MovieChat Forums > Crimson Tide (1995) Discussion > Can someone please describe the roles of...

Can someone please describe the roles of the many officers in the film?

posted 11 years ago by jp3183
7 replies | jump to latest

I think the Captain's and Executive Officer's roles were pretty well-established. But certain officers just get a mention by their position w/o much clear definition of their responsibilities. Examples include the Chief of the Boat, Chief of the Watch, T.S.O., Officer of the Deck, etc...

It'd be great if you could name, and describe the functions of, the many departments of the sub as well (ex: Control, Sonar, Weapons, etc...).

Thank you.

[–] beef046 11 years ago

Chief of the Boat-- the senior enlisted man, responsible for the discipline, welfare and morale of the enlisted (non-officer) men on the ship. On-par with the Executive Officer in terms of his accessibility to the Captain and the respect he gets from the other men on the ship. To get this job, you have to be chosen by a captain, approved by the Navy's personnel department and interviewed by other Chiefs of the Boat (assigned to other boats), which requires you to be quite good at managing people.

Chief of the Watch-- the enlisted man in charge of the day-to-day operations of the ship (sleep schedules, housekeeping, probably the mess hall too).

TSO-- Tactical Systems Officer. The officer in charge of the weaponry of the ship, in charge of the Sonar and Weapons departments.

Officer of the Deck-- the officer usually at the "conn" when the Captain and XO are not. Responsible for the Control department.

Control department-- where most of the movie takes place. Where you see the "conn", the men steering the ship, the key personnel, etc. Essentially the cockpit of the submarine.

Sonar-- since submarines don't have windows (and the water is so dark that windows would be useless anyway), the sonar department uses equipment that uses radio waves to find other objects around the ship, and can use sensors to listen for other moving objects around the ship. Basically the eyes and ears of the submarine.

Weapons-- what the name implies, the department responsible for the weapons. Responsible for doing everything necessary to make sure that when they're needed, the weapons will launch without issue.

Any others?

[–] jp3183 11 years ago

Feel free to post any other submarine officer or department not mentioned yet. Like I said, it'd be great if you could name them. Just trying to get a more complete understanding of their command structure.

[–] michaelnewman01 11 years ago

My pardons to beef, but there are a few things that need some explanation:

TSO is not used on USN ships.

Chief of the Watch specifically mans the BCP, the ballast control panel, that allows manipulation of the sub's seawater and air systems.

Officer of the Deck: The officer who has assumed the delegated responsibilities of the Captain for an underway watch. Responsible for the safe navigation of the vessel and the implementation of the Plan of the Day. He is often a Department Head, but not of the "control" department. This position rotates every six hours.

Departments:

Operations: DH is the Navigator/Ops Officer (NAV)
Weapons: DH is the Weapons Officer (WEPS)
Engineering: DH is the Engineer (ENG)
Communications (on an SSBN): DH is the Communications Officer
Supply: DH is the Supply Officer (SUPPO or CHOP)

Each of the departments is divided into divisions, led by junior officers, such as the Torpedo Officer, Radiological Controls Officer, Main Propulsion Assistant, etc. On fast boats Communications is a division, not a department. Sometimes Chiefs run divisions as well.

Division officers report to their department heads. Department heads report to the XO (the Engineer is the senior DH), XO reports to the Captain. That's the Administrative Chain of Command. The operational chain of command is between the OOD and the Captain, and concerns the underway watch.

Watch positions are held for usually six hours at a time in a rotation. So for example, the WEPS could also be the OOD during a shift.

In control, the most visible watches are:
OOD
JOOD: Junior Officer of the Deck (usually in training to be OOD)
JOOW: Junior Officer of the Watch (very junior unqualified gofer officer)
DOOW: Diving Officer of the Watch (usually a Chief. Responsible for maintaining ship's trim and heading)
QMOW: Quartermaster of the Watch. (No longer quartermasters, now NAV ETs)
FTOW: Fire Control Technician of the Watch (Plots solutions, maintains tracks)
Chief of the Watch
Helmsman/Planesmen- manipulate the sub's control surfaces.

Back aft, there're the:

EOOW: Engineering Officer of the Watch, responsible for the reactor plant
EWS: Engineering Watch Supervisor (senior enlisted engineering watchstander)
Throttleman: Controls the steam in the turbines
Reactor Operator: manipulates the reactor, i.e. shimming the rods or workign with the pump lineup
Electrical Operator: manipulates the electrical loads on the sub.

"You feel the way the boat moves? The sunlight on your skin? That’s real. Life is wonderful."

[–] jp3183 11 years ago

Sweet! Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed breakdown. I couldn't find any straightforward wiki pages for it. Perhaps someone could make one. It would paint a clearer picture of the daily duties of the many characters in this movie.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jp3183 11 years ago

Perhaps it's just b/c the Captain always prefers the driver of the ship to be fat.

[–] michaelnewman01 11 years ago

Well, I don't remember the scene in question, but actually if CHOP was acting as the Diving Officer, that is technically correct. Since Supply Officers are the only submarine officers who don't qualify at NNPTC, they can only stand certain watches. DOOW is one of them.

"You feel the way the boat moves? The sunlight on your skin? That’s real. Life is wonderful."