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PLAN Unit Naval Vessel Training

Training for PLAN surface and subsurface vessels occurs at the three fleet vessel training centers, in port, and at sea. The PLAN has implemented several officer corps and enlisted force reforms that are changing the way its vessels are training.

Vessel Training Centers

In 1982, the PLAN began creating a single vessel training center in each its three fleets, where all PLAN surface and subsurface vessels and crews receive what is called "full training" or "single-vessel full training." Some crewmembers and vessels also receive refresher training when necessary.

The training is organized around a set of common training subjects, followed by task-force basic tactics training subjects, each of which must be completed in a specified sequence.When each training subject is completed, an evaluation for each crewmember and for the vessel as a whole must be passed before moving on to the next subject. As noted below, several significant changes took place in the training at the centers as a result of the new OMTE.

Under the old OMTE, every newly commissioned vessel and every vessel that had just completed an overhaul or received new equipment had to go through the training center and complete every training subject in sequence. All training started after Spring Festival and ended several months later. If a vessel missed the cutoff, it had to wait until the next year to begin. The new OMTE now allows vessels to enter training throughout the year and to bypass certain sequential training subjects if the vessel and crew pass the evaluation. Furthermore, commanding officers (COs) now have more flexibility in determining their vessel's training schedule.

Under the old OMTE, any 1st-class vessel (i.e., one that was on readiness alert or on patrol) that received a new CO who had not received his full training qualifications had to be downgraded to a 2nd-class vessel (i.e., one that could go on alert in a short period of time). These vessels had to return to a training center so that the CO could receive his full training certification. This regulation also applied to the training qualifications of the crew as a whole. The new OMTE now allows for more COs to be fully qualified, so that new COs can assume their duties without the vessel having to return to the training center.

Furthermore, the new OMTE allows some older vessels to be assigned on a permanent basis to training centers. These vessels are used for training new crewmembers and for refresher training. These personnel are then rotated to the 1st-class vessels so the vessels do not have to return to the training center. Under the old OMTE, opposition-force training at the centers was not a high priority, due primarily to safety considerations. The evaluation vessel served as the target vessel but did not pose a threat to the vessels being evaluated, so there was no true opposition. The situation has changed under the new OMTE, so that opposition- force training is now a key component of the training. The vessels undergoing training now serve as the opponents.

As of 2007, opposition force training constitutes about one-third of the overall evaluation. Under the new OMTE, the centers have built simulation labs and now require a high percentage of training to take place using simulators. Under the new OMTE, vessel COs have more flexibility to independently conduct their vessel's training while in the training center. Each CO organizes his own vessel's training plan with the center's assistance. As a result, the training time for some vessels has been reduced by one-half. As a result of these changes, the vessel training centers have significantly increased the number and types of vessels they train annually.

Naval Vessel Training Cycle

PLAN vessel training is divided into three phases based on the annual conscription and NCO demobilization cycle. Altogether, PLAN vessels train about 150 days per year, much of which is for just one day in port or anchored off shore. The three fleets rarely train with each other, especially during phase one, but a couple of times per year two or all three of the fleets conduct training together. This training is not necessarily an exercise, because PLAN exercises are based on specific scenarios, as is discussed below.

Phase One

Phase one lasts from 1 November until Spring Festival in late January to early February. Some vessels are not fully manned during this phase because the new conscripts are still receiving basic training at a fleet training center until early February. Furthermore, all NCOs who are not promoted to the next grade are demobilized in late November, and their replacements are not yet necessarily selected or trained. Weather in some fleets is also a factor during this phase. During this phase, vessel crews conduct training on basic subjects in port and in nearby coastal waters. In December, the vessels can begin sea training in coastal waters. Sometimes the vessels just leave port and anchor near the coast. The reason for this is so the crew is not distracted by wanting to go ashore.

This portion consists primarily of single vessel training, but sometimes vessels informally form a small group for advanced training, depending on their status. During this period, the crew trains to see how everything fits together for an individual vessel. This phase also includes live gunnery against land targets. Phase one also consists of lectures and organized study of regulations. Study begins with the general regulations and then moves to specific regulations for each job. Some officers also take this opportunity to go on leave or to have their families join them while the vessel is in port and during Spring Festival. The training cycle during phase one is gradually changing, however, as the number of conscripts decreases and the number of NCOs increases aboard each vessel. Some vessels are conducting training in January and February that they previously did not conduct until the spring.

Phase Two

Phase two lasts from March through June. During this phase, the vessels begin formally training together in groups. After they have mastered this, they then form larger task forces, but this is not a true "task force." During this phase, the vessels shoot at drones and work with Naval Aviation fighters. The vessels are involved in various types of training, such as antiaircraft artillery, antisubmarine warfare, and antisurface warfare. Destroyers also begin to train with frigates during this phase.

Phase Three

Phase three lasts from summer until the end of October, when a final exercise takes place. During this period, special task-force mobility training usually takes place.

Vessel Officer and NCO Training Reforms

Based on the new OMTE, one of the PLAN's goals is to have more vessels on combat patrol or alert status in port (i.e., on 1st-class status). Prior to the new OMTE, the PLAN deemed the number of certified COs as insufficient to meet its current and future needs, especially in times of war.

One of the PLAN's largest bureaucratic challenges was that a vessel was taken off 1st-class status if the CO was replaced or could not perform his duties for various reasons, such as being sick. When this happened, the vessel was taken off 1st-class status, and, in some cases, the entire crew had to be re-certified along with the new CO. Under the old OMTE, political officers, executive officers (XOs), and watch officers had only limited command roles on the vessel. As a result, they could not step in to assume the CO's role if necessary. In response to these challenges, the new OMTE allows XOs and some political officers to train as COs and allows watch officers to conduct additional duties at sea.

This issue is somewhat controversial, however, because the limited time at sea for many PLAN vessels does not allow enough time for multiple officers to train in the same position. The PLAN also believed that flexibility in terms of fully training crews was hampered under the old OMTE. This was because PLAN NCOs possessed only one technical skill and were assigned to the same vessel their entire career. Therefore, under the new OMTE, NCOs are required to learn more than one technical skill on the same and, in some cases, on different classes of vessels.