completion of PQS. Department heads may do this by giving an oral or written examination to determine if a satisfactory knowledge level of watch station requirements has been attained. If it is satisfactory, a recommendation is made to the commanding officer that the individual be granted an interim qualification for a specific watch station. If the commanding officer ap- proves, an interim qualification letter is placed in the member’s service record. Examples of a situation in which interim qualification may be appropriate are shown below: When it is necessary to use a watch stander who has not yet achieved final qualification to fill a more demanding billet When a newly reporting individual who has not yet achieved final qualification in the particular watch station but possesses a prior qualification from a previous command must be used as a watch stander Final Certification and Watch Station Sign-off All final certifications and watch station qualifications must be signed off at the permanent duty station. Every PQS specifies the title of the certifying officer for each qualification. If the commanding officer is specified as the certifying officer but feels that the certifying officer should be a department head, then the commanding officer may delegate certification authority. To make sure there is no confusion, the commanding officer should delegate this authority in writing. On large ships, the damage control assistant may be designated as the certifying officer for damage control PQS. Oral Examining Boards and Written  Examinations Qualification requirements for all oral examin- ing boards and written examinations should be designated by both the ship and squadron and their appropriate type commander. Often the final step in PQS watch station qualifications is an oral examining board. The exact membership of each examining board is determined by the command. A single board could have as few as two or as many as eight members. A written examination or preboard oral examination may be used as part of the oral examining board. The command may develop its own exam questions or use established questions from the appropriate PQS. In general, the examining board should consist of the following: At least one qualified officer of the deck (OOD), engineering officer of the watch (EOOW), or tactical action officer (TAO) when the watch station is under that officer’s direct supervision Members of applicable training teams Division  officer  or  department  head responsible for the watch station when an E-6 or above is qualifying The oral examining board should determine the scope of the board and questions from the applicable PQS to determine the trainee’s qualification. Oral boards should include the trainee’s demonstration of equipment operation when appropriate. ORGANIZATION The PQS organization reaches from the commanding officer to the petty officer that serves as the qualifier. This program helps you develop skills that are necessary to perform your assigned tasks. It is a list of the minimum knowledge and skills required to qualify for a specific watch station, maintain specific equipment, or perform as a team member in a unit. Qualifiers A qualifier is the acknowledged expert in a specified area of qualification. The responsibilities of the qualifier are significant. A qualifier must be current in the technical and safety requirements of assigned areas and be aware of the problems that face a trainee. The qualifier must follow command directives with regard to standard answers, keeping in mind that consistency is important. The qualifier should understand all reference material and, when necessary, guide the trainees to the reference material. The qualifier should remember that the ultimate goal of the program is to develop adequate numbers of qualified  watch  standers,  operators,  and maintenance personnel to do the job. Qualifiers should help their shipmates but SHOULD NOT GIVE THEIR SIGNATURES AWAY. PQS qualifiers normally will be E-5 or above and, as a minimum, must have completed the PQS they are assigned. The role of the qualifying 4-11