Vice Adm. Rich Brown, commander, Naval Surface Force (CNSF), approved the new Surface Warfare Watchstander Proficiency Requirements Instruction, Nov. 13.

The purpose of the instruction is to establish minimum requirements for individuals to maintain proficiency in the tactical action officer (TAO), officer of the deck (OOD), combat information center watch officer (CICWO), engineering officer of the watch (EOOW), junior officer of the deck (JOOD), conning officer (CONN), and combat systems officer of the watch (CSOOW) watchstations.

The instruction, which is effective immediately, meets requirements set out in the U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF) Comprehensive Review.

Highlights of the instruction include the following:

• Watchstanders must stand minimum time requirements for designated watches to maintain proficiency. Exceeding maximum time period between watches requires a refresh to re-establish proficiency.

• Controlling stations have assigned periodicities of either one watch every 45 days (OOD, TAO, CICWO) or one watch every 30 days (CSOOW, EOOW).

• JOODs and CONNs are required to be graduates of Basic Division Officer Course (BDOC) and OOD phase I courses of instruction.

There are a few exceptions in the instruction, such as:

• Nuclear-qualified surface warfare officers (SWO-N), while assigned to a CVN, are exempt from the surface warfare watchstanding proficiency requirements.

• Currently serving chief engineers are exempt from the surface warfare EOOW watchstanding proficiency requirements.

• Commanding officers (COs) and executive officers (XOs) are exempt from watchstanding proficiency requirements.

• Pre-commissioning units are exempt from maintaining these proficiency requirements until the conclusion of builder’s trials.

The fleetwide proficiency instruction is part of the foundation on which commanding officers can increase readiness and enhance the lethality of their warfighting teams. The full instruction can be found at https://cpf.navy.deps.mil/sites/cnsp/directives/1412.6.pdf. It is CAC-enabled; use the email certificate when prompted.

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