National Défense Defence nationale CNTHA News Maritime Inside Engineering Journal CANADA’S NAVAL TECHNICAL FORUM Summer 2006 Replenishment at Sea — The Navy’s First Steps with “One-stop Shopping” Also in this Issue: • Women in Defence and Security • Recertifying Submarine HP Cylinders In Situ • Exploring the Wartime Wreck of HMCS Athabaskan What sank HMCS Athabaskan in the English Channel in 1944? ...and does the ship’s missing stern section hold the answer? — Story inside Athabaskan image courtesy DND Directorate of History and Heritage Athabaskan image courtesy DND Directorate Maritime Engineering Journal Summer 2006 (Established 1982) DEPARTMENTS Commodore’s Corner Crunch time for naval technical training by Commodore Richard Greenwood ............................................................. 2 FEATURES Forum: CPO1 Denis Chitouras — A Story of Success and Inspiration by Cdr Marcel Hallé ...................................................................................... 4 Looking Back: One-stop Shopping — Replenishment at Sea and the Royal Canadian Navy, 1945 to 1961 by Dr. Ken Reynolds ...................................................................................... 5 Introducing...Women in Defence and Security (WiDS) Canada Director General Maritime Equipment Program Management by Brian McCullough .................................................................................. 10 Commodore Richard W. Greenwood, CD Experiences of a (Female) Petty Officer First Class, Canadian Navy Reserve Senior Editor Capt(N) Eric Bramwell by PO1 Cheryl Bush ..................................................................................... 11 Editorial Adviser One (Female) Engineer’s Experience Cdr Wayne Rockwell by Lt(N) Mélanie Mountan .......................................................................... 12 DGMEPM Chief of Staff A Female Civilian’s Perspective in Defence Production Editor / Enquiries by Sue Dickout ............................................................................................. 13 Brian McCullough Tel. (819) 997-9355 / Fax (819) 994-8709 Simulation Technology: Operational Capabilities in Heavy Seas E-mail [email protected] by Michael Dervin ....................................................................................... 15 Editorial Committee Advisers Exploring the Wartime Wreck of HMCS Athabaskan LCdr Simon Paré (Marine Systems) — A Naval Architect’s Adventure in Underwater Archaeology LCdr Mike Turpin (Combat Systems) by LCdr Jocelyn Turgeon............................................................................. 21 Yves Perron (Naval Architecture) CPO1 Dave Gordanier (NCM Member) Recertifying Submarine High-pressure Cylinders In Situ Jean-François Gagné (Civilian Member) by Daniel Laplante, Stanley Lyczko and CPO2 (ret.) David Sankey........... 26 Production Editing Services by NETE News ...................................................................................................... 29 Brightstar Communications, Kanata, Ontario CNTHA NEWS Newsletter of the Canadian Naval Technical Associate Production Editor History Association ................................................................................. Insert Bridget Madill Print Management Services by Director General Public Affairs – Creative Cover Photo: Military historian Dr. Ken Reynolds tells the story of Services the navy’s introduction to replenishment at sea. (DND photos): HMCS Translation Services by Yukon refuels from HMCS Provider. (Inset) HMCS Cape Breton at Public Works and Government Services sea in 1953. Article begins on page 5. Translation Bureau Mme. Josette Pelletier, Director The Maritime Engineering Journal (ISSN 0713-0058) is an unofficial publication of the Maritime En- ADM(Mat) Translation Co-ordinator gineers of the Canadian Forces, produced three times a year by the Director General Maritime Equip- M. Clément Lachance ment Program Management. Views expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect official opinion or policy. Mail can be sent to: The Editor, Maritime Engineering Journal, DMSS The Journal is available on the DGMEPM (6 LSTL), NDHQ, 101 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0K2. The editor reserves website located on the DND DIN intranet the right to reject or edit any editorial material. While every effort is made to return artwork and photos at http://admmat.dwan.dnd.ca/dgmepm/ in good condition, the Journal assumes no responsibility for this. Unless otherwise stated, Journal arti- dgmepm/publications cles may be reprinted with proper credit. A courtesy copy of the reprinted article would be appreciated. MARITIME ENGINEERING JOURNAL SUMMER 2006 1 Commodore’s Corner Crunch time for naval technical training By Commodore Richard