12. INDIVIDUAL TRAINING. a. General. Most of a port repair ship’s crew will have had training and experience in civilian life to qualify them for the highly specialized jobs they are assigned in this military unit. Before receiving further technical instruction, all personnel are given basic military training.

b. Diving and salvage training. The diving and salvage training is given officers and enlisted men with particular emphasis on operations performed in and around docks, quays, and other waterfront structures, harbors, inland waterways. Diving and salvage operations are essential to the rehabilitation of ports. The training should include the following:

(1) Diving-team problems with timber and steel construction; underwater concrete construction; underwater demolition of docks, piers, and ships; and actual salvage operations.

(2) Individual diving problems including underwater reconnaissance, pipefitting, patching, welding, cutting with hydrogen torch and oxyelectric machine; survey of underwater conditions in mud, swift currents, and various tide actions; use of jetting nozzle and siphon.

(3) Use of hand tools, air tools, machine tools, pumps, winches, and blacksmithing.

(4) Rigging, beach gear, and hi-lines.

(5) Elementary instruction and training in—

(a) Diving-gear nomenclature.

(b) Diving-gear maintenance.

(c) Hazards of diving.

(d) Physics of diving.

(e) Skin diving.

(f) Recompression tanks and tables.

(g) Air compressors, air flasks, field expedients.

(h) Signals and communications.

(i) Ship construction.

(j) Mooring and maneuvering.

(k) Sketching.

(l) Tactical military instruction.

c. Diesel engineer training. This is advanced training for those men having previous Diesel experience. The operation, maintenance, and repair of Diesel engines are studied.

d. Seaman training. The apprentice seaman is given a basic course in seamanship. It includes instruction in—

(1) Nautical terms. All nautical terms and what they mean, including the parts of a ship and construction terms.

(2) Ground tackle and its use. The various kinds of anchors and how they are used; rules for anchoring.

(3) Lifeboat seamanship. Lifeboats and their handling, surf seamanship, the sea anchor, use of oil, helmsmanship.

(4) Safety at sea. Avoiding accidents, keeping equipment shipshape, safeguarding against fire, fire-fighting and life-saving equipment, first aid.

(5) Marlinespike seamanship. The common knots, how to make fast to a cleat, whipping, splicing, the care of rope, handling and use of lines.

(6) The compass. Types of compasses, installation and care, boxing the compass, points and degrees, variation and deviation, compensating the compass.

(7) General. General seaman duties and seaman watches.

e. Visual signal instruction. The visual signal training should include:

(1) International code flags.

(2) Semaphore.

(3) Flashing light signals.

(4) The signal code.

(5) Typical signals.

(6) Special Navy signals.

(7) Signaling Navy and Coast Guard vessels.

(8) Special flags and pennants.

(9) Pyrotechnics.

f. Degaussing school. At the Navy degaussing school, complete degaussing of a ship is taught, including what equipment is required and how it is used.

g. Wartime radio procedure. The wartime radio procedure is that procedure practiced by the Navy. It includes:

(1) Ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, and ship-to-plane radio instruction.

(2) Call numbers and identification.

(3) Codes.

(4) Radio discipline.

(5) Operation and maintenance of marine radio equipment.

(6) Operation of radio direction finder.

h. Gyrocompass instruction. The Navy gyrocompass school teaches:

(1) Basic principles of the action and operation of the gyrocompass.

(2) Cause of gyrocompass errors and how to correct or compensate them.

(3) Maintenance and care of the compass and its equipment.

i. Convoy communication. The Navy convoy communication school teaches the various types of signaling used between ships in a convoy. The instruction includes:

(1) Naval signal codes and calls.

(2) Procedure signs.

j. Machine-shop training. The machine-shop training includes the operation of drill presses, grinders, lathes, cutters, punch and shear machines, shapers, forging hammers, and milling machines. The men work with different types of metals, receive practical experience in various kinds of machine-shop jobs, and learn how to maintain the equipment and tools.

k. Demolition training. Training in explosives and demolitions includes the following:

(1) Theory of explosives.

(2) Calculation of charges.

(3) Capping and priming.

(4) Field expedients.

(5) Cutting, cratering, and flattening charges.

(6) Booby traps.

13. SHIPBOARD TRAINING. Training aboard ship involves molding the crew into an efficient, smooth-running organization. This requires constant drill, practice, and working out of operational team problems.