When I was assigned to a precommissioning unit, I had little idea what to expect, other than that I would be participating in a commissioning ceremony and receiving a plankowner ballcap. The large number of reference publications, though helpful, provided only a framework of the process. The following advice and recommendations, with an emphasis on ownership and flexibility in execution, might help others achieve success, should they be given such a challenging assignment. My experience is unique to the construction of an Arleigh Burke–class guided-missile destroyer; though there are differences, the build of other ship types share many of the same elements.
Laying the Foundation
It is important to understand the various entities involved with the construction of a new ship. The Navy program office, part of Naval Sea Systems Command (NavSea), plays the primary role in the direction and funding of the shipbuilding effort. The other major government player is the Supervisor of Shipbuilding (SupShip), located at the shipyard and directly responsible to NavSea for the build process and interactions with the shipbuilder. For the crew, the primary day-to-day contact with the shipbuilding process is through their SupShip. The shipbuilder is charged with executing the contract as written and providing the final product—the ship itself. Many other entities also are involved, and I quickly learned to always ask what role each agency or group plays and who they work for—it will seem quite complex at first.
At the beginning of the shipbuilding process, the crew is divided into subunits. The precommissioning unit (PCU) at the shipyard is composed of the commanding officer and various junior officers, chief petty officers, and first-class petty officers. This is the core group of leaders necessary to begin the crew’s material familiarity with the ship. One or more precommissioning detachments (PCDs), usually located at fleet concentration areas such as Norfolk or San Diego, comprise the majority of the junior sailors, as well as the rest of the officers and chief petty officers whose presence is not essential at the shipyard for the material readiness of the ship. PCDs have access to the many schoolhouse and shipboard training opportunities at fleet concentration areas, allowing a majority of the crew ample opportunity for continued training and familiarization prior to moving on board the ship. This hybrid, efficient employment of crew members lays the foundation for their future success at writing the ship’s instructions and establishing administrative routines.
Once the underway sea trials are complete and all tests passed, the shipbuilder turns the ship over to the government, and the entire crew can move on board. This begins the busiest period for a PCU crew and is their first chance to move around the ship to discover and document discrepancies for future repairs. They will outfit the ship with a seemingly never-ending load of equipment and attain several type commander certifications so they can operate the ship safely at sea. In addition, post-construction work continues as the shipyard fixes discrepancies and finishes any post-design or delayed projects.
Finding and Fixing Discrepancies
Once work is complete and the ship fully stocked, it sails from its place of birth, likely never to return. This begins the shakedown period, composed of a variety of events, including commissioning, sailing to homeport, combat systems ship qualification trials (CSSQTs), and the final contract trials (FCTs) with the Board of Inspection and Survey (InSurv). These tests and trials are the last time deficiencies discovered by the crew can be provided to the shipbuilder for warranty work.
It is critical to plan ahead and prepare for these evolutions. For example, the crew should practice sets of InSurv checks between live-fire events for CSSQTs. Shipbuilder work also can be scheduled during the limited inport periods between various underway tests. With all the demands and the limited time available before the end of the warranty, flexibility is key.
Post-shakedown is primarily a maintenance period, with the ship undergoing a final round of repairs by the shipbuilder’s representatives and subcontractors before becoming a fully operational fleet unit. There are three main types of repair in the new-construction process, each differing from normal waterfront repair procedures:
- Warranty work candidates are discrepancies discovered and documented by the crew during normal operations of the ship.
- DD Form 250 candidates are items the shipbuilder did not complete in the shipyard or during the acceptance process.
- Trial card repairs are corrections to discrepancies discovered not by the crew but by subject-matter experts, such as InSurv representatives, during sea trials.
Crew synchronization with the shipyard, subcontractors, and program office representatives—collectively known as the post-delivery team—is essential to correcting these discrepancies.
Joining the Fleet
The obligation work limiting date (OWLD) formally ends the new-construction process. At OWLD, all funding for support of the ship, whether for material repairs, parts support, and even some personnel issues, will revert from new-construction budgets to the various ship’s operations, maintenance, and personnel budget accounts. If the crew can reach OWLD with the vast majority of deficiencies corrected and the ship ready to operate as a fleet unit, the construction process has been successful.
The new-construction process is complex, busy, and time-consuming. Officers and senior enlisted taking charge of a PCU need to have a good understanding of the technical aspects of shipbuilding. With each new-construction ship having different problems to overcome, maintaining flexibility is important. Furthermore, the crew must be committed to “owning” the new ship. No matter how the deficiency came to be, or who is best suited to repair it, coordinating a path to completion is the job of the commissioning crew, not that of the shipbuilder or NavSea agencies. With attention to detail and a deep understanding of the complex nature of the shipbuilding process, the crew will ensure a functional warship joins the fleet ready for tasking.