A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation . The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the ship's captain or aircraft commander of estimated timing to destinations while en route, and ensuring hazards are avoided. The navigator is in charge of maintaining the aircraft or ship's nautical charts , nautical publications , and navigational equipment, and they generally have responsibility for meteorological equipment and communications. With the advent of satellite navigation , the effort required to accurately determine one's position has decreased by orders of magnitude, so the entire field has experienced a revolutionary transition since the 1990s with traditional navigation tasks, like performing celestial navigation , being used less frequently. Using multiple independent position fix methods without solely relying on electronic systems subject to failure helps the navigator detect errors. Professional mariners are still proficient in traditional piloting and celestial navigation.
54-425: Shipborne navigators in the U.S. Navy are normally surface warfare officer qualified with the exception of naval aviators and naval flight officers assigned to ship's navigator billets aboard aircraft carriers and large deck amphibious assault ships and who have been qualified at a level equal to surface warfare officers. U.S. Coast Guard officers that are shipboard navigators are normally cutter qualified at
108-712: A starship crew in science fiction , where they are sometimes called astrogators, a merger of the prefix "astro" and "navigator". According to a science fiction citations site for the Oxford English Dictionary , the earliest known use of the word is in David Lasser 's 1931 book The Conquest of Space . According to that site and also Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction , it first appeared in science fiction in Stanley G. Weinbaum 's short story " The Planet of Doubt ", published in
162-406: A comprehensive passage plan depending on the size and type of vessel, each applicable according to the individual situation. A good passage plan will include a track line laid out upon the largest-scale charts available which cover the vessel's track. The navigator will draw and redraw the track line until it is safe, efficient, and in line with all applicable laws and regulations. When the track
216-495: A folio of over three thousand charts this can be a laborious and time-consuming task for the navigator. Various and diverse methods exist for the correction of electronic navigational charts. The term nautical publications is used in maritime circles to describe a set of publications, generally published by national governments, for use in safe navigation of ships, boats, and similar vessels. The nature of waterways described by any given nautical publication changes regularly, and
270-556: A level analogous to the USN officers previously mentioned. Quartermasters are the navigator's enlisted assistants and perform most of the technical navigation duties. Aboard ships in the Merchant Marine and Merchant Navy , the second mate is generally the (senior) navigator. Navigators are sometimes also called 'air navigators' or 'flight navigators'. In civil aviation this was a position on older aircraft, typically between
324-709: A mariner navigating by use of an old or uncorrected publication is courting disaster. Every producer of nautical publications also provides a system to inform mariners of changes that affect the chart. In the United States, corrections and notifications of new editions are provided by various governmental agencies by way of Notice to Mariners , Local Notice to Mariners , Summary of Corrections , and Broadcast Notice to Mariners. Radio broadcasts give advance notice of urgent corrections. For ensuring that all publications are fully up-to-date, similar methods are employed as for nautical charts. Various and diverse methods exist for
378-669: A maritime or flight region and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land, natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids to navigation , information on tides and currents , local details of the Earth's magnetic field , restricted flying areas, and man-made structures such as harbors , buildings and bridges . Nautical charts are essential tools for marine navigation; many countries require vessels, especially commercial ships, to carry them. Nautical charting may take
432-751: A naval vessel. Those failing to qualify as a surface supply officer are transferred to permanent ground assignment as shore supply officers. Other versions of the supply corps pin include the Naval Aviation Supply Corps insignia , the Submarine Supply Corps insignia and the Navy Expeditionary Supply Corps insignia. The Surface Chaplain Officer Qualification Insignia is a newly introduced warfare pin for members of
486-504: A notice to mariners. About one third of these are weekly, another third are bi-monthly or monthly, and the rest irregularly issued according to need. For example, the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office issues weekly updates. The U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office published its first NtM in 1869 and has issued NtMs weekly since 1886. How the information is compiled, organized and disseminated has evolved in
