Board of Inspection and Survey

INSURV at work

An inspector assesses an anchorage test in the forecastle aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70).

Cargo netting aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is inspected.

Inspectors discuss the process of counting the 6000+ float coats aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).

Inspectors check USS Kitty Hawk's (CV-63) counter-measure wash-down system.

Sprinkler nozzles are inspected during a test of the flight deck's aqueous film forming foam system aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74).

The Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) is a United States Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess the material condition of U.S. Navy vessels.

The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia.

INSURV teams

The Board performs its tasks by sending out teams at intervals not to exceed 60 months per Naval Ship. These teams evaluate a ship's readiness to conduct combat operations at sea, through an extensive system of checks on installed equipment.

New construction

When a ship has been constructed by a shipyard and turned over to the U.S. Navy, an INSURV team must certify the vessel prior to declaring it operational.

History

The Board of Inspection and Survey was established by Congress to ensure that the ships of the United States Navy are properly equipped for prompt, reliable, sustained mission readiness at sea. Originally established in 1868 under Admiral David Farragut, the board was reconstituted in 1877 with Admiral David Porter as head of the board, expanding on the tasks he had assumed as duties under an instruction of November 16, 1870.

On August 5, 1882, Congress enacted legislation which established the Board of Inspection and Survey under statutory authority. Commodore Alexander A. Semmes was the first officer to assume the title as President, Board of Inspection and Survey. INSURV has been operating continuously under this authority since that date.

In 2008, six Navy ships, including the destroyer Stout, guided missile cruiser Chosin, and amphibious assault ship New Orleans, failed their INSURV inspections. More than two dozen other ships were found to have critical deficiencies. Parting from a past practice of publicly releasing INSURV inspection results, the Navy immediately classified the 2008 reports. In response, US Senator Jim Webb, in April 2009, asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to look into the Navy's decision. Said Representative Rob Wittman in support of Webb's action, "I am deeply concerned that a decision to classify these reports across the board would inhibit the Congress' ability to provide necessary and constitutionally mandated oversight." ^[1]

Mission

The Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) have designated the President, Board of Inspection and Survey (PRESINSURV) as their agent to perform the following statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements:

• Develop and establish CNO policy and procedures for trials, material inspections, and surveys of ships and service craft consistent with law, regulations, and the terms of contract.
• Examine Naval vessels periodically by a board of Naval officers to determine fitness for further service.
• Conduct material inspections and surveys of ships and service craft and provide assessment of the material readiness of these vessels.
• Provide independent verification of a newly constructed ship’s readiness for acceptance/delivery; and to determine if builder responsible equipment is operating satisfactorily during the guarantee period following acceptance.
• Based on observations during Board of Inspection and Survey assessments, provide timely, candid, and accurate findings to Fleet Commanders, Type Commanders, NAVSEA, and appropriate OPNAV offices together with recommended actions where appropriate.
• Conduct environmental protection and NAVOSH oversight inspection of Naval ships to include equipment, program compliance, and training. A combined NAVOSH/EP assessment will be conducted during non-MI Fleet Readiness Periods (FRPs), not to exceed 36 months.
• Compile statistical information and analysis on material deficiencies, providing the CNO, Numbered Fleets, NAVSEA, and other higher authorities such information as they may require.

