A division officer (known as a divisional officer in the UK) commands a shipboard division of

enlisted Enlisted may refer to: * Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or ...

personnel, and is typically the lowest ranking

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in their administrative

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...

. Enlisted personnel aboard

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

warships are assigned to a division according to their shipboard responsibilities. Small shipboard departments may have a single division in which the department head serves as the division officer, while larger departments on larger ships may have several divisions with division officers reporting to a department head. Department heads report to the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

through the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

Responsibilities

Division officers maintain and display in conspicuous locations copies of all division orders including watch, quarter, station, fire, collision, and abandon ship bills. Division officers personally instruct their division during prescribed drills, while giving their

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...

s opportunities to become proficient in leadership. Division officers inspect division compartments and equipment for cleanliness, preservation, and operational readiness. Division officers are responsible for safety precautions to prevent accidents while overseeing training of division personnel to prepare them for battle. Division officers encourage and assist personnel under their supervision to obtain knowledge for advancement in

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...

. While inspecting division personnel for appearance and behavior, division officers instruct those needing correction and may report those guilty of infractions of regulations for punishment by higher authority.

Sources

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References

{{reflist Military ranks