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small combatant complicates the training and qualication needs of crew members. Responsibilities that would be shared on a larger ship are resident in a single individual who must be fully procient in all aspects of his/her assignment. In contrast, if a small combatant is intended for sustained operations at sea, the determination of manpower require- ments must account for watch stations being manned on a continuous basis for prolonged periods (long-range cruising under wartime conditions, but not con- stant battle manning). is will probably call for a minimum of two fully-qualied persons for each watch station. Again, national priorities will determine how long the ship must be able to remain at sea and this, in turn, will determine whether two individuals per watch station are sucient. For operating periods of one to two weeks, two watch sections may suce before fatigue becomes a critical factor. If the operational concept requires sustained operations of greater duration, then a three-section rotation for each watch station will probably be required. Additionally, the longer the projected operating period, the greater the amount of onboard support that will be necessary. Logistics and administrative functions are hardly a consideration on a ship that can return to port in a day, but they take on greater importance as the operating con- struct is extended. A decision must be made as to how much ship support will be inherent in the crew and how much will come from ashore. In reducing costs associated with ship manning, it must be remembered that moving a function ashore still requires personnel to perform the function. While the operating expense of the ship may be reduced, merely moving the function oboard is not a cost saver. In fact, it can be argued that the opposite is true in that more hours of productive work are expected from crew members at sea than from support personnel ashore, in a given time interval. Habitability in a small combatant will be directly aected by the determination of how long the vessel is expected to oper- ate continuously. If the concept requires operations for 24 hours or less, habitabil- ity requirements will be minimal, and the platform can be dedicated to combat systems and propulsion. When the oper- ational concept is expanded to include a crew with two sets of watchstanders, habitability requirements expand rap- idly, and will be impacted by such factors as whether an individual who is o watch must have dedicated berthing or will rotate with a counterpart who is on watch. Moreover, as the time a vessel is required to operate continuously increases, the requirement for dedicated maintenance personnel also increases, with a resulting need for additional habitability space. us, the habitability requirements for a small combatant may range from almost non-existent in a coastal vessel to a full suite that accommodates three watch sections, along with appropriate mainte- nance and support personnel. Human Systems Integration is leads to the next aspect of operating a small combatant from the perspective of Human Systems Integration, which is manning, or personnel, as distinct from Chief Fire Controlman Donald Langford tracks a target for the MK-110 57 mm gun aboard USS Freedom during a combat systems exercise as a civilian technician observes. PHOTO COURTESY UNITED STATES NAVY, BY LT. ED EARLY Manning Small Combatants continued In an ideal world, the manning, or personnel, assigned to a warship would precisely match the manpower requirements determined for that ship. April 2011www.sname.org/sname/mt (mt notes)