540-559: A pre-voyage conference (USAF term is "mission briefing") in order to ensure that all members of the team share the same mental model of the entire trip. Passage planning procedures are specified in International Maritime Organization Resolutions, in the laws of IMO signatory countries (for example, Title 33 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations ), and a number of professional books and USN/USAF publications. There are some fifty elements of
594-511: A product catalog corrections section, a publications correction section, a summary of broadcast navigation warnings, and a page of additional miscellaneous information. It is the responsibility of users to decide which of their charts and publications require correction. Mariners are requested to cooperate in the correction of charts and publications by reporting all discrepancies between published information and conditions actually observed and by recommending appropriate improvements. A reporting form
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#1732764999990648-483: A ship. If in the paygrade of E-5 (petty officer 2nd class), it is a requirement for advancement to E-6 (petty officer 1st class). It is extremely uncommon for sailors in paygrade E-3 and below to earn their ESWS pin but strongly encouraged to stand among their peers for promotion. Sailors for whom ESWS is their secondary community (mostly those in the air warfare community) are not required to re-qualify. An enlisted person who has qualified for his or her ESWS pin places
702-658: A spread oak leaf, a silver acorn on each side of the stem on two crossed swords, on a background of ocean swells. Surface warfare medical service corps insignia: A gold metal pin, with a spread oak leaf, attached to a slanting twig on two crossed swords, on a background of ocean swells. The surface warfare supply corps insignia is granted to those members of the Navy Supply Corps who qualify as surface warfare supply officers. Such officers are trained in shipboard supply systems, food service, housing and welfare service, disbursing operations, damage control, and basics of
756-487: A strong advocacy for a similar program for surface enlisted was started. The program was initiated in 1977 when the surface warfare commanders (DCNO Surface Warfare, COMNAVSURFLANT and COMNAVSURFPAC) gave their conceptual approval to the development of a surface enlisted qualification program. Initial guidelines for the program at that time were: The silver cutlass was available for the first time in April 1979. Specifically
810-527: Is commonly called the "SWO pin" in the U.S. Navy. Those receiving the pin must qualify as officer of the deck (both underway and in port), small boat officer, combat information center watch officer, and must be trained in shipboard engineering, naval history, and damage control. For further, enterprise-level training, officers will attend Surface Warfare Officers' School (SWOS) in Newport, Rhode Island between all sea tours. The surface warfare officer badge
864-735: Is finished, it is becoming common practice to also enter it into electronic navigation tools such as an Electronic Chart Display and Information System , a chartplotter , or a GPS unit. Once the voyage has begun the progress of the vessel along its planned route must be monitored. This requires that the ship's position be determined, using standard methods including dead reckoning , radar fixing, celestial navigation , pilotage , and electronic navigation , to include usage of GPS and navigation computer equipment. Passage planning software, tide and tidal current predictors, celestial navigational calculators, consumables estimators for fuel, oil, water, and stores, and other useful applications. The navigator
918-428: Is formatted to simplify the correction of paper charts and navigational publications. The NOTMAR.gc.ca site is a free 24/7 service providing mariners with up-to-date safety advisories. It provides mariners with a quick and easy to use interface to access Notices to Mariners information. This system also generates weekly and monthly notification mailers , for its registered users. These on-line mail services provides
972-399: Is provided in the back of each Notice to Mariners . Issue No. 1 of each year contains important information on a variety of subjects which supplements information not usually found on charts and in navigational publications. This information is published as Special Notice to Mariners Paragraphs. Additional items considered of interest to the mariner are also included in this Notice. Much of
1026-415: Is responsible for the maintenance of the ship's navigational equipment. U.S. Air Force navigators are responsible for troubleshooting problems of the navigation equipment while airborne, but the ground Maintenance personnel are ultimately responsible for the repair and upkeep of that aircraft's navigation system. Boats and ships can use several Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to navigate all of
1080-638: Is typically a prerequisite for tactical action officer (TAO) training. Junior officers, typically Ensigns, assigned to the surface warfare community are known as "unqualified" or "1160s" until they receive qualification as a Surface Warfare Officer and receive the SWO pin. Surface line personnel who are not yet qualified have the 1160 officer designator: once qualified they receive the 1110 designator for Regular Navy Officers and 1115 for Navy Reserve Officers. Prior to 2018, junior officers were granted 24 months to qualify as Surface Warfare Officers; failing to do so within
