U.S. Submarine Attack Crew
Needs Assessment
Dr. Steve
Training & Development
INP6325
Background
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U.S. Navy contracted our group to do a needs
assessment for attack center crews aboard
ballistic missile (Trident) submarines
All data collected at Trident Training Facilities
(TTF), Bangor, WA, and Kings Bay, GA.
No data is reported here (sensitive or classified),
only procedures
As with all needs assessments, had to work within
the constraints of the organization rather than
following the exact procedures outlined in the
book.
1. Establish Organizational Support
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Organizational support
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Made friends with CO of submarine school house
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Talked about what his job is, who works for him, role of the
schoolhouse, and typical work week
CO put us in contact w/group of LTs (trainers)
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Made sure to get their perspective on what they do, services they
provide, etc.
Formed a team consisting of 2 LTs, CO, subcontractor, myself
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Made sure we were all on the same team
2. Organizational Analysis
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Interviews
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Documents
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Talks with LTs to find out what they train, what trainees should be
able to do, how trainees are judged as well as how trainers are
judged
Read thru NWPs describing training that is conducted at facility
Observations
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Toured schoolhouse facilities to see all different training
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Dive training (angles & dangles)
Fire fighting
Flood (get wet) trainer
Sonar
Attack Center simulator
2. Organizational Analysis
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Determined that we could make greatest impact in
the attack center (boat’s brain)
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Other areas mostly taught technical skills which trainees
already learned just fine.
Attack center most complex part of boat
Attack center relied on greatest variety of skills
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Communication, coordination, and teamwork were critical
CO and LTs believed that trainees lacked “big picture”
If could develop teamwork training for most complex part
of boat, could likely modify for other parts
2. Organizational Analysis
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Identify external / internal constraints
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Time – working on 6 week schedule of training events,
so completed training program had to fit in that timeline
Military specs – must meet specific standards
Rotating CO – had to complete project before CO left for
re-assignment
Curriculum – must not interfere with other curriculum
Attitudes – “old way is the best way”
Hierarchy – Senior officers are trained by LTs and are not
likely to take criticism well
Goal – help develop “big picture” in crew members
and allow LTs to train entire crew
3. Requirements Analysis
Train the Trainers
 Determined that training would be given to all trainers
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Would prove concept on trainers (LTs) in attack center
Developed structured questions for LTs
Went over current curriculum plan to see how new training
could be incorporated
Conducted observations (myself & subcontractor)
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Observed attack center simulations examining roles and interactions
of CO, XO, nav plot, ESM, periscope assistant, helm, weapons officer,
time-freq plotter, etc. (25-30 crewmen in all)
After first observation made changes to protocol due to difficulty of
observing such a large crew
4. Needs Assessment Components
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Task Analysis – identified tasks through:
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Documentation – NWPs and curriculum
Interviews with LT’s (no access to crew members)
Observations – attack center missions and debriefs
Link Analysis – observations of frequency, not
content, of communications among crew members
Determined what KSAs were necessary
Task Statements and KSAs rated by LTs & a Sr.
Chief who does team training
4. Needs Assessment Components
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Goals
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Noted through observations that individual crew
members often had correct solution but did not pass it on
to other crew members
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Why not? “didn’t ask,” “wasn’t sure,” etc.
Determined target training:
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Communication transfer skills
5. Person Analysis
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Determined that junior officers could benefit most.
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Unlikely to change CO & XO behaviors, but had to start
somewhere that would make an impact
CO’s and XO’s agreed
The way to accomplish this was to train the trainers (LTs)
that train junior officers as well as Captains (usually CO)
and Commanders (usually XO)
6. Results
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Developed training program targeted at training the
trainer (schoolhouse LTs) to teach communication
skills such as how to:
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Provide clear, specific information
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Anticipate information from crew members
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Brief, but unambiguous
Where should necessary information come from
Differentiate commands from statements
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Use proper litany