The Coast Guard has started a new Coxswain Core Course to help new Boatswain’s Mates hit the ground running. Graduates of the Boatswain’s Mate Rating Apprentice Program (BM-RAP) will now remain onboard Training Center Yorktown after graduation and jumpstart their Coxswain qualification process.
Streamlining this training makes great business sense, and ultimately better prepares new BM3s for their duties once they get to their units. An additional three-weeks of coxswain-specific instruction after A-school enables BM3s to expedite their certification process while reducing training burden on operational units.
“This is a step in the right direction to get Boatswain’s Mates driving boats sooner in their careers,” said BM Rating Force Master Chief Grant Heffner. “It will increase the bandwidth at operational units by raising the level of competence of RAP BMs.”
The Coxswain Core Course will:
- Train students on boat handling principles, crew resource management, and satisfy the Coxswain Boat Qualification Handbook’s ANY tasks. (ANY tasks are performance standards that apply across all boat types, as opposed to TYPE tasks which are specific to each platform.)
- Assign students to platforms matching, or similar to, the assets they will operate at their designated unit.
As it replaces the legacy Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) Operator and Response Boat-Small (RB-S) Coxswain Introduction courses, the Coxswain Core Course will be open to all BM3s with a crewmember qualification. Commands may reach out to the Education and Training Quota Management Command (ETQC) and get an ETR for course code 100557 now.
FORCECOM and the Office of Boat Forces (CG-731) teamed up to create the Coxswain Core Course to meet the needs of the Service and of the member. The Coxswain Core Course is an example of tailored, on-demand training that is helping to transform our ready workforce, in line with the Coast Guard’s Strategy.
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