A BETTER NAVY

The Navy is doing another sweeping "high" level examination of training and education to address  Training and Education have always been the lesser career path with career-making billets aimed at Washington staff tours, aide duty, or graduate school for junior officers. The Navy Training and Education command has been shifted to lower echelon and is now a two-star command. As with our sister services, Training and Education should be headed by a four-star and he/she should be third in power and influence, behind CNO and VCNO, and exercise a heavy hammer with the fleet commanders and force commanders on training, readiness, and education programs targeted to meet and support and improve Fleet readiness and operational proficiency. 

Fleet Training schoolhouses should be on the waterfront using classrooms and technology tailored to the ships and squadrons in each port of base of Fleet concentration. Using the availability of ships and squadrons and the experienced leadership and operational experience of the operational Fleet would have a beneficial effect on readiness and esprit. The operational forces would benefit with readiness and maintenance goals. To the maximum extent possible, integrate maintenance and repair training with operations and tactical training. Look for improvements and economies on the waterfront with experienced trainers and PEB like examinations for the ships and staffs for operational and tactical proficiency. Rotate seagoing experience to the schoolhouse and mobile training teams. 
For officer and enlisted trainers and maintainers build-in technical pro-pay bonuses, retain sea pay and extended sea pay bonus pay. Aviation, submarine, and surface warfare junior officer professional career paths need to be tailored to keep those most promising and capable performers on sea duty and related sea duty shore duty on the waterfront. Sea pay bonus should continue while on shore duty with fleet related training, maintenance, and examiner duties. If the operational naval forces are going to improve and maintain a very high level of professional skills and performance it will require extending initial sea tours for junior officers. They need to achieve initial warfare qualifications and experience and should have division officer tours in each of the major departments: engineering, combat systems, and operations/navigation in division officer tours. Robust and well-audited training benchmarks and documented operational proficiency reviewed and certified by command and staff would be the basis for transition to a shore tour on the waterfront doing training, maintenance, repair, and inspection/examination in the same geographical location. Let waterfront commanders screen for and assign DH tours, then after DH split tours do a staff tour or grad school, then let Fleet Commanders/Force commanders screen for XO/CO tours from among their Atlantic and Pacific Fleet cohorts. 
For officers and enlisted alike, make the warfare qualification and operational performance at sea in ships, aircraft, and submarines, be the foundation and basis for progression up the career path.  

Enlisted recruits graduate with the emphasis on A school with immediate pay boost for passing/proficiency, sea tour with opportunity to go to C school on the waterfront/coast, another pay boost for passing/proficiency, back to sea duty where they have been earning sea pay while in school and owe additional sea time till they go to sea duty related training/mobile training/maintenance/repair shore duty.

Lots of details but you have the right setup for a professional, competent, proficient, ready force, with full involvement of administrative and operational staffs reviewing, monitoring metrics, and getting to know who is a real leader/commander/manager/operator/thinker/seaman and an enlisted force with senior leadership in the CPO corps teaching/managing and inspiring enlisted personnel because they have properly trained, motivated, involved and committed officer leadership that properly employs and utilizes the CPOs and so on, the way it is supposed to be where it is about the crew, the ship, the mission, in that order. Being a Fleet Commander or Force Commander means getting your hands dirty knowing your ships, crews, their needs and meeting their requirements and weeding out the weak and phonies because you see and know what is going on and how your force is performing. 

How to pay for it? Cut your Admirals and staffs in DC by two thirds, put admirals and staffs where the fleet is and answerable for the readiness and health of the ships and crews. Get what you leave in DC to support the Fleet forces first and foremost based on the need to keep well trained, well led, well motivated, and very well paid people on the ships and airplanes and submarines who will operate effectively and reliably as warfighting units on well built and capable survivable ships with the best sensors and armament.