1134-399: Is with a "chart and publication correction record card" system. Using this system, the navigator does not immediately update every chart in the portfolio when a new Notice to Mariners arrives, instead creating a card for every chart and noting the correction on this card. When the time comes to use the chart, the navigator pulls the chart and chart's card, and makes the indicated corrections on
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#17327649999901188-524: The Army Corps of Engineers ( Department of Defense ), which is charged with the improvement of rivers and harbors of the United States. In addition, important contributions are made by foreign hydrographic offices and cooperating observers of all nationalities. The Notice consists of a page of Hydrograms listing important items in the Notice, a chart correction section organized by ascending chart number,
1242-660: The National Ocean Service (NOS) and the U.S. Coast Guard . The information in the Notice to Mariners is formatted to simplify the correction of paper charts , List of Lights , United States Coast Pilots , and other publications produced by NGA, NOS, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Information for the Notice to Mariners is contributed by: the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Department of Defense) for waters outside
1296-524: The Notice to Mariners is the Summary of Corrections . The Summary is published in five volumes. Each volume covers a major portion of the earth including several chart regions and many subregions. Volume 5 also includes special charts and publications corrected by the Notice to Mariners . Since the Summaries contain cumulative corrections, any chart, regardless of its print date, can be corrected with
1350-780: The monthly Notices to Mariners publications as well as the weekly (section II - chart corrections) notices that advise the mariner of the notices that have been issued against their chart selections. These mail services simplify the process for registered clients to update their publications and charts as required under the Canada Shipping Act . The NOTMAR web site also includes the historical Chart corrections and historical Sailing Direction corrections ; as well, it provides access to downloadable Chart Patches, contains links to CHS’s Chart Number 1, instructions for applying Notices to mariners to manually update their paper charts, and other useful information. A close companion to
1404-549: The October 1935 issue of Astounding Stories . The title character of Robert A. Heinlein 's 1953 novel Starman Jones is an astrogator. Surface warfare officer The surface warfare insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which is issued to U.S. Navy personnel who are trained and qualified to perform duties aboard United States surface warships. There are presently four classes of
1458-517: The Pin Unlike other warfare pins available to both enlisted and officers, the ESWS and SWO pins differ by more than just color (gold for officers and silver for enlisted is a common theme in U.S. Navy uniforms). The blade weapons behind the hull on the SWO pin are swords . The blade weapons on the enlisted pin are cutlasses . This can clearly be seen in the curvature of the blades and the shape of
1512-526: The chart. This system ensures that every chart is properly corrected prior to use. British merchant vessels receive weekly Notices to Mariners issued by the Admiralty . When corrections are received all charts are corrected in the ship's folio and recorded in NP133A (Admiralty Chart Correction Log and Folio Index). This system ensures that all charts are corrected and up to date. In a deep-sea vessel with
1566-443: The correction of electronic nautical publications. The navigator focuses on creating the ship's passage plans (or "mission plans" for USAF purposes). A mission or passage plan can be summarized as a comprehensive, step by step description of how the voyage is to proceed from berth to berth, including unberthing, departure, the en-route portion of a voyage, approach, and mooring/arrival at the destination. Before each voyage begins,
1620-634: The criteria in 1979 to qualify was as follows: OPNAVINST 1414.9 is the Navy instruction that governs the enlisted warfare qualification programs. This instruction also cancels OPNAVINST 1414.2A. The ESWS pin is authorized for wear by any enlisted member of the United States Navy who is permanently stationed aboard a navy afloat command and completes the enlisted surface warfare qualification program and personal qualification standards (PQS). The ESWS badge can be obtained at any time after reporting to
1674-540: The data in the U.S. Notice to Mariners is obtained from foreign notices. In Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) Notice to Mariners publication informs mariners of important navigational safety matters affecting Canadian Waters. This electronic publication is published on a monthly basis and can be downloaded from the Notices to Mariners (NOTMAR) Web site . The information in the Notice to Mariners
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1728-576: The dedicated Navigator's position was discontinued and its function was assumed by dual-licensed Pilot-Navigators, and still later by the aircraft's primary pilots (Captain and FO), resulting in a continued downsizing in the number of aircrew positions on commercial flights. Modern electronic navigation systems made the civil aviation navigators redundant by the early 1980s. In military aviation , navigators are still actively trained and licensed in some present day air forces , as electronic navigation aids cannot be assumed to be operational during wartime . In