Presidents of the board

Name	Dates
Adm. David Farragut	1868
??	1869—1877
Adm. David Dixon Porter	1877
Comm. George H. Cooper	1877—1880
??	1880—1881
Comm. Alexander Alderman Semmes	1882—June 1883
Comm. J.C. DeKrafft	August 1883—October 1885
R.Adm. Edward Simpson	October 1885—March 1886
R.Adm. James Edward Jouett	June 1886—February 1890
R.Adm. Lewis Kimberly	March 1890—April 1892
R.Adm. George Belknap	April 1892—January 1894
Comm. Thomas O. Selfridge Jr.	March 1894—October 1895
Comm. George Dewey	November 1895—November 1897
R.Adm. Frederick Rodgers	October 1898—February 1901
R.Adm. Robley Dunglison Evans	February 1901—April 1902
Capt. Charles J. Train	January 1903—February 1904
Capt. James H. Dayton	February 1904—February 1906
R.Adm. Charles Stockton	February 1906—May 1906
Capt. Hugo Osterhaus	May 1906—September 1906
R.Adm. Joseph N. Hemphill	September 1906—May 1907
Capt. Richardson Clover	May 1907—June 1908
R.Adm. Thomas C. McLean	June 1908—December 1909
Capt. Chauncey Thomas	January 1910—October 1910
R.Adm. Thomas Snowden	October 1910—November 1911
Capt. Augustus Francis Fechteler	November 1911—November 1913
Capt. Henry Braid Wilson	November 1913—May 1916
Capt. William A. Gill	May 1916—October 1918
RADM George W.Kline	October 1918—July 1921
R.Adm. Charles Peshall Plunkett	August 1921—November 1922
R.Adm. N. A. McCulley	December 1922—June 1923
R.Adm. Alexander S. Halstead	June 1923—August 1923
R.Adm. G. H. Burrage	August 1923—October 1926
R.Adm. Lucius A. Bostwick	October 1926—October 1928
R.Adm. Frank H. Brumby	November 1928—June 1929
R.Adm. George C. Day	July 1929—September 1929
R.Adm. Sumner Ely Wetmore Kittelle	September 1929—June 1931
R.Adm. George C. Day	June 1931—October 1935
R.Adm. J. D. Wainwright	October 1935—May 1937
R.Adm. Harry L. Brinser	July 1937—September 1940
R.Adm. John W. Wilcox Jr.	September 1940—December 1941
R.Adm. David M. LeBreton	December 1941—November 1942
R.Adm. Walter Stratton Anderson	November 1942—June 1944
R.Adm. Arthur G. Robinson	June 1944—March 1945
R.Adm. Leigh Noyes	March 1945—June 1946
R.Adm. Frank A. Braisted	July 1946—March 1951
R.Adm. Calvin T. Durgin	March 1951—September 1951
R.Adm. James H. Doyle	September 1951—May 1952
R.Adm. John M. Higgins	May 1952—May 1954
R.Adm. Richard F. Stout	May 1954—June 1959
R.Adm. F. D. McCorkle	June 1959—November 1960
R.Adm. Donald C. Varian	December 1960—July 1961
Capt. W.M. Ryon	August 1961—November 1961
R.Adm. Eugene B. Fluckey	November 1961—March 1964
R.Adm. Harry L. Reiter	March 1964—June 1967
R.Adm. John D. Bulkeley	June 1967—August 1988
Capt. David J. Klinkhamer	August 1988—September 1988
R.Adm. Theodore E. Lewin	September 1988—July 1992
R.Adm. Phillip R. Olson	July 1992—July 1996
R.Adm. Henry F. Herrera	July 1996—December 1997
R.Adm. John T. Lyons III	December 1997—May 1999
R.Adm. William R. Schmidt	May 1999—August 2002
R.Adm. Curtis A. Kemp	August 2002—July 2006
R.Adm. Michael P. Nowakowski	July 2006—April 2007
R.Adm. Raymond Michael Klein	April 2007—November 2009
R.Adm. John N. Christenson	November 2009—March 2011
R.Adm. Robert O. Wray	March 2011—October 2013
R.Adm. Jeffrey A. Harley	October 2013—October 2014
R.Adm. Michael E. Smith	October 2014—August 2015
R.Adm. Samuel Perez Jr.	August 2015—July 2016
R.Adm. Jon C. Kreitz	July 2016—September 2017
R.Adm. Erik M. Ross	June 2017—May 2019
R.Adm. Christopher Engdahl	May 2019—April 2021
R.Adm. Randall Peck	April 2021—May 2023
R.ADM Todd Whalen	May 2023---Present

See also

• Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) - tests crew readiness before US warships deploy
• Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) - British equivalent of INSURV and COMPTUEX

References

1. Eisman, Dale, "Lawmakers Seek Openness After Navy Closes Reports Archived 2015-06-12 at the Wayback Machine ", Norfolk Virginian-Pilot , May 4, 2009.

External links

• Official website
• Board of Inspection and Survey Inspection
• Reuben James Sails with Pride After Successful INSURV
• INSURV Presidents