Greenwood, CD Director General Maritime Equipment Program Management he MARE Council, the na- naval technical officers and NCMs of the project itself and the resulting val technical community’s alike, as well as for personnel in the impact on ship schedules have yet to Tsenior advisory body, other seagoing trades. be fully defined, and we also have to meets twice a year to examine issues, look beyond the frigates to their So where do we stand with this? priorities and actions affecting offic- eventual single-class replacement As you can imagine, the MARE ers of the MARE career field and the and consider the implications and Council is working very closely with NCM (non-commissioned) naval options for how we train our people. the other concerned naval advisory technical occupations. If there is one If history is any indication, we can groups to find a workable solution. item pushing itself to the forefront of almost certainly expect that a new Until now we have depended on a the Council’s discussions these days, generation of ships will bring some well-established training process it is the burning issue of how the fundamental changes, and that by the that includes prescribed amounts of navy expects to meet its personnel time the smoke clears from the frig- sea experience to deliver the knowl- training requirements (and even ate modernization program in 2016 edge and develop the skill sets we what those requirements should be) we will be on track with a much dif- require of our technical personnel. I during the upcoming Halifax-class ferent long-term training and career don’t think anyone would disagree modernization project. vision. that, as a result, the Canadian navy The complicated issue of possibly The frigate modernization project realigning the navy’s technical train- poses serious challenges on a It doesn’t take a math- ing and career employment to meet number of fronts, not the least of ematician to figure out future requirements is on the front which is the impact a reduction in the burner at all levels of the navy right number of available seagoing train- that the premium for now. The goal, of course, is to devise ing billets will have on personnel bunk space will increase a 100-percent solution that meets the training and career advancement. dramatically. needs of the fleet and the career as- Beginning around 2010 and continu- pirations of the navy’s personnel. Is ing through 2016, as many as five enjoys a world-class talent in its this achievable? We think so. Con- out of the 12 ships in the fleet of technical officers and NCMs. The structive compromise will be the or- Halifax-class patrol frigates could be question we have to consider now is, der of the day as we take a fresh look expected to be out of service at any Have our requirements changed? at our requirements and reposition one time for midlife refit and mod- The quality of our naval technical ourselves for what promises to be a ernization. The challenge of manag- training has certainly left us well po- new era in naval technical training. ing even a temporary loss of sea sitioned for the challenges of today Making up for the anticipated loss of billets for six years is formidable and the near future, but what about platform availability for at-sea train- enough given our current personnel for the longer term? It takes years to ing opportunities will call for crea- numbers, but the navy is aggres- develop our officers and NCMs to tive workarounds, to be sure, and it sively recruiting additional naval the standard we currently demand, is very likely that any solution will technical officers to make up for cur- yet we are facing a serious shake-up include greater reliance on simula- rent shortfalls. It doesn’t take a math- to the training status quo with the tor-based training. ematician to figure out that both the upcoming Halifax-class moderniza- premium and demand for bunk space It’s a tough nut we have to crack, tion project. will increase dramatically. This issue sorting this out, but the possibilities will have a direct impact on the The situation right now is any- for the future of naval technical availability of shipboard billets for thing but clear. The implementation training and employment are excit- 2 MARITIME ENGINEERING JOURNAL SUMMER 2006 Photo: Brian McCullough The MARE Council’s primary responsibility is to provide advice on issues, priorities and actions affecting officers of the MARE career field and NCM naval technical occupations. The Council most recently met in Halifax in late March around the time of the MARLANT Technical Support Seminar, and will meet again in Victoria this October to coincide with the West Coast MARE Seminar. Minutes of all MARE Council meetings are available on the DGMEPM website. From left to right,