Naval Usage
In the military, the deck department comprises sailors who perform a variety of functions depending on ship type and size.
Examples include maintenance and upkeep of the ship, handling of the ship's rigging and ground tackle, coordination of underway replenishment operations, conductance of minesweeping operations, maintenance and operation of the ship's boats, supervision of diving and salvage operations (including towing), and serving as shipboard seamanship specialists. Undesignated seamen, or those who have not selected a rating (e.g. job or vocation), are normally the most junior sailors onboard and are usually sent to the Deck Department for their first assignment.
Deck Department professionals are led by Boatswain's Mates, sailors who have chosen seamanship as their primary area of expertise. Depending on ship type and size, the Deck Department can be a division or ship's department. On some ships the First Lieutenant serves as the Deck Department's division officer and is a junior officer (usually an Ensign or Lieutenant Junior Grade) while the Operations Officer or Weapons Officer serves as the Department Head. On others the Deck department is its own department, reporting directly to the ship's Commanding Officer.
Read more about this topic: Deck Department
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