Navigation department watchstanders aboard aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)(Ike) are the ship's eyes out to sea.

Watchstanders on the ship's navigation bridge help maintain the ship's position at all times underway.

"Navigation's primary job is to ensure the safe navigation of the ship," said Cmdr. Kevin Pickard, Ike's navigator. "That means making sure the ship is at the right spot at the right time, and transits safely from one area to another."

Navigation department supplies a team of well-trained watchstanders to support the officer of the deck (OOD) and the junior officer of the deck (JOOD).

"I have a team of quartermasters (QMs) who are trained to plot and track the ship's position," Pickard said. "They know the rules of the road and the correct techniques and procedures to make sure we are in the right spot. The OOD, who's in charge of the bridge, directly reports to the captain ensuring the safe sailing and operation of the ship. The JOOD is in charge of controlling the ship and providing all the commands to the helm and lee helm."

Quartermasters are trained enlisted navigators in modern electronic navigation equipment, but are also skilled in traditional methods of sailing.

"My position on the bridge is quartermaster of the watch -- the most senior QM on the bridge," said Quartermaster 3rd Class Garret Cunbiff, a bridge watchstander. "We make sure we're watching out for vessels in our vicinity and notify the OOD if we see anything, and then find the best course without affecting the ship's operations."

The quartermasters have to be ready to adapt as a team to a variety of circumstances while underway, including the ship's primary mission of flight operations and other special evolutions such as sea-and-anchor detail and restricted maneuvering doctrine.

"In restricted waters we have a navigation evaluator," Pickard said. "The evaluator makes sure the ship is exactly where it's supposed to be and that every course order by OOD is safe for navigation."

It's the evaluator's duty to make sure Ike reaches the right destination at the right time, while positioning itself to safely conduct the launch and recovery of aircraft.

"During flight operations we have a command duty officer underway," Pickard said. "They're supervising flight operations in the general sense as a median between what's going on in the bridge and out on the flight deck."

This complex task is constantly conducted and the ship's bridge watch team maintain vigilant watch over the ship's constant movements.

"Every evolution in the Navy involves lot of moving parts, but once you get into the rhythm of doing it, everything makes sense," Cunbiff said.

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