Funny, on all the 87's I know the BM2 is the 3rd DWO and on quite a few the 4th is the EPO. What would the the BM2 do? Would they give up 1st lt and OPs? In my opinion I'd rather have the extra billet be a BM3. Makes a little more sense to have more indians than chiefs in a unit that only has 12 people. But this is only my opinion....
You need another BM1 on an 87 like I need another hole in my head!!! What egg head thought this up. It's like all BM1 XPO's have suddenly become incapable and we need to be replaced by Chiefs. Pretty soon all the XPO billets will be Chiefs and OIC billets will be JO's. Just my two cents from a sitting XPO.
I'll answer the first question with yes my BM2 is qualified as a matter of fact my last two BM2's obtained their Deck Watch Officer letters. As for the second, MSO and BM yes I was stationed at a MSO and proud of it what dose that have to do with this subject? I just think that the job is hard enough as it is. I really don't need another BM1 looking over my shoulder and all the BS that would go along with that. Anyone who has been in the Guard longer than ten minutes will know what I'm talking about.
MSOBM and Raie K, give me a call, I'll fill you in on why this is being proposed, email is fine.
Rusty37: The 87 you are talking about is most likely one of the MFPU cutters. If not, let me know which one you are talking about because I have better places for an E8. Our current billet map shows no E8's as XPO on any 87 other than the ones discussed above.
Originally posted by Mfan: Rusty37: The 87 you are talking about is most likely one of the MFPU cutters. If not, let me know which one you are talking about because I have better places for an E8. Our current billet map shows no E8's as XPO on any 87 other than the ones discussed above.
Just got back from a patrol, I was interested to see the responses. Wow, MSOBM is a little upset with this issue and very proud of his MSO. I don't completely see this as a bad thing. The BM2 job is a great job on an 87 for any hard-charging BM2 but the downfall to his workload can take him away from managing his deckies; that's why we requested a BM3 and gave up a SN. Anyway, with another BM1 to take OPS/TRA it frees up the BM2 to stay engaged as the 1st LT. I can't see how it would be a problem with the BM1 looking over the XPO's shoulders, if he/she is tell him/her to back the F^&* off and turn to; you're the XPO! More over, managing 12 vs 11 people wouldn't be that much of a burden, especially since he/she is an E-6, they should be pretty much self-sufficient at that point in their career.
Having served two tours on the 87 WPB, I think this is a great idea. I would have loved to have had another BM1 onboard. That person would have been a huge asset as a DWO. I strongly agree with what smlboats said about the extra BM1 taking on the OPS/Training Officer duties for the unit. This would take a big load off of the XPO and would allow the BM2 to supervise the deckies.
MSO, when I talk about the BM2 supervising, I don't mean standing out there holding a coffee cup watching them paint, conduct PMS, etc. I mean on site supervision. The BM2 should be down there on that paint float helping those deckies P/P/P, teaching them how to properly conduct PMS on R & S gear, splice lines, etc. With the workload carried by the BM2 on a 87, it is difficult for them to do that because they have all of these administrative duties as well. Having that extra BM1 would enable the BM2 to focus on maintaining that ship, develop/train the deckies, and also allow the BM2 more time to focus on their own quals, such as DWO, BO, etc.
i agree whole-heartedly with the above post. as a BM2, the biggest thing i will take away from this 87 is time management. yes, i am DWO, BO, and all the other things a BM2 does on an 87. but you know what i'm not? i'm not on that paint float with my guys as much as i would like. i do it when i can, when i'm not doing ekms, fpd, pca, aops, tmt, misle, cio stuff, lepo stuff, ops stuff, and all the other 'stuff' that comes my way. i put in a chit about 6 months ago for another 2 hours in the day, but i haven't heard anything back yet...
All BS aside you make valid points about the BM2 billet and all the work that goes into it. I'm not so close minded to not want the extra billet. I just think having another BM2 would be more appropriate in this situation or bump up the XPO job to a Chief and have two firsts.
I would have to agree, putting another BM1 onboard would be a great idea, but you know what this will lead to. A lack of engineers, if we start adding a BM1 to the underway rotation, we may want to look at having a shore side MK2 and BM3 to counter the weight on the top side.
