Approve or disapprove liberty lists and leave
requests.
Inspect the ship and receive readiness reports
from the various department heads when the ship
is cleared for action; then report to the CO when
the ship is ready for action.
If the captain is disabled during battle, the XO
normally becomes the acting commanding officer. For
this reason, the location of the XO’s battle station
(determined by the captain) is some distance from the
captain’s. This prevents disablement of both officers at
the same time.
After a battle, the executive officer makes a detailed
report to the commanding officer.
If the XO cannot fulfill the duties of the
commanding officer, normally, the next senior line
officer assigned to the ship assumes the duties of the
commanding officer.
Depending on the size of the ship, the executive
officer may have one or more assistants. Some of these
assistants and their responsibilities are as follows:
Personnel officer. The personnel officer assigns
personnel to the various departments, berthing
arrangements, and to the task of maintaining enlisted
service records.
Training officer. The training officer secures
school quotas, schedules orientation courses for newly
reporting personnel, and helps prepare long- and
short-range training schedules.
Educational services officer (ESO). The
educational services officer (ESO) receipts for,
maintains, and distributes educational courses and
training aids.
Drug and alcohol program advisor (DAPA). The
drug and alcohol program advisor (DAPA) advises the
CO and XO on all matters concerning the Navy’s Drug
and Alcohol Abuse Program. The DAPA provides
onboard education, prevention, screening, command
counseling, aftercare, probationary supervision,
motivational training, and referral services.
Command master chief (CM/C). While serving
as one of the XO’s assistants, the CM/C has direct
access to the CO and is the voice of all enlisted
personnel.
In addition to these assistants, the executive officer
may also have a legal officer, combat cargo officer,
s a f e t y o ffi c e r, a n d o t h e r s a s r e q u i r e d . T h e
master-at-arms force also works directly under the
executive officer.
DEPARTMENT HEAD
As the representative of the commanding officer,
the department head is responsible for and reports to the
CO about all matters that affect the department. That
includes administrative matters, the operational
readiness of the department, and the general condition
of equipment.
DIVISION OFFICER
The division is the basic unit of the shipboard
organization. The CO assigns division officers to
command the divisions of the ship’s organization.
Division officers are responsible to and, in general, act
as assistants to department heads.
The number of divisions in a department varies
among ships, with each division having only a few
assigned personnel to as many as 200 personnel. The
division officer is a major link in your chain of
command, particularly in a small ship. At the working
level, the division officer carries out command policies
and personally sees that division tasks are completed in
a timely manner. Some of the division officer’s duties
include—
Making frequent inspections of division
personnel, spaces, equipment, and supplies
Maintaining copies of all division orders and
bills and displaying them in a conspicuous place
Training division personnel and preparing them
for battle
6-10
Student Notes:
