TRAINING GUIDELINES

In general, training should be consistent with the following guidelines:

Training must be closely integrated and coordinated with daily operations of the battalion. The adopted plan must not interfere with essential construction functions.

Not withstanding the guideline just listed, the construction schedule should be flexible so it can use opportunities for training that might even expedite the construction schedule.

Maximum advantage should be taken of the opportunity to derive training benefits from routine operations.

Figure 1-5 shows a typical battalion training organizational chart.

TRAINING NEEDS

Training for advancement is a continuous concern of all personnel within a battalion, whether at the company or platoon level.

In home port, training programs become the primary mission. The NMCB is expected to spend about 75 percent of the available man-days in formalized technical, military, and general training. In addition, the planning and estimating group may be considered to be involved with on-the-job training (OJT). Approximately 2 months before an NMCB returns to home port, it sends a training conference team to the home port regiment to prepare the training schedule for the battalion's home port stay. This team schedules the training required for the battalion to meet its readiness and construction tasking for its next deployment. They also coordinate home port support for berthing, supplies, and recreation. All personnel are trained in the areas of technical, military, and general topics. However, the program may be tailored to meet the specialized mission of the battalion's next deployment. If one of the projects scheduled is the construction of an airstrip, there will undoubtedly be a great deal of site preparation occurring. You will need to know how many qualified Construction Mechanics are available and if you need to train more personnel to maintain and repair specific equipment. Take advantage of any opportunitites to train as many of your personnel as possible on the jobs expected to come up on the next deployment.

Take inventory of the skills possessed by crew members, whether through actual job experience or through some type of training program. After you make this study, you can easily see whether the required skills for a particular job match the available skills. When they do not match, you know that training is needed. You may need to conduct refresher training or provide instruction on new techniques.

As an individual's supervisor, you may check service records, conduct PRCP interviews, and select those best suited for training given at a Navy C-1 advanced school or at a special construction battalion training course.

ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

There are many forms of OJT. It may be in the form of an especially tailored, well-organized program, such as one designed to help Utilitiesmen acquire advanced skills in air conditioning and refrigeration. Then again, OJT may be in the form of simple instruction, like explaining and showing a person how to tie a certain type of knot. In other words, when one person helps others to learn to do a job and makes sure they learn the right way, it is a form of OJT. In the Seabees, OJT goes on around us all the time. For instance, two strikers were assigned a job of copper pipe installation. Although they had performed many comparable jobs, they had not done that particular one. Their supervisor assigned an experienced crew member to guide them. This person explained the exact procedure for laying out the pipe;

Figure 1-5. - Training organizational chart.