Sec. 334. SURFACE WARFARE TRAINING IMPROVEMENT
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## SEC. 334 SURFACE WARFARE TRAINING IMPROVEMENT ###
(a)Findings Congress makes the following findings: ####
(1)In 2017, there were three collisions and one grounding involving United States Navy ships in the Western Pacific. The two most recent mishaps involved separate incidents of a Japan-based United States Navy destroyer colliding with a commercial merchant vessel, resulting in the combined loss of 17 sailors. ####
(2)The causal factors in these four mishaps are linked directly to a failure to take sufficient action in accordance with the rules of good seamanship. ####
(3)Because risks are high in the maritime environment, there are widely accepted standards for safe seamanship and navigation. In the United States, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “STCW”) for Seafarers, standardizes the skills and foundational knowledge a maritime professional must have in seamanship and navigation. ####
(4)Section 568 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 130 Stat. 2139) endorsed the STCW process and required the Secretary of Defense to maximize the extent to which Armed Forces service, training, and qualifications are creditable toward meeting merchant mariner licenses and certifications. ####
(5)The Surface Warfare Officer Course Curriculum is being modified to include ten individual Go/No Go Mariner Assessments/Competency Check Milestones to ensure standardization and quality of the surface warfare community. ####
(6)The Military-to-Mariner Transition report of September 2017 notes the Army maintains an extensive STCW qualifications program and that a similar Navy program does not exist. ###
(b)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— ####
(1)the Secretary of the Navy should establish a comprehensive individual proficiency assessment process and include such an assessment prior to all operational surface warfare officer tour assignments; and ####
(2)the Secretary of the Navy should significantly expand the STCW qualifications process to improve seamanship and navigation individual skills training for surface warfare candidates, surface warfare officers, quartermasters and operations specialists to include an increased set of courses that directly correspond to STCW standards. ###
(c)Report Not later than March 1, 2019, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that includes each of the following: ####
(1)A detailed description of the surface warfare officer assessments process. ####
(2)A list of programs that have been approved for credit toward merchant mariner credentials. ####
(3)A complete gap analysis of the existing surface warfare training curriculum and STCW. ####
(4)A complete gap analysis of the existing surface warfare training curriculum and the 3rd mate unlimited licensing requirement. ####
(5)An assessment of surface warfare options to complete the 3rd mate unlimited license and the STCW qualification.
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- 130 Stat. 2139
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