CHAPTER 8
MILITARY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES
As you strive to become a leader in today’s Navy,
you will confront many difficult leadership challenges.
You will have to deal with recruits in an all-volunteer
force environment, ensuring equality for all, ending
drug and alcohol abuse, and retaining valuable
personnel. Leaders should know how to analyze these
challenges objectively and take creative and innovative
action to handle them.
MILITARY DUTIES OF THE PETTY
OFFICER
Learning Objectives: Recall the duties and
responsibilities of the petty officer of the watch
(POOW). Recall how to prepare naval and business
correspondence. Identify who is authorized to sign
official Navy documents. Recall the importance of the
ship’s deck log. Recognize the entries in the ship’s deck
log. Identify how to train personnel in the safeguards
against acts of terrorism and victimization. Identify how
to train personnel in procedures pertaining to bomb
threats. Recall the procedures to relieve an armed watch.
Recognize honors rendered to officers and officials
boarding and departing the ship. Recognize POOW
responsibilities concerning weather. Recognize POOW
responsibilities when your ship is moored or anchored.
Recognize the duties of petty officer military watches
(petty officer of the watch, master-at-arms, police petty
officer, shore patrol, etc.).
In this section you will be introduced to some of
the typical military duties of a petty officer, both
aboard ship and ashore.
PETTY OFFICER OF THE WATCH
The POOW is the primary enlisted assistant to the
officer of the deck (OOD) when the ship is in port. The
POOW assists the OOD in carrying out the ship’s daily
routine and in ensuring the security and safety of the
ship.
In this section, you will be familiarized with
several areas of POOW responsibility to include
administration, watch standing, communications,
security, and safety.
Administration
Later in this section we will discuss the
administration of logs and records associated with
watch standing. Now let’s look at administrative
responsibilities in the area of general correspondence
that are applicable to the petty officer as a work center
leader, as well as a POOW. As a petty officer,
especially a second class petty officer, you need to be
familiar with naval correspondence procedures. For
details of naval correspondence, consult the
Department of the Navy Correspondence Manual,
SECNAVINST 5216.5. When corresponding
internally or externally there are set procedures for the
context and format of the various types of
correspondence. Records, logs, and reports are
correspondence and require signatures by the authority
assigned or designated. Certain records, logs, and
reports must be forwarded for review by higher
authority and they may require a cover letter. Higher
authority also releases messages, another form of
correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE.—As a petty officer, you
will be required to compose correspondence from brief
notes and occasionally from oral instructions. You will
be required to prepare draft correspondence that should
need only minor changes before it is ready for smooth
typing. You must master the art of writing short,
concise, routine correspondence. In some situations,
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As a vision for the future, let me just say we will steer by the stars and not the wake.
And I see four stars of equal magnitude in the constellation that will guide us:
operational primacy, teamwork, leadership and pride.
—Admiral J. Johnson
Chief of Naval Operations
