Training set to become all at sea

 

PUTTING TO SEA: HMAS Manoora conducted training courses on her way home from Hawaii.

Volume 49, No. 16 , September 07, 2006

By Michael Brooke

Sailors seeking to enhance their qualifications during the current high operational tempo continue to reap the benefits of the training-at-sea program which was successfully trialled on HMAS Arunta in 2002.
In the most recent example of how the training-at-sea program makes excellent use of limited time, some 20 sailors completed the Junior Sailors Leadership Management Course (JSLMC) during HMAS Manoora’s voyage home from Hawaii after participating in RIMPAC 2006.

The JSLMC was delivered by four instructors from the Sailor’s Leadership management Faculty-East (SLMF) and was strongly supported by the ship’s command and crew members.

CPONPC Davies, who delivered the DFDA module said the JSLMF team flew to Hawaii on July 25 to join Manoora for the voyage home when the students could be excused from whole ship evolutions.
Manoora’s junior sailors said conducting the JSLMC is a fantastic idea because it makes excellent use of time during high operational tempo.

LSMN Luke Ryan told Navy News that many sailors do not have the time when in port to attend lengthy training courses.
“It was a really great course and I really learnt a lot about leadership,” he said.

“But the best aspect of it was that the three-week JSLMC course was modified by instructional staff so that it could be delivered in the 12 available instructional days.”
LSMN Ryan said the longer days were readily accepted by the students, who appreciated the opportunity to complete the training while at sea rather than during the ship’s limited time home-ported at Fleet Base East.

Gary Candish, the Defence Equity Coordinator for NSW, said the training at sea was part of a new initiative that recognises sailors don’t always get the time between deployments to do the training they require to enhance their qualifications.

Mr Candish conducted a total of three equity adviser workshops for 35 officers and crew members, two Equity and Diversity workshops for commanders, managers and supervisors for 43 divisional officers and chiefs.
He also conducted JSLMC’s Equity and Diversity for Managers module for 21 participants, one Equity and Diversity annual briefing for 25 crew members and spoke at four divisional meetings upon Manoora’s return from RIMPAC 2006 to FBE.

One of the key areas of Sea Change is ‘Smart Navy’. The training at sea program is an example of Navy doing things smarter.

.