Operational Reactor Safeguard Examination
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An Operational Reactor Safeguard Examination ( more commonly referred to by its acronym ORSE ) is an examination conducted by senior United States Navy personnel on USN Nuclear Powered ships and submarines. The purpose of an ORSE is to ensure that the crew of a nuclear powered vessel is operating their reactor(s) in a safe manner. The exam is also done to ensure the readiness of the crew of each nuclear powered ship to respond to any casualty imaginable in a timely manner.
The ORSE board is made up of 3 to 4 senior officers from the Nuclear Propulsion Evaluation Board, or NPEB.
[edit] Typical Schedule
Most ORSE's are normally scheduled at the end of an underway period. There are a few surprise ORSE's where the boat is given only a few hours notice. The first thing an ORSE board does is review all the ships logs from the date of the most recent ORSE up until the present day. During the records review the crew takes a written exam. After the review, a battery of intense simulation drills will begin. They conduct a wide range of drills, from fires and flooding to a Propulsion Plant Casualty. A Propulsion Plant Casualty could be something a simple as a primary coolant leak to a catastrophic Main Steam Line Rupture; the latter of which can kill everyone in a submarine's engine room in a matter of minutes. Each of the 3 sections that stand watch on a submarine get a set of drills. This drill period can last up to 24 hours. After the drills the crew cycles through oral interviews to test their level of knowledge. A typical ORSE lasts 3 days and the crew gets little if any sleep for the entire exam.
[edit] Consequences
The purpose of the ORSE drills is to ensure that a ship can respond to any reactor casualty and the failure to pass a drill can have very strong consequences. The most extreme punishment for an ORSE failure can result in a ship commander being relieved of their command. Other consequences might include the relief of the Reactor Engineer ( a Reactor Engineer is the senior officer in charge of the reactor), additional training for the crew, and/or loss of the privilege to operate the reactor.
[edit] Crew Reactions to an ORSE
Sailors sometimes fear going through an ORSE but the general reaction of the evaluation is a strong dislike. When an ORSE is over and the NPEB members leave the ship, the crew is quite relieved assuming they haven't failed.
