A recent task force put together some ideas on how to revise prototype operations. Recommendations include an exam for staff when they report for duty and a two week course to bone up on the weaknesses, limiting class size until the true "capacity" of the prototypes is truly understood (demands on staff time with maintenance, watchstanding, training, and IDE operations), raising the bar for fleet returnee requirements to become an instructor, and teaching actual instructor techniques at BIT school. SO, there is a pretty exhaustive self-recriminating look in progress. However, as with everything, change takes time.
Does the Navy really think that they will be able to man the prototypes fully if they implement that? They are having a hard enough time trying to coerce guy/gals to go teach there as it is, let alone trying to find the "cream of the crop" to go back. While I fully encourage the concept of trying to get better instructors at NPTU and that there are/were NPTU instructors that were less that intelligent in all things nuclear power(most often they ended up getting put in some position in which they could not adversely affect the plant, yet was considered a desirable job to others such as Pro-phase, OCTG, etc.), I also understand that if you set the bar where it probably needs to be, you are going to be even more undermanned than they already are.
I frequently thought that there should be a Maintenance Division for the prototypes. One for each rate, about 8 or 9 guys/gals per division. All they do is do the PMS that is required and needed. They don't train students, they don't stand watch, they do maintenance. They write the tag-outs and WAFs for shutdowns, order the parts, do the work, get the boat to work again. That takes a CONSIDERABLE load off of the training staff, especially during shutdowns to devote more time to training or heaven forbid maybe an extra day off. You would have to maintain the current manning levels for training staff(since I know the Navy loves to do more with less and would be tempted to drop the levels to bare minimum to man the watch bill). The reason this works is that you would be able to have two different billets for P-type, one for training and one for maintenance. I would be willing to wager that more people would volunteer for P-type if they knew they only had to do maintenance. Of course you give them less pro-pay and give them the option of going to the training side of the house if they cut the mustard with LOK.
Come to think of it, isn't there an industry that seperates out maintenance vs operations vs training? I am pretty sure they are doing much better as far as morale and recruiting than the Prototypes. If only I knew what industry that was.