Personnel Awaiting Coaching pitch in at Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific). Picture equipped.
Peter Mallett
Employees Author
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Personnel Awaiting Coaching (PATs) have turn into a short-term answer to handle personnel shortages on the Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) (FDU(P)).
In current weeks, 12 Royal Army Faculty (RMC) Cadets and 7 members of Naval Fleet College (Pacific) (NFS(P)) rolled up their sleeves and labored with a litany of duties on the Colwood-based unit. The PATs have been pushed into motion this summer season as a result of they’re dealing with longer than regular wait occasions for coaching on account of COVID-19.
“Our Naval Cadets and Fleet College members are an incredible assist and have drastically improved our record of accomplished duties,” mentioned Lieutenant (Navy) Kevin Okihiro, FDU(P) Government Officer.
The roles vary from easy upkeep chores to extra sophisticated design and construct initiatives and administrative work for the unit. FDU(P) was more than pleased to present them one thing to do with their time, Lt(N) Okihiro mentioned.
“We can not afford to have junior sailors launch previous to doing their trades coaching if we’re to treatment the numbers the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is dropping by means of attrition,” he mentioned. “I imagine a significant component in influencing individuals to hitch the navy is to do issues they don’t get the chance to do as civilians.”
The initiative, he says, offers the PATs a way of goal and a few significant employment. Lt(N) Jeff Phillips, the Unit Regulating Petty Officer, mentioned the recruits are doing a superb job.
Attending to work
Appearing Sub-Lieutenant (A/SLt) Michael Hatley, from Thompson, Man., started his naval profession in 2017. He’s at the moment enrolled at NFS(P) and awaits his Naval Warfare Officer Stage 3 coaching. One in every of his current assignments was to wash algae and barnacles from the underside of a Diving Tender vessel.
“I believe the phrase is getting out that the Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) is a good place to work for Personnel Awaiting Coaching,” A/SLt Hatley mentioned. “I’ve labored in some nice postings throughout my time within the CAF, however this unit is not like something I’ve ever seen by way of teamwork and camaraderie.”
He says a few of his different duties since arriving on the unit in Oct. 2021 have included administrative work, serving to revamp diver coaching materials and dealing with the Clearance Diver Choice Course in a help function.
Making it work
Roughly 10 RMC college students had been assigned to assemble and affix the storage cabinets at an outdated ammunition storage bunker. Naval Cadet (NCdt) Thomas Anstey and NCdt Benajamin Sauve transformed the bunker right into a warehouse to retailer help tools for the Clearance Divers.
“We had been sitting round in a classroom ready for stuff to do however now we’re doing a job that mixes our engineering experience with some hands-on building expertise,” NCdt Sauve mentioned. “Doing this actually offers us an opportunity to grasp what work with the navy is basically like.”
Utilizing customary instruments akin to band saws, ratchets, drills, and ranges, the Naval Cadets had been constructing shelving items to retailer tools that was beforehand saved in sea containers.
Studying alternatives
Some PATs had an opportunity to take coursing supplied by the unit. A/SLt Kayla Coletta obtained an opportunity to take the unit’s Rescue Swimmer Course within the first week of July. The course mentioned tips on how to rescue a casualty overboard.
“The course was superb; it was difficult and gave me the arrogance to do what is critical in an emergency scenario,” A/SLt Coletta mentioned. A/SLt Coletta usually operates FDU(P)’s social media accounts and takes photos of members in motion to assist bolster the unit’s recruiting efforts.
There may be much more work forward for the brand new recruits. One of many upcoming duties ASLt Hatley and NCdt Samuel Frenette say they stay up for is eradicating the sonar dome from HMCS Calgary earlier than it heads to dry dock.
Personnel Awaiting Coaching pitch in at Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific). Picture equipped.
Provide and demand
Placing PATs to work at FDU(P) will not be solely new, says Lt(N) Okihiro. Previously, PATs have been employed within the unit’s Restore Part, skilled to behave as Diving Attendants, and despatched as observers on Bomb Disposal Unit callouts. This 12 months, PATs play a a lot bigger function within the day-to-day routine on the unit.
Lt(N) Okihiro says he obtained the thought to present PATs a extra distinguished function when he heard an anecdotal story of a junior Non-Commissioned Member (NCM) who waited too lengthy for his trades coaching whereas dealing with an absence of significant employment. The mix led to the NCM’s voluntary launch from the CAF. Lt(N) Okihiro says the disappointing end result actually caught with him as a result of his unit is affected by the alternative: an excessive amount of work and never sufficient personnel. He reached out to his division heads they usually rapidly realized PATs may very well be an enormous benefit for all concerned.
“I believe this initiative will go a great distance in direction of reassuring our junior members the RCN cares about their expertise whereas they wait for his or her subsequent trades course,” he mentioned. “Not each unit, notably warships, is essentially in a position to accommodate untrained PATs, however items like FDU(P) and others, who can, ought to take action to maintain our junior sailors awaiting coaching motivated and .”
