Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training

Last updated
Commander Fleet Operational Standards and Training
Fleet Operational Standards and Training
Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training Badge.png
Command badge
Active1958–present
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
RoleTraining
Size Commodore's Command
Part of Fleet Commander
Command HQRN Warfighting Centre, HMNB Portsmouth
Commanders
Current CommanderCommodore Andrew Stacey

The Fleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST) is a Royal Navy training organisation. [1] FOST is the training organisation responsible for ensuring that Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels are fit to join the operational fleet. [1]

Contents

Commander Fleet Operational Standards and Training Headquarters (COM FOST HQ) is the HQ from where FOST is run, and this is headed up by a Commodore. [2]

History

Operations room staff on board HMS Illustrious during Basic Operational Sea Training. Operations Room Staff Onboard HMS Illustrious During an Exercise MOD 45153376.jpg
Operations room staff on board HMS Illustrious during Basic Operational Sea Training.

A. Cecil Hampshire's "The Royal Navy Since 1945" writes that

[U]nder the system of Home Service, General Service, and Foreign Service commissions which was introduced in 1954, warships required to be re-manned with completely new crews more frequently than in the old days of "running" commissions. Thus in September 1958 under a Flag Officer Sea Training, special "shakedown" or settling in courses lasting seven weeks were started to train the crews of newly commissioned ships in operating their equipment and give them experience in dealing with every eventuality likely to be met with in subsequent service at home and abroad. [3]

Portland was the selected location and by the time Hampshire wrote in the early 1970s, "warships from other NATO and Commonwealth countries and from foreign navies" were undertaking the same courses of training. [3]

Originally operating out of Portland, [4] Flag Officer Sea Training moved to Plymouth in 1995 when Rear-Admiral John Tolhurst transferred his flag courtesy of HMS Iron Duke. FOST's superior officer changed from Flag Officer Surface Flotilla to Commander-in-Chief Fleet. [5]

As a result of the Royal Navy programme 'Fleet First', FOST became the single command responsible for all sea training. The submarine sea-training organisation came under FOST and surface ship training previously undertaken by Flag Officer Surface Flotilla and the squadron staffs also shifted to FOST. [6]

FOST operates a pair of Eurocopter Dauphin helicopters to allow its instructors to join vessels with minimal delay during intense training periods. [7] Plymouth Airport closed on 23 December 2011. [8] The aircraft operate from HMS Raleigh in Cornwall but are based at Newquay. [9]

As well as training Royal Navy personnel, it has also been an important source of revenue in training foreign naval crews to handle and fight their vessels, with around one third of its work used in this capacity. [7]

A March 2020 edition of Navy News noted that the Director People and Training took over the commands under FOST, namely BRNC Dartmouth, HMS Raleigh, Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, HMS Collingwood and HMS Temeraire. [10]

In May 2020, Flag Officer Sea Training became Fleet Operational Sea Training [11] and the position was taken up by a Commodore in the appointment of Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training (COM FOST). [12]

Training regime

The main training and testing period is called Basic Operational Sea Training (BOST), which typically lasts six weeks. It combines surveys of the physical condition of the ship with tests of the crew's readiness for deployment, including a weekly war-fighting and damage control scenario known as a 'Thursday War'. BOST thus has elements of the US Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) and Composite Training Unit Exercise assessments. When USS Forrest Sherman underwent a short version of BOST in 2012, comments from her sailors included "I've been through other exercises, inspections, and deployment and this was by far the hardest ... It was even more intense than INSURV". [13]

Commanders 1958 - 2020

Flag Officer Sea Training

Flag Officers Sea Training included: [14]

Flag Officer Sea Training and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Training)

Post holders include: [15]

Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training

Notes

  1. 1 2 "FOST Royal Navy". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. MOD, 2017. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  2. "Who is the new Flag Officer Sea Training" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.com. Whatdotheyknow. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020. In response to your request, I can advise you that the title Flag Officer Sea Training will cease to exist on 1 May 2020 and is replaced by the 1* post of Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training
  3. 1 2 Hampshire 1975, p. 176.
  4. Navy marks 50th year of world-renowned training Archived September 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Joris Janssen Lok, 'FOST: Preparing the RN's ships for action,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 15 July 1995, p.31
  6. Richard Scott, Jane's Defence Weekly January 2005, 27.
  7. 1 2 FOST page at helis.com
  8. BBC Devon - Plymouth Airport Closed - 23 Dec 2011
  9. "This is Plymouth - FOST Helicopters Move - 21 Dec 2011". Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  10. "Integrating the way we work". Navy News. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  11. Flag Officer Sea Training Organisation Renamed, UK Defence Journal, June 29, 2020.
  12. "Who is the new Flag Officer Sea Training" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.com. Whatdotheyknow. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020. In response to your request, I can advise you that the title Flag Officer Sea Training will cease to exist on 1 May 2020 and is replaced by the 1* post of Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training
  13. "American warship put to the ultimate test by Royal Navy trainers". Navy News. 26 April 2012.
  14. Mackie, Colin. "Senior Royal Navy Appointments from 1865: Flag Officer, Sea Training" (PDF). Gulabin. Colin Mackie, p.245, January 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  15. Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie 2018. p.245. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  16. Flag Officer Sea Training Organisation Renamed, UK Defence Journal, June 29, 2020.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far East Fleet (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The Far East Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1952 and 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home Fleet</span> Former naval fleet of the Royal Navy

The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander-in-Chief Fleet</span>

The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Naval Service. In its last years, as the Navy shrank, more administrative responsibilities were added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Forces Gibraltar</span> Military unit

British Forces Gibraltar is the British Armed Forces stationed in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Gibraltar is used primarily as a training area, thanks to its good climate and rocky terrain, and as a stopover for aircraft and ships en route to and from deployments East of Suez or in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navy Command (Royal Navy)</span> Headquarters of the Royal Navy

The Navy Command is the current headquarters body of the Royal Navy, and as of 2012 its major organisational grouping. It is a hybrid, neither a command, nor simply an installation. Royal Navy official writings describe Navy Command Headquarters both as a physical site, on Whale Island, Hampshire, a collective formed of the most senior RN officers, and as a budgetary grouping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thursday War</span>

A Thursday War is the colloquial name given in the Royal Navy for the weekly war-fighting and damage control exercises that are held during Fleet Operational Sea Training (FOST), so named because they are usually held on a Thursday. FOST is responsible for ensuring that Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels are fit to join the operational fleet by testing vessels' readiness through a series of drills and exercises. These culminate in the so-called 'Thursday War', war-fighting scenarios designed to test a ship's company's reaction to various situations and emergencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Commander</span> Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of vessels and people

The Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is required to provide ships, submarines and aircraft ready for operations, and is based at Navy Command Headquarters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom)</span>

The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (A.C.N.S.) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Parr</span>

Rear Admiral Matthew John Parr, is a retired Royal Navy officer who has served as Commander Operations and Rear Admiral, Submarines and is currently an Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers)</span>

The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers) formerly the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation and Carrier Strike) is a senior Royal Navy appointment responsible for naval aviation. The post is also the successor to the Royal Navy's Flag Officer for naval aviation in the British Isles, established since 1939.

In 1989 the Royal Navy was under the direction of the Navy Department in the UK Ministry of Defence. It had two main commands, CINCFLEET and Naval Home Command.

Naval Home Command administered training and garrison functions for the Royal Navy from 1969 to 2012. Its commander was Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships</span>

Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships (FOCAS) was a senior Royal Navy post that existed from 1970 to 1979. However, its antecedents date to 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag Officer, Second Flotilla</span> Military unit

The Flag Officer, Second Flotilla was a senior British Royal Navy appointment from 1971 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag Officer, Third Flotilla</span> Military unit

The Flag Officer, Third Flotilla was the senior Royal Navy appointment in command of the Third Flotilla from 1979 to 1992.

The Flag Officer, Surface Flotilla was a senior British Royal Navy appointment from 1990 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander United Kingdom Task Group</span> Military unit

The Commander United Kingdom Task Group (COMUKTG ) was a senior Royal Navy operational appointment from April 1992 to March 2015. In March 2015 the post was renamed Commander Amphibious Task Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Burns (Royal Navy officer)</span>

Vice Admiral Andrew Paul Burns, is a senior Royal Navy officer. He has served as Fleet Commander since September 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag Officer Sea Training (India)</span> Indian Navy training organisation

The Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) is a training organisation in the Indian Navy. FOST is the authority responsible for the operational sea training of all personnel of Indian Naval and Coast Guard ships and submarines. The organisation was instituted in 1992 and is the common authority to maintain battle efficiency standards. It also provides training to navies and maritime security forces of friendly foreign countries (FFC). Headquartered in Kochi, the FOST operates under the control of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.