Page 35: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2006)

March 2006 35

The Navy's new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) will have a small but highly capa- ble crew. The first on a new class of warship, USS Freedom (LCS 1) is being built in Marinette, Wis., and will join the fleet in 2007.

LCS will have a highly cross-trained crew, referred to as "hybrid Sailors," according to Freedom's prospective commanding officer, Cmdr. Don

Gabrielson. LCS will have two crews,

Blue and Gold, each with 40 Sailors, all with sea duty experience. The Blue crew has already filled 38 billets, and the Gold crew billets will be filled very soon. Detailing for the next crews has also begun.

The aviation detachment will bring another 20 people aboard, and the mis- sion package will arrive with 15 mission specialists, for a total crew of 75. "Every

LCS Sailor and Officer will have been to sea already. It will be the norm," said

Gabrielson. "Having an 'off crew' provides depth," said Freedom Gold crew PCO Cmdr.

Mike Doran. "It's a 'bullpen' for reach back."

Gabrielson adds, "There are two crews but only one team in Freedom. It's how we have to operate to win, and that won't change even with two, five or fifty ships. We're standardizing everything we can, all the way down to instructions and stowage, we're even looking at standing orders."

Since the crew will be small, each member will have to be able to do more than one job. The traditional rating and

Naval Enlistment Classification (NEC) assignment method won't work.

Instead, LCS will have hybrid Sailors who have multiple skills. "We're not going to be one deep in anything," Gabrielson said. "The amount of cross training is very high. It doesn't matter what the rating badge says." "Our IT1 Smith has Information

Systems Technician (IT), Electronics

Technician (ET), and Fire Controlman (FC) NECs," said Gabrielson. "He's currently going to the Computer

Technician School baseline technician for AEGIS computers. "IT1 Smith is not the exception,"

Gabrielson said. "He is the norm."

For example, the crew's Chief

Quartermaster is going to JTIDS school (Joint Tactical Information Distribution

Systems) school. An Engineman, Gas

Turbine Specialist and Damage

Controlman are going to welding school. A GSE (Gas Turbine System

Technician, Electrical) will be attending

GSM (Gas Turbine System Technician,

Mechanical) C school. The Damage

Control Chief is going to Navigation school. The Supply Officer as an "Air

Warfare" qualified Chief Storekeeper.

The leading Culinary Specialist has

Circle 232 on Reader Service Card

Circle 207 on Reader Service Card

BRUNVOLL – the single source supplier of thruster systems

Refined and proven concepts teamed up with supreme technical solutions ensures low life cycle costs

BRUNVOLL – manufacturer of ?

Tunnel Thrusters ?

Azimuth Thrusters ?

Low-Noise Thrusters ?

Thruster Control Systems telephone + 47 71 21 96 00 fax + 47 71 21 96 90 e-mail: [email protected] www.brunvoll.no

TRUSTED WORLD WIDE

Another successful story...

The VS 4501 MPSV «Athena» – equipped with 5 Brunvoll thruster units. Keppel Shipyard 3631, for owner SURF.

Hybrid Sailors will be Mission-Oriented

Navy

MR MARCH2006 #5 (33-40).qxd 3/2/2006 11:45 AM Page 35