Service School Command in the 1980's
by Lt.j.g. Janet Potts
Great Lakes Bulletin, February 1990
What kind of decade was the 1980's? For Service School Command at the Naval Training Center Great Lakes it was a decade of growth and change. One of the newest changes has been the addition of the GL-47 Hot Plant. The building, built at the beginning of the decade, was originally designed for two hot plants. Economic reasons prevented the Navy from installing both of them at that time. The second hot plant was installed this past year.
Among other facilities built in the past ten years there have been the Engineman "A" School, the Diesel Engine Hot Plant as well as the cold iron trainer for Steam Engineers. There have also been two new barracks constructed, one housing the Electronics Technicians and the other occupied by the Gas Turbine System Technicians.
Great Lakes Bulletin, February 1990
What kind of decade was the 1980's? For Service School Command at the Naval Training Center Great Lakes it was a decade of growth and change. One of the newest changes has been the addition of the GL-47 Hot Plant. The building, built at the beginning of the decade, was originally designed for two hot plants. Economic reasons prevented the Navy from installing both of them at that time. The second hot plant was installed this past year.
Among other facilities built in the past ten years there have been the Engineman "A" School, the Diesel Engine Hot Plant as well as the cold iron trainer for Steam Engineers. There have also been two new barracks constructed, one housing the Electronics Technicians and the other occupied by the Gas Turbine System Technicians.
The Computerization of SSC
The trend towards the micro-computer can be seen in offices all over Service School Command. While there are still main-frames that tie SSC to the Technical Training Command in Memphis, micro computers are quickly taking over. There is a new mini-computer for authoring instructional materials. It provides the ability to produce unlimited quantities of first quality copies for instructors and students. PCs provide an increasingly greater amount of information storage while allowing the schools to have some control over their destiny.
The word processing center established in 1980 has utilized micro-computers to standardize correspondence drafted by Service School.
The word processing center established in 1980 has utilized micro-computers to standardize correspondence drafted by Service School.
Changes in Education
As the world has become more technically advanced so have the training methods employed by the Navy. A pilot program started at Great Lakes is the EM Model "A" School.
A prototype for other schools, the Model "A" School uses a variety of remediation techniques to teach its students. Among these are the use of static displays to reinforce what the student learns in class as well as an interactive computer program that allows the student to receive additional training whenever he or she is not in class.
EM "A" School now has one of the lowest academic attrition rates for all the schools at Service School Command dropping from 49% before the program to just 14% for the past year. The techniques used are being implemented in six other schools in Technical Training.
Another change at Great Lakes is the increased numbers of contract instructors. During the mid-70's, the Navy realized that it didn't have enough mid-grade technicians to man and operate its ships and conduct training.
As a result, Service School Command began using the first contract instructors in 1979. At that time only one or two courses used civilian instructors. Today, Service School Command uses 300-350 contract instructors to teach 13 different courses. Contract instructors are also being used at training commands in Orlando, San Diego and Memphis.
Until recently, the contracts were held by local community colleges. Great Lakes worked with the college of Lake County, Memphis with Memphis State and the Community College District of San Diego held San Diego's contract. When the contracts expired, the Community College District of San Diego proved best at bidding and managing training and they now hold most of the contracts for Great Lakes, Orlando, Memphis and San Diego.
Another milestone has been the accreditation of courses at Great Lakes by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1983. Now, students can get college credit for courses taken at Service School Command.
The Chief of Naval Technical Training directed all technical schools to look into the process of accreditation and gave Service School Command a 2-3 year window in which to implement it. In just over six months, they had received their accreditation. Service School is now a member in full standing with the Association making presentations at the annual member's meeting in Chicago and twice hosting tours of their facilities. In addition SSC has received an Award of Excellence every year since becoming a member for the high quality of training they provide.
The demand for more technically trained sailors has put more of an emphasis on ART (Academic Remediation Training) and JOBS (Job Oriented Basic Skills). These programs are designed for people with different learning styles or people who might have had deficiencies when they came into the Navy.
Service School Command works closely with the Curriculum Development Team, or CDT, to increase the learning potential of its students. One of the major efforts of CDT is getting into computerized training for remediation. A part of what is known as "bells & whistles" or putting pictures with the words, the computer has become an integral part of the training process. The "bells & whistles" concept includes a variety of training aids including pictures hung about the classroom and halls, static displays, and posting motivational words and phrases to reinforce training.
A prototype for other schools, the Model "A" School uses a variety of remediation techniques to teach its students. Among these are the use of static displays to reinforce what the student learns in class as well as an interactive computer program that allows the student to receive additional training whenever he or she is not in class.
EM "A" School now has one of the lowest academic attrition rates for all the schools at Service School Command dropping from 49% before the program to just 14% for the past year. The techniques used are being implemented in six other schools in Technical Training.
Another change at Great Lakes is the increased numbers of contract instructors. During the mid-70's, the Navy realized that it didn't have enough mid-grade technicians to man and operate its ships and conduct training.
As a result, Service School Command began using the first contract instructors in 1979. At that time only one or two courses used civilian instructors. Today, Service School Command uses 300-350 contract instructors to teach 13 different courses. Contract instructors are also being used at training commands in Orlando, San Diego and Memphis.
Until recently, the contracts were held by local community colleges. Great Lakes worked with the college of Lake County, Memphis with Memphis State and the Community College District of San Diego held San Diego's contract. When the contracts expired, the Community College District of San Diego proved best at bidding and managing training and they now hold most of the contracts for Great Lakes, Orlando, Memphis and San Diego.
