An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July/August 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie 20 | by CPO/ERA RUAIRí DE BARRA, FLEET OPERATIONAL READINESS, STANDARDS & TRAINING (FORST) T he delivery of a professional service by the Navy requires specific fleet standards, quality control and the monitor- ing of personnel and equipment in action. the standards necessary to operate the fleet are the bedrock of an effective service. their importance is heightened when ships' taskings become more complex. It was deemed vital to establish an organic operational evaluation capability in order to meet the delivery of these requirements and to this end, in September 2008, the Flag officer Commanding Naval Service (FoCNS) directed the establishment of the Fleet operational Readiness, Standards and training (FoRSt) Section within Naval opera- tions Command (NoC). The aim of FORST is to facilitate organisational learning and continuous improvement by highlighting best practice and the fleet standardised processes required for the generation, main- tenance and evaluation of our operational capability. In 'House 50' on Haulbowline, with a small team of 11 spe- cialised experts under the direction of Cdr Ken Minihane, FORST achieves its mission by assisting ships' OCs through providing guidance, sea training and assessment to generate and maintain the five pillars of operational capability. Cdr Minihane says: "FORST has made a significant contribution to the elevation of standards within the Naval Service. We are now operating with proven confidence on an international stage." He also says that one pathway of growth and development that lies ahead for FORST may be "from the point of view of ac- creditation of the FORST procedures, through the NATO opera- tional capability concept: to have our assessors be accredited to a NATO standard." FORST is continually working to ensure that the base com- petency levels of core mariner skills of NS personnel serving at sea, which are inextricably linked to operational capability, are maintained to a high level of proficiency at all times. During the various training periods and evaluations these skills will be as- sessed externally by FORST Section. The core mariner skills are broken into: bridge management and navigation; seamanship and ship handling; damage control and fire fighting; communications and fleet work; helo opera- tions; above-water warfare; search-and-rescue procedures; maritime interdiction operations and naval boarding procedures; ship's protection operations; ship's organisation; command and control; and engineering casualty procedures. By using the external evaluation and sea training provided by FORST Section, the ships will be enabled to avail of objective internal and external confidence checks and ensure a standar- disation of operational capability, procedures and equipment across the fleet. In order to achieve all that has been laid out above, FORST Sec- tion co-ordinates the efforts of Operations, Support and Naval College commands to ensure that a plan/do/check/adjust loop is completed, tailored to each ship. plan: FORST plans the correct approach to achieve the opera- tional capability based on the requirements directed by OCNOC and in liaison with Support and Naval College commands. do: FORST co-operates with Naval College and Support com- mands to ensure a delivery of high quality service to the fleet that is constantly changing to meet current demands. check: FORST checks the standards, equipment, personnel train- ing competencies and operational capability through assess- ment and sea training. adjust: Having worked through the first three stages, FORST will advise of the necessary adjustments to training and support efforts through feedback from the fleet after assessment and sea training. FORST will also give feedback to OCNOC on the fleet's ability to implement policy. An Cosantóir July/August 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie 20 |

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