Question about naval rank, ship size and autonomy?

Question

I am writing a short little story about someone who is in the navy and have a couple of questions to make the story more authentic and was hoping someone could help me with some of them.

It's a story about a guy who's fresh out of college/rotc and is going out on his first shipboard duty. So, my first question is if guys going through rotc normally do ship duties while still in college or is it reasonable that this could be his first time to be deployed on a ship? Also, are they called ships or boats and is there a distinction?

After finishing rotc, would he be an ensign? Are there different classes of ensign?
If they graduate from college in May, would it be normal that they could be sent out on a ship right away (i.e. June) or do they still have to do more officer training stuff?

I want to put him on a boat with 40 to 50 other people on board and for it to not really be a battle/war ship. What I was kind of thinking was something along the lines of an intelligence/surveillance ship. The idea is that it goes out into the ocean and pretty much just sails around and normally doesn't come into contact with other ships. I also want the ship to have enough autonomy that a decision to move 50 miles south (or something like that) could be made by the captain and he doesn't need to clear it with other ships or a chain of command. Not like he's part of a battle group where he has to stick to some sort of formation or need to provide a perimeter defense/warning for other ships.

Do ship captains have that sort of flexibility? Is a surveillance ship the most suitable ship for such a role?

Next group of questions are regarding the make up of the ship's crew. If there are 50 crewmembers, how many of them would be enlisted personnel? How many officers would there be and what ranks would they be?

And finally, regarding titles. The head honcho guy is called the captain while the second in command is the executive officer (that part I know). I have heard the executive officer referred to as the XO or Ex-O. But, I'm not sure how to write that. For instance, if I wanted to write "The Captain got on the radio and called for the XO to come to the bridge", is that the correct way to refer to the XO? Or is it ExO? ExOh? I know this may sound trivial, but the last thing I want to do is come off sounding like a total noob.

Thanks for any info you can give me on this.

bobaloub · Accepted Answer

the USS Pueblo was an ELINT ship...it gathered intelligence and was sailing alone. I think it had 70 some crew members. It had 6 officers, the rest were enlisted. On a small ship the captain would have a rank of Lieutenant Commander or a Commander. (one rank higher than a Lt.Commander).
An x-o, an Operations or Ops Officer, he's head of Operations intelligence Division, they operate the radar, monitor & collect radio signals etc. Then's there Deck Dept, Engineering, Navigation, Supply, an officer would be the head of each of these dept. Chief Petty Officers (enlisted men) report to the dept heads.

I seem to remember some cadets came aboard for training...they were midshipman. I believe after they complete their school training they become Ensigns. They are then assigned to a ship and are junior officers. (Junior officers are Ensigns & Lieutenant JG's  (Junior Grade). Next up on the ladder are Lieutenants that outrank Ensigns & Lieutenant JG's. Junior officers continue there training aboard ship, they are not really full fledged officers until they get to be Lieutenants. 

See if you can find a Navy Bluejacket's manual. I saw one the other day at my local library. 
Source: ex-navyman. Was a Operations Specialist in OI Division (Operations Intelligence).

impaler19120 · Answer

All NROTC Midshipmen do a summer training tour between Junior and Senior years of college. 99% do it on board a ship. So any newly minted NROTC Ensign would have been on a ship before. So would a Naval Academy graduate. An OCS Ensign may very well have never been on a ship, though.

In general the navy operates ships. An old rule of thumb is you can put a boat on a ship, but you can't put a ship on a boat. naval combatant, supply and amphibious vessels are ships. The only ones you legitimately call "boats' are submarines.

While naval ships frequently move alone, far away from other vessels, they are limited in their 'autonomy' Also, I'm not sure what type of ship would have a 50 man crew. I was on Amphibious Assault ships, and we had 200 plus crewmen. My buddies on destroyers and frigates were all parts of crews of about the same size.  I was never on anything with a crew that small, although I am sure an ARS (repair/salvage ship) might have a crew of around 50. better check Jane's fighting ships on line for crew sizes.  That is about the size of the crew of our old "spy" ships, like the Pueblo. the coast guard has lots of smaller cutters with crews that size.  The coomanding officer of the ship is the Captain, however, he may not be a Captain (O-6  http://www.military-quotes.com/ranks/navy-rank-insignia.htm), he could even be a Comander or Lt. Commander, especially on a small ship, like an ARS.  But, you will refer to him as the Captain at sea, and the second in command is the Executive Officer, usually referred to as the XO. each Division would have an officer or two, minimum. And depending on the nature of the ship's purpose, you might have more or less divisions. Deck, engineering and communications are your nare minimum, I would guess. But, you don't have weapons, and some of the other things that you will find on fast combatants. 

Not to sound unfriendly, but I was in the Navy almost 40 years ago, and spent time on Amphibious ships and much time on smaller in-shore vessels, so I tend to forget some things. But, I guarantee you, when I see a movie or read a book that makes factual mistakes, it all comes right back to me. You need to spend some time hanging out with some sailors, or you will seem like you are talking out your a$$.

Lynne · Answer

OK, It's been18 yrs + since I had to maintain a seabag, and I know that uniforms do change from time to time, but it's not all that bad. Back then only CBs or corpsmen assigned to a marine unit wore BDUs. There were dress blues, dress whites, working blues, working whites, salt and peppers (briefly, was a combo of working blue pants and working white shirt, worn in summer) and dungarees. 2 sets of everything, 6 for the dungarees. Dont forget 2 kinds of socks, and dixie cups. Work boots and dress shoes. T-shirts, underwear, PT gear and sneakers. 4 ea. washcloths and towels. This was all packed into one seabag, along with some personal items. The Navy teaches you to pack small, which can be a benefit if you become a traveller. There is a reason we roll our socks. I had another locker besides the coffin locker, so there was plenty of room for civilian clothes and other stuff. I was E-4, Khakis were for E-7,8,9 and Officers.

hamrogers · Answer

50 people sounds like a Coast Guard Cutter.  I don't think the Navy has anything that small.  

New Navy officers graduate from ROTC and then go to surface warfare officer school.  Then their first ship.  ROTC students do a couple of weeks for two summers (about 4 weeks total) on a ship or station to get shown around, but that's it.

Bonkers! · Answer

I was not in the Navy, but I was in the Marine Corps.  I can give you general answers.

The guy in charge would be called the captain or skipper, if you know him really well, (as that would be his role), but his rank does not have to be a Captain.  (Just like there is no XO "rank", it's a position or role)   If it is a smaller supply ship, as you indicate, the captain would probably be a Lt Commander or Commander, depending on the size.  Yes, most certainly they can move around within the general area (50 miles is nothing).

And yes, it's XO.

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Question about naval rank, ship size and autonomy?

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