Another milestone has been the accreditation of courses at Great Lakes by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1983. Now, students can get college credit for courses taken at Service School Command.
The Chief of Naval Technical Training directed all technical schools to look into the process of accreditation and gave Service School Command a 2-3 year window in which to implement it. In just over six months, they had received their accreditation. Service School is now a member in full standing with the Association making presentations at the annual member's meeting in Chicago and twice hosting tours of their facilities. In addition SSC has received an Award of Excellence every year since becoming a member for the high quality of training they provide.
The demand for more technically trained sailors has put more of an emphasis on ART (Academic Remediation Training) and JOBS (Job Oriented Basic Skills). These programs are designed for people with different learning styles or people who might have had deficiencies when they came into the Navy.
Service School Command works closely with the Curriculum Development Team, or CDT, to increase the learning potential of its students. One of the major efforts of CDT is getting into computerized training for remediation. A part of what is known as "bells & whistles" or putting pictures with the words, the computer has become an integral part of the training process. The "bells & whistles" concept includes a variety of training aids including pictures hung about the classroom and halls, static displays, and posting motivational words and phrases to reinforce training.
The ITB Gets Its Start
In June of 1979, Great Lakes went through one of its most trying times when, for two days, sailors from Service School massed together in a destructive wave across portions of North Chicago. The riots caused thousands of dollars of damage and resulted in 17 captain's Masts, 58 summary courts martials, and 8 special courts martials.
In those days, Great Lakes was organized more like a college campus, with students having free reign to come and go when they weren't in class. "A" School students who had come to SSC directly from boot camp went from a highly structured environment to one with virtually no supervision.
The Integrated Training Brigade or ITB was scheduled by the CNO to take effect in 1980, but because of the riots was implemented a year early. Patterned after and reinforcing the training received at boot camp, it provides additional military training before and after school hours.
An additional impact of the ITB is the reduction in time awaiting mast. Prior to 1979, only the Commanding Officer of Service School Command had Article 15 authority. A person could expect to wait two to three months from the time the report chit was originated until captain's Mast. With the establishment of the ITB, the Officer's-in-Charge of each regiment were given Article 15 authority thus reducing the waiting period to one to two weeks.
The ITB has continued to evolve over the past decade. The GS school has developed its ITB to include night school remediation in the barracks. No longer do GS students have to march across the base to study. Classrooms are located on the ground floor of the barracks allowing the students to study with instructors and curriculum material from their course.
In those days, Great Lakes was organized more like a college campus, with students having free reign to come and go when they weren't in class. "A" School students who had come to SSC directly from boot camp went from a highly structured environment to one with virtually no supervision.
The Integrated Training Brigade or ITB was scheduled by the CNO to take effect in 1980, but because of the riots was implemented a year early. Patterned after and reinforcing the training received at boot camp, it provides additional military training before and after school hours.
An additional impact of the ITB is the reduction in time awaiting mast. Prior to 1979, only the Commanding Officer of Service School Command had Article 15 authority. A person could expect to wait two to three months from the time the report chit was originated until captain's Mast. With the establishment of the ITB, the Officer's-in-Charge of each regiment were given Article 15 authority thus reducing the waiting period to one to two weeks.
The ITB has continued to evolve over the past decade. The GS school has developed its ITB to include night school remediation in the barracks. No longer do GS students have to march across the base to study. Classrooms are located on the ground floor of the barracks allowing the students to study with instructors and curriculum material from their course.
Quality of Life Changes
The 80's have seen an increased emphasis on quality of life issues at Great Lakes. Each regiment now has its own financial counselor and its own DAPA. There are also more career counselors with more concern given to career counseling. The stress on overall wellness has resulted in a new no-smoking policy and a greater concern with physical fitness and weight control. Service School has also seen more stringent enforcement of the Navy's zero tolerance to drugs.
Changing Demographics
The past decade has seen a significant change in the military population levels. In 1980 25,000 students went through Service School Command. In 1989 the number had dropped to 16,000 with a corresponding drop in the number of staff to manage those students.
The Basic Electricity and Electronics school or BE/E was disestablished in a process called "starburst." Most SSC students began at BE/E, acquiring basic electricity and electronic training. The introductory training is now incorporated in to the curriculum of each individual school.
Nuclear "A" school students are no longer trained at Great Lakes. Until 1984, nuclear power students received steam basic training and electrician basic training at Great Lakes after which they went to Orlando for their nuclear field "A" school. This would be followed by prototype training for the specific type of plant they would be operating. The steam and basic training is now being covered by the training command in Orlando.
1989 also saw the departure of Opticalman/Instrumentman school. The final pack out and move to Pensacola was accomplished this past summer.
The Basic Electricity and Electronics school or BE/E was disestablished in a process called "starburst." Most SSC students began at BE/E, acquiring basic electricity and electronic training. The introductory training is now incorporated in to the curriculum of each individual school.
Nuclear "A" school students are no longer trained at Great Lakes. Until 1984, nuclear power students received steam basic training and electrician basic training at Great Lakes after which they went to Orlando for their nuclear field "A" school. This would be followed by prototype training for the specific type of plant they would be operating. The steam and basic training is now being covered by the training command in Orlando.
1989 also saw the departure of Opticalman/Instrumentman school. The final pack out and move to Pensacola was accomplished this past summer.