completion of PQS. Department heads may do this by giving an oral or written examination to determine  if  a  satisfactory  knowledge  level  of watch station requirements has been attained. If it is satisfactory, a recommendation is made to the  commanding  officer  that  the  individual  be granted  an  interim  qualification  for  a  specific watch station. If the commanding officer ap- proves,  an  interim  qualification  letter  is  placed  in the member’s service record. Examples of a situation  in  which  interim  qualification  may  be appropriate  are  shown  below: When it is necessary to use a watch stander who  has  not  yet  achieved  final  qualification  to  fill a  more  demanding  billet   When a newly reporting individual who has  not  yet  achieved  final  qualification  in  the particular  watch  station  but  possesses  a  prior qualification  from  a  previous  command  must  be used as a watch stander Final Certification and Watch Station  Sign-off All  final  certifications  and  watch  station qualifications must be signed off at the permanent duty station. Every PQS specifies the title of the certifying officer for each qualification. If the commanding  officer  is  specified  as  the  certifying officer but feels that the certifying officer should be a department head, then the commanding officer may delegate certification authority. To make  sure  there  is  no  confusion,  the  commanding officer should delegate this authority in writing. On  large  ships,  the  damage  control  assistant  may be  designated  as  the  certifying  officer  for  damage control  PQS. Oral Examining Boards and Written   Examinations Qualification  requirements  for  all  oral  examin- ing  boards  and  written  examinations  should  be designated by both the ship and squadron and their  appropriate  type  commander. Often the final step in PQS watch station qualifications is an oral examining board. The exact  membership  of  each  examining  board  is determined by the command. A single board could have as few as two or as many as eight members.  A  written  examination  or  preboard  oral examination may be used as part of the oral examining board. The command may develop its own  exam  questions  or  use  established  questions from  the  appropriate  PQS.  In  general,  the examining board should consist of the following: At least one qualified officer of the deck (OOD),  engineering  officer  of  the  watch  (EOOW), or tactical action officer (TAO) when the watch station  is  under  that  officer’s  direct  supervision Members  of  applicable  training  teams Division   officer   or   department   head responsible for the watch station when an E-6 or above is qualifying The  oral  examining  board  should  determine the  scope  of  the  board  and  questions  from  the applicable  PQS  to  determine  the  trainee’s qualification. Oral boards should include the trainee’s  demonstration  of  equipment  operation when  appropriate. ORGANIZATION The  PQS  organization  reaches  from  the commanding  officer  to  the  petty  officer  that  serves as the qualifier. This program helps you develop skills  that  are  necessary  to  perform  your  assigned tasks. It is a list of the minimum knowledge and skills required to qualify for a specific watch station,  maintain  specific  equipment,  or  perform as a team member in a unit. Qualifiers A qualifier is the acknowledged expert in a specified  area  of  qualification.  The  responsibilities of  the  qualifier  are  significant.  A  qualifier  must be  current  in  the  technical  and  safety  requirements of  assigned  areas  and  be  aware  of  the  problems that face a trainee. The qualifier must follow command directives with regard to standard answers, keeping in mind that consistency is important. The qualifier should understand all reference  material  and,  when  necessary,  guide  the trainees  to  the  reference  material.  The  qualifier should remember that the ultimate goal of the program  is  to  develop  adequate  numbers  of qualified   watch   standers,   operators,   and maintenance  personnel  to  do  the  job.  Qualifiers should  help  their  shipmates  but  SHOULD  NOT GIVE THEIR SIGNATURES AWAY. PQS qualifiers normally will be E-5 or above and,  as  a  minimum,  must  have  completed  the PQS  they  are  assigned.  The  role  of  the  qualifying 4-11