The president of the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) held a round-table discussion with the seven previous INSURV presidents, to discuss the future of the INSURV process and map the organization's way ahead March 28 at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Ft. Story (Virginia).
Rear Adm. Robert O. Wray said he wanted to tap in to the accumulated knowledge of the former presidents that stretches back 20 years and leverage their expertise to help shape the future of the fleet.
"I wanted to bring in the past presidents of INSURV and have informal discussions about the future of the program," said Wray. "We are planning a number of new initiatives to not only streamline the INSURV process, but to ensure that our ships are fully ready to deploy and meet their mission requirements."
One change that has already been implemented is that all ships will be required fire all their guns during the inspection.
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"Until recently, ships were only required to fire their primary gun system ," said Wray. "We want to ensure that every one of our ships and submarines are able to fight at 100 percent of their designed capability."
In addition to firing all their weapons systems, they are also instituting a mid-term INSURV assessment on surface ships to align with their deployment cycles.
"We know that Sailors dread INSURV," said Wray.
"Sailors spend a long time preparing a ship for an INSURV inspection, but the truth is many of the tools the fleet used to keep ships at a 100 percent operational level have gone away. OPPE (operational propulsion plant examination), CSA (combat systems assessment), HMERA (hull mechanical engine readiness assessment), all those assessments are no longer used and five years between INSURV inspections is a long time. So what we're planning on doing is conducting a mid-term evaluation. This will give the crew a chance to meet with inspectors, get back in the INSURV mindset, review the deficiencies during the ship's previous INSURV, and start the planning process for conducting a successful INSURV inspection a couple years down the road."
According to Capt. Timothy R. Trampenau, director of staff management, INSURV, the process is providing more training to crews on how to prepare for and pass INSURV.
"We're proactively reaching out to the fleet and teaching INSURV 101," said Trampenau. "We're also retooling the reporting process so that the right people get these reports at the right time."
INSURV has also developed a user-oriented Web site to walk each ship through the process and set them up for success.
Wray plans on using the accumulated knowledge of the past presidents to continue to streamline INSURV inspections so the Navy can meet any and all missions required.
INSURV was established by Adm. David Glasgow Farragut in 1868.The Board of Naval Officers was charged with inspecting and reporting on the condition of all naval vessels. In 1882, Congress established the Presidency of the Board of Inspection and Survey and charged the command with reporting the fitness of each of the fleet's ships.
