surface force.”
SMWDC’s answer to
increasing the surface community’s tactical proficiency is to train
a new brand of surface warfare officer (SWO) called warfare tactics
instructors (WTI) – pronounced ‘witties’. These WTIs have become
subject matter experts aboard ships, with specific training in one
of three principle warfare areas – amphibious warfare,
anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare, and integrate air/missile
defense.
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July 27, 2017 - Lt. Jerry Kane, a Warfare Tactics Instructor (WTI)
assigned to the San Diego-based Sea Combat Division of Naval Surface
and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC), briefs USS Makin
Island (LHD 8) and USS Stockdale (DDG 106) officers on SMWDC’s
mission and the WTI program in the Makin Island wardroom. SMWDC is
one of the Navy’s five Warfare Development Centers (WDC), and plays
an integral role in the Surface Force Strategy: Return to Sea
Control. Its mission is to increase the lethality and tactical
proficiency of the surface force across all domains. (U.S. Navy
Photo by Lt. David Gardner)
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"These WTIs will act as force-multipliers on every ship
and tactical training command [afloat training groups or
tactical training groups] to implement the best practices in
each warfare area to achieve a single warfighting standard,"
said Mr. Frank Olmo, Executive Director of SMWDC.
Today, WTIs are out at sea, operating in every area of
responsibility, creating new doctrine, and validating tactics. Those
same WTIs are also training, mentoring, and providing a conduit for
feedback – from commanding officers to seasoned chiefs to the newest
Sailors fresh from ‘A’ school – back to SMWDC in order to accelerate
the rate at which the surface community learns the lessons from
fleet engagements.
“We’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm from a lot
of the ships. The watch teams are eager to learn, they’re eager to
improve and they’re eager to really get underway and do what they
have trained to do,” said Lt. Damon Goodrich-Houska, an
anti-submarine and anti-surface WTI.
An event where WTIs
play a critical role in training is the four-week specialized
pre-deployment training course known as Surface Warfare Advanced
Tactical Training (SWATT). This event fits between a ship’s basic
phase of training and the more complicated intermediate phase when
ships that will deploy together will get underway to train together
for the first time.
“SWATT is designed to slow it down a
little bit and to really have some dedicated time where all we do
really is train and work on tactics,” said Goodrich-Houska.
The SWATT program comprises two main features, including a plan,
brief, execute and debrief (PBED) process to train watch standers
how to better operate their systems. Trainers also take a crawl,
walk, run approach to helping Sailors succeed in increasingly
complex scenarios.
“I believe Sailors have always had the
desire to be excellent at their jobs, to really know their systems
and to know tactics,” said Goodrich-Houska. “Now that they are
getting the time to see that we have these debriefing tools, and
that they can carry that on forward with them after we leave, they
can continue that process. We’ve seen a lot of great things from
these ships.”
SWATT and similar events have not only enhanced
fleet capabilities, but they are also slowly changing the culture of
the surface fleet.
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August 4, 2017 - Commander, Naval Surface and Warfighting
Development Center Rear Adm. John Wade, left, speaks to Warfare
Tactics Instructor (WTI) candidates after they completed their
initial course of instruction - the Instructor and Tactics Course.
Upon completion of the course, students will have to attend and pass
advanced tactical training courses to earn WTI designation through
one of three SMWDC Divisions - Amphibious Warfare, Sea Combat, or
Integrated Air and Missile Defense. SMWDC is one of the Navy's five
Warfare Development Centers and fills an integral role in the
Surface Force Strategy: Return to Sea Control. SMWDC's mission is to
increase the lethality and tactical proficiency of the surface force
across all domains. (U.S. Navy Photo by Lt. Matthew Stroup)
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“The first time we conduct a full debrief with a watch
team as part of the full PBED process, there is an initial
stage of defensiveness. We approach things from a strictly
instructive angle, addressing errors and the watch stations
that made them, focusing on improving rather than simply
assigning blame,” said Goodrich-Houska. “Playing the audio
recordings of the event helps to remind everyone that we’re
focused on a fact-based review of events meant to help them
be more effective warfighters. Things rapidly change, and
after a few debriefs, watch standers are identifying their
own mistakes before we can get to them.”
In a time
of continued combat operations and terrorism, with examples
like USS Mason (DDG 87) coming under fire while operating in
the Red Sea in October 2016, commanders say the creation of
SMWDC and the WTIs who support the command’s mission is
especially important.
“Any notion that the fight is
not real for our Sailors at sea has gone out the window.
This fight is very real and we have to be as ready as
possible,” said Lt. Joven Ernani Dinglasan, an integrated
air and missile defense WTI. “Surface warfare is a very
unique challenge. To be able to lead those Sailors through
those challenges … being able to navigate this task with
them to accomplish an overall mission, is why I became a
surface warfare officer.”
As the WTIs continue to
grow in ranks, the mission of "distributed lethality:
enabling sea control," as mentioned by Rear Adm. John Wade,
commander of SMWDC, during this year’s Surface Navy
Association National Symposium, continues to become
achievable.
“Our mission is clear,” said Wade. “We
are increasing the lethality and tactical proficiency of the
surface force. To do that we are all-in providing support to
the fleet to make sure they’re ready to fight today, as we
are also keeping our eyes on the horizon to developing new
tactics, doctrine, and capabilities we need to be effective
as a sea power.”
By U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Ignacio Perez
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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