Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2003/Evolution of the PWO

By LCDR Brendan Zilko

began during the latter part of the nineteenth century at the onset of the technological age. The introduction of the Dreadnought, torpedoes, submarines, aircraft and wireless vastly expanded the scope of naval warfare and dictated the need for officers to become sub-specialists in the various disciplines that existed.

The trend continued through the first half of the twentieth century with the introduction of the aircraft carrier, radar and sophisticated weapon control systems. By 1950 the Royal Navy had developed several schools to train and support each branch of warfare. These were:

• HMS Dryad - Navigation and Direction
• HMS Excellent - Gunnery
• HMS Vernon - Torpedo-Anti- Submarine and Mine Warfare
• HMS Mercury - Communications and Electronic Warfare

The Long Course

At each of the schools, training was given to officers and sailors at many levels. The premier course at each was the 'Long Course' in which junior officers qualified as subspecialists in their respective disciplines.

The role of these officers was twofold. In war they were responsible for providing the command with advice on tactics and weapon employment. On a daily basis they were responsible for the operational efficiency of the men and equipment in their charge.

The 'long course' method for providing warfare officers continued into the early 1970's. However, several events during the 1960's led to a need for change. Foremost among these was the introduction of anti-ship missiles prompting the need for greater speed of ship reaction.

The PWO Course

The RN responded to the requirement for greater speed of reaction by developing the PWO concept. From 1972, all Warfare Officers were trained in common tactical procedures such that regardless of the time of day, each ship would have an officer on watch capable of meeting any threat.

During the next several years many approaches were tried to achieve the correct training balance between the new tactical need and the continuing requirement for the daily maintenance and operational efficiency in each warfare discipline.

Shortly after the introduction of the PWO Course, common to all officers, the RN introduced the Advanced Warfare Officer (AWO) Course to provide deeper training in the various disciplines. Eight years later the PWO and AWO Courses were combined into the 'streamed PWO' course which enabled officers to qualify in both common tactical procedures and individual sub-specialist areas.

Repatriation of PWO Course

The RAN had relied heavily on the Royal Navy for the training of Warfare Officer specialists. However, in 1981 the RAN Chief of Naval Staff, in recognition of the differences that had evolved between RN and RAN ship types, weapons and sensors, convened a Naval Warfare Study Group to examine the way ahead for RAN Warfare Officer training.

The following year, one of the group's recommendations was PWO training should be repatriated to Australia. This recommendation was accepted, and in 1983 a Surface Warfare Officer Training Project was established to develop and implement the RAN SWO Course. SWOC 1 subsequently commenced in January 1985 with a name change to the Principal Warfare Officer (PWO) Course in May 1989.

Two Stream PWO Training

The evolution of warfare training is continuing in response to emerging technologies and regional capabilities, in particular sub-specialist training is being refined. In 1991 the 'A' stream concept (common training for 'G' and 'D' specialisations) was trialed and proved successful.

The Surface Warfare stream concept for PWOs filling ASWO and SCO billets was trialed in 1994 and has been adopted with successful graduates receiving the SW designation.

PWO Review - 2003

In January 2003 the PWO training continuum was reviewed noting the changing and expanding nature of warfare and the limited capacity of the existing course to meet the Navy's required throughput. As a result the PWO course has been restructured into two separate phases to accommodate this increased emphasis on Sub-specialist training and the Warfare Fundamentals as well as increasing our number of graduates.

As part of the modular structure, a Core Warfare module was constructed, which has been made available to all officers entering the other Seaman branch warfare specialisations of Submarine, Mine Warfare, Pilot and Observer. This provides a solid common baseline for all forms of warfare specialists.

On completion of the first phase of training the PWO graduates will undertake a posting as the PWO at sea for approximately 18 months. After this time, they will be considered to undertake subspecialist and force warfare training to allow them to fulfil tasks as a Group Warfare Officer in a number of varying fields including Air Warfare, Surface Warfare and Navigation.

These changes to PWO training are expected to provide the depth of expertise needed of our warfare officers with delivery in a flexible 'just-in-time' style. This has now set the warfare community to meet the evolving circumstances of the early 21st century.

The new fully subscribed warfare course will begin in March 2004.