1782-399: The designator SW after his or her rate and rating; for example, Senior Chief Yeoman Martinez, having qualified for her ESWS pin, is identified as YNCS(SW) Martinez. For those enlisted personnel who are subsequently commissioned as officers and are shipboard SWO's, the ESWS badge is replaced, but only after they have fully completed their Surface Warfare Officer qualifications. Features of
1836-735: The form of charts printed on paper or computerised electronic navigational charts . The nature of a waterway depicted by a chart changes regularly, and a mariner navigating on an old or uncorrected chart is courting disaster. Every producer of navigational charts also provides a system to inform mariners and aviators of changes that affect the chart. In the United States, chart corrections and notifications of new editions are provided by various governmental agencies by way of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs), Notice to Mariners , Local Notice to Mariners , Summary of Corrections , and Broadcast Notice to Mariners. Radio broadcasts give advance notice of urgent corrections. A convenient way to keep track of corrections
1890-483: The handguards. This derives from the sword being a symbol of naval officers and their authority, while cutlasses were traditionally issued for battle to enlisted sailors during the age of sail. The ship that is featured in the middle of the pin is that of a “modern warship” of when the pin came out in 1978 and looks as if it’s a Knox Class Frigate. The ESWS is 15 ⁄ 16 inch (24 mm) tall and 2.75 inches (70 mm) wide. The new instruction will do away with
1944-458: The late-1910s and the 1970s, where separate crew members (sometimes two navigation crew members) were often responsible for an aircraft's flight navigation, including its dead reckoning and celestial navigation , especially when flown over oceans or other large featureless areas where radio navigation aids were not originally available. As sophisticated electronic air navigation aids and universal space-based GPS navigation systems came online,
1998-406: The mid-1960s. USAF navigators/combat systems officers and USN/USMC naval flight officers must be basic mission qualified in their aircraft, or fly with an instructor navigator or instructor NFO to provide the necessary training for their duties. A naval ship's navigator is responsible for buying and maintaining its nautical charts. A nautical chart, or simply "chart", is a graphic representation of
2052-402: The navigator should develop a detailed mental model of how the entire voyage will proceed. In the aviation community, this is known as "chair flying". This mental model includes charting courses and forecasting weather, tides, and currents. It includes updating and checking aeronautical charts , nautical publications , which could include Sailing Directions and Coast Pilots , and projecting
2106-615: The northern half of the Black Sea and the entire Sea of Azov as " Warlike Operations Areas ", which caused marine insurance to skyrocket. This in turn caused commercial traffic to move to alternative ports at the price of increased transit times, which had the deleterious effect of increased prices at the cash register. The U.S. Notice to Mariners is made available weekly by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), prepared jointly with
2160-446: The officer from transferring. Officers who are separated from the SWO community go through a process called "Non-Attained" and this designation is entered into the officer's permanent military record. The Surface Warfare Officer pin was designed to depict the traditional and typical elements of naval service: waves breaking before the bow of a ship overlaid on crossed U.S. Navy commissioned officer's swords, rendered in gold. The insignia
2214-568: The proper volume of the Summary and all subsequent Notice to Mariners . The text of this article originated from sections 418 and 419 of The American Practical Navigator , a document produced by the government of the United States of America . [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of
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2268-487: The requirement for all first-tour Sailors to walk away from their first sea-duty command with their ESWS qualification. Sailors will not be required to enroll in a command’s ESWS program until they reach a journeyman or master-level (E-5 - E-9). These Sailors will be enrolled in their ESWS program after 12 months onboard, or at the commanding officer’s discretion, and from there will have 18 months to qualify in ESWS. In attempts to improve damage control and ship survivability,
2322-759: The ship's engineering systems. Post 2018 and the McCain and Fitzgerald Crashes, SWSCO candidates and qualified officer do not stand Officer of the Deck (OOD) Underway. Depending on the ship type they will receive training in shipboard flight operations as the Helicopter Control Officer. For advancement in the surface supply community, the Surface Warfare Supply Corps Officer Pin (SWSCO) must be obtained by junior supply officers within 18 months from reporting on board
