My son was promoted to Port Watch. What does this mean?

[Scott Bates]

Hello all.  Navy Dad newbee here with no prior military experience, and I'm seeking some clarification on terms, structure, etc.

I received the first letter home from my son.  He has been at boot camp for about 3.5 weeks now and things seem to be going well for him.  In his letter he let me know that he was recently promoted to Port Watch and that he, along with Starboard Watch, are in charge of the Division sentries.  Can someone advise what this means?  By browsing the NavyDads website it looks like a fairly significant rating for him, but he provided few details and so I'm curious and don't want to assume anything.  The position appears to be at the level of Recruit Petty Officer 1.  My son has never really been in a leadership type of position before, nor has he ever really strived to assume this type of role in High School or beyond.  I'm beyond proud of him for just choosing this life path before him, but if this promotion is the type of leadership role it appears to be from website browsing, it's beyond what I would have expected and know it will have significant impact on his self-esteem for a long, long time

[NavyDads Admin (Paul)]

Check this posting: http://navydads.ning.com/group/bootcamp/page/recruit-division-comma...

[Scott Bates]

Thanks Paul.  I did review that page, and also went to the official Navy page.  I understand the chain of command but was hoping to learn more about what the responsibilities are, how recruits are selected to fill these roles, is every recruit given the opportunity to demonstrate leadership abilities or just the ones who separate from themselves from the masses, etc.  I have asked my son to provide more details in my return letter I just sent him today, but I expect it to be 2-3 weeks before I get a response back from him.

[NavyDads Admin (Paul)]

from another site: 

One major role that we all in the Navy take part in is guard duty as we all must qualify for it, and at some time or other we all must stand the watch. The two major elements to standing your watch on guard duty are the Watch Bill and the Deck Log and to maintain both are the Port and Starboard Watches. The two assign duties to those in the Division on the watch bill, a sort of schedule and shifts for recruits to stand watch over the compartment the entire day through. The Deck Log documents every action of the Division and the status of the compartment hence the deck log is to be treated like gold with every entry written clearly and every minute accounted for. Also gaining a spot on the bus, the ranks are divided into port and starboard and are headed by the Port and Starboard Watches.

[John Alan DeMarco]

Advice that was given to me... and some I learned. They have little time to go into explanations during writing at boot camp. I asked a lot and my son rarely elaborated other than he was pleased I even knew what was going on. Also keep your letters non military so he gets a break. Tell him about what's going on in the would. They have no idea being cut off. You will have plenty of time to talk about boot camp after PIR.

[NavyDads Admin (Paul)]

Well done!  They live Navy 24/7 and need the mental break from that occasionally 

John Alan DeMarco said:

Advice that was given to me... and some I learned. They have little time to go into explanations during writing at boot camp. I asked a lot and my son rarely elaborated other than he was pleased I even knew what was going on. Also keep your letters non military so he gets a break. Tell him about what's going on in the would. They have no idea being cut off. You will have plenty of time to talk about boot camp after PIR.

[John Alan DeMarco]

John Alan DeMarco said:

Advice that was given to me... and some I learned. They have little time to go into explanations during writing at boot camp. I asked a lot and my son rarely elaborated other than he was pleased I even knew what was going on. Also keep your letters non military so he gets a break. Tell him about what's going on in the world. They have no idea being cut off. You will have plenty of time to talk about boot camp after PIR.

[Scott Bates]

thank you very much.  Wonderful information

NavyDads Admin (Paul) said:

from another site: 

One major role that we all in the Navy take part in is guard duty as we all must qualify for it, and at some time or other we all must stand the watch. The two major elements to standing your watch on guard duty are the Watch Bill and the Deck Log and to maintain both are the Port and Starboard Watches. The two assign duties to those in the Division on the watch bill, a sort of schedule and shifts for recruits to stand watch over the compartment the entire day through. The Deck Log documents every action of the Division and the status of the compartment hence the deck log is to be treated like gold with every entry written clearly and every minute accounted for. Also gaining a spot on the bus, the ranks are divided into port and starboard and are headed by the Port and Starboard Watches.

[Scott Bates]

John,

Sage wisdom.  thank you for putting it into perspective.  I've taken your advice and kept my letters focused on the happenings back home and the things I know he was interested in...friends, family, video games, etc.

John Alan DeMarco said:

John Alan DeMarco said:

Advice that was given to me... and some I learned. They have little time to go into explanations during writing at boot camp. I asked a lot and my son rarely elaborated other than he was pleased I even knew what was going on. Also keep your letters non military so he gets a break. Tell him about what's going on in the world. They have no idea being cut off. You will have plenty of time to talk about boot camp after PIR.