By Lookout on Jul 05, 2016 with Comments 0

Lt(N) Adam Drover, CF Naval Operations School ~

Due to the diverse nature of the future fleet’s capabilities, tied with the complex nature of the future security environment, the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN’s) Naval Training System is in need of an overhaul.

The Future Naval Training System Strategy, released in the summer of 2015, identifies where the RCN needs to focus in order to address the capabilities of the future fleet, which are being built at Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, N.S., and Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver, B.C. under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.

This includes the re-configuration of training establishments in Halifax and Esquimalt into two campuses, Atlantic and Pacific, under the Naval Personnel and Training Group to meet the RCN’s training requirements.

Campus Pacific will stand-up in a ceremony July 6. This means Canadian Forces Fleet School Esquimalt and the Naval Officers Training Centre will be re-configured into Naval Fleet School Pacific and Training Development Centre Pacific.

Naval Fleet School Pacific will deliver individual training such as career courses and qualifications to sailors in Esquimalt.

The Training Development Centre Pacific will be the RCN’s Centre of Excellence for engineering, damage control, command, leadership, and professional development.

Likewise in Halifax, Campus Atlantic will stand-up with a ceremony on July 15 where the Canadian Forces Naval Operations School and Canadian Forces Naval Engineering School will become NFS(A) and TDC(A).

NFS(A) will deliver individual training in Halifax, with the addition of submarine training, while TDC(A) will be the RCN’s Centre of Excellence for combat, operations, and seamanship training.

Canadian Forces Fleet School Quebec, in the heart of Quebec City on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, was renamed Naval Fleet School Quebec during a ceremony on June 29. NFS(Q) will continue its role as a training site, delivering various courses to the Naval Reserve, including the Basic Military Naval and Basic Military Officer Qualification.

Through the Centres of Excellence, training for the RCN will be modernized to harness technology-enabled learning tools and methods that will be delivered in the fleet schools and in training sites across Canada. This new training system will continue to generate combat-capable, multipurpose maritime forces to support Canada’s efforts to participate in operations anywhere in the world.

More information can be obtained on the Future Naval Training System through the Naval Personnel and Training Group Headquarters.