the second draft.

Hello son, so you are our new sailor, yes?  Are you ready to kick ass and take names on one of the world’s finest and most devastating warships?  Be advised kid, we are here standing by to visit violence upon those who would wish our country harm.  I am not talking about some little missile that can take out a building; I am talking about missiles with the capability to level entire countries.  So are you ready to get your hands dirty and start doing what needs to be done to protect the 314,000,000 people of the United States of America?  Well not so fast, you may be all bright eyed and bushy tailed, but as it stands you are nothing but a N.U.B. or Non Useful Body.  You have a stack of qualification cards to complete before you can even think about doing anything useful for the ship.  Along with a bigger stack of qual cards to complete before you can start helping out your division.  When you first start out it will seem extremely overwhelming.  They throw so many tasks at you, then the next time they see you, they start ranting and raving about how they aren’t done yet.  Fear not little buddy, as long as you keep your feet to the deck plate and keep working on your quals, you will do just fine.  The following is an introduction to you qualification path along with some tips and methods I used while qualifying aboard this mighty warship.

Life in the navy is all about qualifications.  You are not allowed to do your job unless you have proven that you know the ins and outs of the task that you are to perform and the system that it is being performed on.  In order to prove that you have the requisite knowledge the navy uses a qualification system broken into specific watches that one would stand or more specifically a system that one would use.  The basic flow of a qual card is as follows:  references, prerequisites, knowledge factors, practical factors, test, and interviews.  When handed a new qual card you first looks at the references.  These references contain most of the knowledge needed to qualify that watch or system.  The prerequisites are simply there to ensure that you start at the right level.  It would be pointless to start out at the top if you do not have the basic knowledge that is obtained from the lowest qualification.  The knowledge factors are the meat and potatoes of qualifying something.  You are required to memorize the components and procedures used to operate a system and further more must be able to explain, to a diagram level, the functional description of that system.  The practical factors are there to ensure that you can actually operate the system and not just talk about how it is operated.  I could explain to you how to do open heart surgery, but unless I have actually done it before my first time would likely result in the death of the patient.  The test is to ensure that you have retained the knowledge that you received throughout the qual process and the interview is for the supervisors to ascertain if the individual is actually ready to stand the watch.  All in all it is a lengthy process with a steep learning curve for those just starting out but it is an excellent way to understand how to do your job and provides the means for others to ensure that you are adequately trained to perform it satisfactorily.

I mentioned two different stacks of qual cards that you have to work on but I going to focus on one for now which is your submarine qualifications.  This is the most important qualification you will ever complete while in the navy.  You have 12 months to complete this one and if you fail to complete it on time you will be recommended for separation from the submarine fleet.  This card is so important because the knowledge you gain from it will ensure that you are able to fight the ship in the case of a fire or other casualty.  It basically represents the crews trust in you to have their back.  You will learn the basics of how to operate nearly every piece of equipment on this boat as well as the purpose for each.  From the engine room and the nuclear reactor to the sonar dome, you will learn it all along with damage control measures for casualties.  The most important advice I have for this card is to not fall behind!  Once you do it is even harder to catch up than it was to stay even.  Also you can group some of the knowledge factors together as some are very similar.  When you go for the knowledge factors it helps to take a buddy with you as well so that he can answer anything you don’t know.

When you complete all the checkouts on your qual card the senior leadership aboard the great ship USS Nebraska will test your knowledge as well as your mettle in what is known as a husker run.  This is a comprehensive practical test that will prove you have what it takes to join the submarine community.  During mine I learned many things about myself.  Approximately 4 years ago I was in the scullery washing dishes and minding my own business when a first class petty officer ran up to me yelling “Husker Run, Husker Run Petty Officer Senn.  Flooding in the Engine Room GO GO GO!”  I ran back to the engine room as fast as I could while grabbing the equipment I would need to fight the casualty.  Once I got back there I paused to assess the situation.  Immediately people started to panic and they turned to me for answers.  I was lost at first and overwhelmed with the sudden dependence of others on my knowledge and as they kept reminding me that the longer I hesitated the more people would die.  Suddenly, like a dam bursting, the knowledge that I had spent the last 12 months learning flooded into my mind.  Now knowing what to do and actually doing and/or directing others to do it is totally different.  This is where I learned my most valuable lesson, confidence in myself.  Before that day I never really had a sense of confidence in myself but as I was standing there with the theoretical fate of 150 people in my hands I learned to trust in myself and what I had learned.  From that day forward I have been able to rapidly assess a situation and take the appropriate actions without second guessing myself.  Hopefully you will gain the same confidence as I did during your husker run and I wish you the best of luck.