Reference Publications

The Newport continuum

All Hands, August, 2007 by Jason McCammack

When they return to this charming, New England town, it is with little hesitation. The inviting summer breezes welcome visitors who flock to its mansions, built by the scions of the Gilded Age. This village, a unique mixture of the old and new world, plays host to world famous folk and jazz festivals (the former was the site of Bob Dylan's stunning first electric performance).

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Newport, R.I., also hosted French soldiers as they aided the Colonial cause during the Revolutionary War, and fearsome pirates often found refuge here in the 17th and 18th centuries. Founded in 1639, Newport was witness to the birth of a nation and has played a vital role in America's development ever since.

It is to this historic backdrop that Navy surface warfare officers (SWO) make a regular pilgrimage. They come, wide-eyed, as junior officers, and return at many of the most critical points in their careers. Newport, and the Navy's Surface Warfare Officers School (SWOS), provides a reassuring beacon of light as these Sailors navigate the unnerving waters of naval service.

Former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Arleigh Burke said, "A ship is built to fight. You better know how!" It is the mission of SWOS to meet this challenge by providing a program of education and training in support of surface Navy requirements to prepare officers to go to sea.

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"A surface warfare officer will come to Newport, and specifically Surface Warfare Officers School, a number of times throughout their career," said Rear Adm. John Christenson, former SWOS Command commanding officer. "We have training going on here today for officers going to major command ... all the way down to our post graduation school students at the Division Officer Course who are preparing for their qualification as a surface warfare officer. It's a continuum of training that happens throughout a surface warfare officer's career."

For most junior officers, the Division Officer Course at SWOS is their introduction to the school.

The course is a three-week "capstone" course. Students from different homeports, ship types and experience are grouped into wardrooms of 24 students. This atmosphere allows them to share their knowledge and experience in professional areas of strength, while gaining knowledge from others with different areas of expertise. Combat systems, maritime warfare, engineering, fleet support, damage control and ship-handling simulations are among the training curriculum.

"The Division Officer Course is not only about classroom instruction but also about the opportunity to build upon the experiences and knowledge of my classmates from other platforms. This better prepares us for our next career milestone as well as our follow-on tours," said Ensign Barry Cohen, USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG-49).

Several years later, surface warfare officers reappear in Newport as mid-grade SWOs for the Department Head Course which prepares them for a greater level of leadership as a department head.

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"The department head training really builds on the experience we've had in the fleet," said Lt. Jennifer Free, a Department Head Course student. "You have to come in with some prerequisite knowledge of being on a ship and being a division officer. This course takes it to the next level and teaches you how to manage a department."

One key element of the Department Head Course, (as well as most of the other courses), is the use of computer simulated virtual reality equipment.

"Oh, it's amazing," said Free. "When I was here before for the Division Officer Course it was a lot of classroom instruction, a little bit of hands-on stuff here and there, but mostly classroom instruction. Now we are in the Multi Mission Team Trainer (MMTT) every day, or every other day. Then we do the full mission bridge, which is a wonderful virtual, 3-D environment for ship driving and we'll eventually go into the COVE (conning officer virtual environment), for warship handling, further along in our training."

The simulators allow the students to have a hands-on learning experience and the level of realism is unmatched according to retired Capt. Bud Weeks, navigation, seamanship, and shipbuilding site manager at SWOS.

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"Because of the fidelity of the models and how realistic they are, we're able to take each student through a number of different scenarios and let them practice on the class of ship that they're going to, in the position they'll be holding on board, put that into play and practice here as SWOS, said Weeks. "With the availability of these simulators throughout the training pipeline, the students can come and get extra instruction as often as they want when there is extra time in their schedule. It maximizes their training while they're here."

Until four years ago, all of the simulators were managed by a contractor at a facility 5 miles from SWOS. The simulators were relocated on campus in recent years and the results have been overwhelmingly positive in a number of respects. Of primary importance is the fact that students can now train on the simulators whenever they have free time in their schedule. Second, moving the simulators on campus eliminated the fees associated with using them.