2376-606: The surface chaplain corps. The qualification insignia started being awarded to qualified chaplains in 2023 after being approved by the Navy Uniform Board. The United States Coast Guard does not issue the surface warfare pin. The comparable Coast Guard insignia is the cutterman insignia . The cutterman insignia is awarded on a temporary basis upon completion of a PQS and is made permanent upon accumulation of five years sea time. Coast Guard personnel who are permanently cross-assigned to afloat Navy commands may qualify for
2430-900: The surface warfare badge through the standard Navy qualification system. The NOAA Commissioned Corps deck officer pin is a gold-colored pin displaying breaking waves, with a central device consisting of a fouled anchor surcharged with a NOAA Corps device. NOAA Corps officers certified as senior watch officer may wear the NOAA deck officer insignia after authorization by the Director of the NOAA Corps. Notice to Mariners A notice to mariners (NtM or NOTMAR, ) advises mariners of important matters affecting navigational safety, including new hydrographic information , changes in channels and aids to navigation , and other important data. Over 60 countries which produce nautical charts also produce
2484-412: The surface warfare pin, being that of line, staff, special operations, and enlisted. The line and enlisted surface warfare badges may be earned by United States Coast Guard personnel assigned to Navy commands. The various badge types are as follows: The surface warfare officer insignia is the first milestone qualification an eligible commissioned officer may receive in surface warfare . This device
2538-427: The territorial limits of the United States; National Ocean Service ( National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , Department of Commerce ), which is charged with surveying and charting the coasts and harbors of the United States and its territories; the U.S. Coast Guard ( Department of Homeland Security ) which is responsible for the safety of life at sea and the establishment and operation of aids to navigation; and
2592-600: The time period meant either separation from the service or applying to transfer to another warfare community. The collisions involving the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) and the USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) brought about a change in qualification standards. Unqualified junior officers now have no official time limit to qualify within the two and a half years of their first tour, and now must qualify solely before they transfer to their next command. Failing to qualify prevents
2646-453: The updated program will add more prerequisite PQS, including the following: Surface warfare medical corps insignia: A gold metal pin, with a spread oak leaf surcharged with a silver acorn on two crossed swords, on a background of ocean swells. Surface warfare nurse corps insignia: A gold metal pin, with a spread oak leaf on two crossed swords, on a background of ocean swells. Surface warfare dental corps insignia: A gold metal pin, with
2700-413: The various future events including landfalls, narrow passages, and course changes that will transpire during the voyage. This mental model becomes the standard by which the navigator will measure progress toward the goal of a safe and efficient voyage, and it is manifested in a written passage plan. When working in a team environment, the passage/mission plan should be communicated to the navigation team in
2754-561: The world's air forces, modern navigators are frequently tasked with weapons and defensive systems operations, along with co-pilot duties such as flight planning and fuel management, depending on the type, model and series of aircraft. In the U.S. Air Force , the aeronautical rating of navigator has been augmented by addition of the combat systems officer , while in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps , those officers formerly called navigators, tactical systems officers, or naval aviation observers have been known as naval flight officers since
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#17327649999902808-510: The world's lakes, seas and oceans. Maritime GNSS units include functions useful on water, such as "man overboard" (MOB) functions that allow instantly marking the location where a person has fallen overboard, which simplifies rescue efforts. GNSS may be connected to the ships self-steering gear and Chartplotters using the NMEA 0183 interface, and GNSS can also improve the security of shipping traffic by enabling AIS . Navigators are often part of
2862-770: The years since then but the NtM mission to provide mariners with accurate navigation information has remained the same. As part of its campaign for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , in February 2022 the Russian Navy established an effective blockade of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast and Russky Mir authorities declared NtMs for the majority of the northern Black Sea. This caused the Joint Negotiating Group of global shipowners to designate
2916-400: Was introduced in 1975. On 1 December 1978, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral T.B. Hayward approved the enlisted surface warfare specialist (ESWS) qualification program. This approval followed immediately by the promulgation of OPNAV Instruction 1412.4, which provided the specific details of the program. Since the introduction of the surface warfare officer (SWO) qualification program in 1975,
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