TRAINING  GUIDELINES In  general,  training  should  be  consistent  with  the following guidelines: .  Training  must  be  closely  integrated  and  coordi- nated  with  daily  operations  of  the  battalion.  The adopted plan must not interfere with essential construc- tion functions. . Not withstanding the guideline just listed, the construction schedule should be flexible so it can use opportunities for training that might even expedite the construction  schedule. l Maximum advantage should be taken of the op- portunity to derive training benefits from routine opera- tions. Figure  1-5  shows  a  typical  battalion  training organizational  chart. TRAINING NEEDS Training for advancement is a continuous concern of  all  personnel  within  a  battalion,  whether  at  the company or platoon level. In  home  port,  training  programs  become  the primary  mission.  The  NMCB  is  expected  to  spend about  75  percent  of  the  available  man-days  in formalized technical, military, and general training. In addition, the planning and estimating group may be considered  to  be  involved  with  on-the-job  training (OJT).  Approximately  2  months  before  an  NMCB returns to home port, it sends a training conference team to the home port regiment to prepare the training schedule for the battalion’s home port stay. This team schedules the training required for the battalion to meet  its  readiness  and  construction  tasking  for  its  next deployment. They also coordinate home port support for berthing, supplies, and recreation. All personnel are  trained  in  the  areas  of  technical,  military,  and general  topics.  However,  the  program  may  be  tailored to  meet  the  specialized  mission  of  the  battalion’s  next deployment.  If  one  of  the  projects  scheduled  is  the construction  of  an  airstrip,  there  will  undoubtedly  be a great deal of site preparation occurring. You will need   to   know   how   many   qualified   Construction Mechanics are available and if you need to train more personnel  to  maintain  and  repair  specific  equipment. Take advantage of any opportunitites to train as many of your personnel as possible on the jobs expected to come  up  on  the  next  deployment. Take  inventory  of  the  skills  possessed  by  crew members, whether through actual job experience or through  some  type  of  training  program.  After  you make  this  study,  you  can  easily  see  whether  the required skills for a particular job match the available skills. When they do not match, you know that training is needed. You may need to conduct refresher training or  provide  instruction  on  new  techniques. As  an  individual’s  supervisor,  you  may  check service records, conduct PRCP interviews, and select those  best  suited  for  training  given  at  a  Navy  C-1 advanced  school  or  at  a  special  construction  battalion training  course. ON-THE-JOB TRAINING Figure  1-5.—Training  organizational  chart. There are many forms of OJT. It may be in the form   of   an   especially   tailored,   well-organized program, such as one designed to help Utilitiesmen acquire   advanced   skills   in   air   conditioning   and refrigeration. Then again, OJT may be in the form of simple  instruction,  like  explaining  and  showing  a person how to tie a certain type of knot. In other words, when one person helps others to learn to do a job and makes sure they learn the right way, it is a form of OJT. In the Seabees, OJT goes on around us all the time. For  instance,  two  strikers  were  assigned  a  job  of copper pipe installation. Although they had performed many   comparable   jobs,   they   had   not   done   that particular  one.   Their  supervisor  assigned  an experienced  crew  member  to  guide  them.  This  person explained  the  exact  procedure  for  laying  out  the  pipe; 1-8