EMERGENCY BILLS  —General  emergency, emergency steering, man overboard, toxic gas SPECIAL BILLS —Antisneak/antiswimmer  attack evacuating civilians, and prisoners of war Effective Assignment of Personnel Knowing  the  qualifications,  experience  level, capabilities, and strengths of your people is an important consideration in appointing positions. Particular jobs demand specific rate requirements; however, certain tasks and details are generic in nature. Those tasks serve as a good starting point for strikers and junior petty officers to begin “learning the ropes.” Those tasks will give junior personnel the knowledge and experience they need to assume positions of greater responsibility when your more experienced sailors move on. Assign sailors to more responsible positions as they show their competency to handle them. Be sure to consider giving more responsible assignments to those who take the initiative to request more demanding assignments. Also assign more responsible jobs to those who complete their personnel qualification standards (PQS). Others who deserve more responsibility include those who are qualified as Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialists (ESWSs) or Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialists (EAWSs). WATCH-STANDING AND DUTY SECTION OBLIGATIONS The definition of a watch is any period during which an  individual  is  assigned  specific,  detailed responsibilities on a recurring basis. All watch standers are subject to certain standards and watch-standing principles that assure the safety, security, and proper operation of the command. Your obligations are to be sure all watch standers under your cognizance have received enough training to perform the duties of their watch station. Departmental Duty Officer The departmental duty officer is the officer or petty officer with the day’s duty. He or she represents the department head and is responsible for the functioning of the department. The departmental duty officer does the following: • Carries out the function of the department head in his or her absence Makes frequent inspections of departmental spares to be sure of physical security, good order, and discipline Makes reports to the command duty officer or the executive officer as required Performs other duties as assigned Members of the department report to the department duty  officer,  as  prescribed  in  the  department organization plan, for the performance of their duties. Duty Sections Afloat In discussing duty sections afloat, we will only address in-port periods. While a ship is under way, all hands are effectively in a duty status. From an organizational standpoint, shipboard duty sections in port are slightly more complicated than those ashore. That is because each person assigned to a duty section has more than one responsibility during a duty day. Coordinating enlisted watch bills to meet the requirements of your division and the command is a joint effort. It should include anyone involved in the watch organization aboard your ship. It should also include the senior watch officer and section leaders. The enlisted watch bill determines what your division’s watch-standing requirements are within each duty section. As the division officer, your role in enlisted watch-bill coordination is to make sure you have distributed your most qualified and experienced people equally throughout each duty section. You wiIl want to make sure you have a mature and responsible individual aboard to represent you and your division should the need arise. Each person assigned to a duty section is given some responsibilities that conflict with his or her daily routine on any given duty day, such as the following: Routine watches Shore patrol Working parties Damage control/fire-fighting parties Side boys Duty sections afloat are expected to provide a full range of division services. They do this around the clock, if necessary, to meet the needs of the command. Some 3-7