Measurement and Analysis of Officer of the Deck Competency

Recent ship collisions have heightened the U.S. Navy's focus on the development and tracking of mariners' skills. Using data collected by the Surface Warfare Officer School (SWOS), we estimate the statistical relationship between officers' prior experience and their current ship-handling proficiency. Our sample contains 164 randomly-selected first-tour Officers of the Deck (OODs) who were serving on 61 ships in 2018. Officers' recent experience was self-reported in a survey, and proficiency in a ship-driving simulator exercise was assessed by a post-command Commander or Captain. Participation was mandatory and compliance was full, ensuring that the sample is representative of the population. We find that mariners' skills, knowledge, and experience on the bridge are meaningfully correlated with proficiency. This finding suggests that policies designed to encourage additional opportunities for deliberate practice may mitigate short-term skill degradation and lead to long-term mastery of maritime skills. In light of our findings, we suggest policymakers should increase resources for simulator training and encourage the use of simulators to mimic the myriad and complex situations that a mariner may encounter in real world operations.