| Operations Specialist | |
|---|---|
Rating insignia |
|
| Issued by: United States Navy | |
| Type | Enlisted rating |
| Abbreviation | OS |
| Specialty | Technical |
Operations Specialist (abbreviated as OS) is a United States Navy occupational rating.
Contents |
The rating started from the Radarman rating. When the Radarman rating was split up to ET's,OS's and EW's the rating badge continued to be used by the Operations Specialist. It symbolizes an Oscilloscope.
Operations Specialists aboard U.S. Navy combat vessels work in the Combat Information Center (CIC) aka: Combat, the tactical "nerve center" of the ship. Using a wide variety of assets available to them, they are responsible for the organized collection, processing, display, competent evaluation and rapid dissemination of pertinent tactical combat information to command and control stations, upon which sound tactical decisions may be made. They maintain Combat Information Center (CIC) displays of strategic and tactical information, including various plotting boards and tables depicting position and movement of submarines, ships and aircraft as well as tote boards containing data relevant to the tactical picture. They operate surveillance, tracking and height-finding radars, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment, and computerized consoles and peripheral equipment that allows them interface with the Aegis combat system. They operate encrypted and non-encrypted long and short range radiotelephone equipment as well as intraship communication systems.
With specialized training, they also may serve as combat air controllers for helicopters and fixed-wing supersonic jet aircraft in both Anti-Submarine Tactical, (ASTAC) Sea Combat Air, (SCAC) and Air Intercept (AIC) roles, and serve as watch supervisors, watch officers, and section leaders. Operations Specialists assist in navigation through plotting and monitoring the ship's position using satellite and other electronic navigation resources as well as fixing the ship's position near landfall using radar imaging.
They interpret and evaluate presentations and tactical situations and make recommendations to the Commanding Officer (CO), CIC Watch Officer, Tactical Action Officer (TAO), Officer Of The Deck (OOD), or any of their commissioned officer surrogates during watch conditions. They apply a thorough knowledge of doctrine and procedures applicable to CIC operations contained in U. S. Navy Instructions and Allied or U.S. Navy Publications. Operations Specialists are responsible for maintaining the physical space of CIC as well as performing minor planned maintenance care of the equipment they operate. A Secret security clearance is required for this rating.
They provide to the command technical information and assistance related to Anti-Surface Warfare, Anti-Air Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Amphibious Warfare, Mine Warfare, Naval Gunfire Support, Search and Rescue operations, radar and dead reckoning navigation, overt intelligence gathering and transmittal, and other matters pertaining to the Operations Specialist's area. They also have a working knowledge of protocols and procedures in Electronic Warfare, though this area is normally covered by its own occupational rating.
The duties performed by Operations Specialists include:
The job of an Operations Specialist can be very intense and stressful while the ship is underway. They need to be able to think quickly, drawing on a large reserve of tactical and procedural knowledge and be able make calculations on the fly in the fast-paced and information-saturated environment of naval combat operations.