Destroyer Command As Training Aid

[CBDR]

Yesterday I had a very enjoyable opportunity to put Destroyer Command to use in a professional training environment. In my engineering section there are two other former Surface Warfare Officers, such as myself, as well as about 8 other engineers who do not have naval experience. On a monthly basis we have a section meeting followed by a training session where the presenter can present a training topic of his choice as long as it relates to our business. As we make marine navigation and control systems, I chose the topic of relative motion.

My colleagues are all very good at math and vectors, so they didn't have too much trouble following the "classroom" power point presentation and working out the problem on maneuvering boards. However, after that I fired up my laptop with a Destroyer Command scenario exactly the same as the one we had just covered in the power point presentation. It was a simple crossing situation and my colleagues had to determine the other ship's true course and speed (no looking at F2 CIC!) as well as the range, bearing and time of Closest Point of Approach (CPA). I told them that once I hit OK on the Game Paused window there would be no pausing the simulation as real mariners do not have a pause button. As the projector wasn't very powerful we had to turn off the overhead lights in the conference room, making it very much like being on the darkened bridge of a ship at night. My colleagues very quickly learned how easy it was in real time, even in a simple one on one situation, to quickly get behind the power curve and "lose the bubble."

For a second go in the simulation I placed my colleagues in a situation where the two ships were Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range (CBDR - my, where have I heard that before?). Things went much better this time as they eventually realized they were in a collision situation and they even took the appropriate avoiding action.

All in all it was a most enjoyable training session for all involved, and I was very glad that I had a real time simulation that allowed my colleagues to experience something they would otherwise not likely have had the chance to.

[Sailor Steve]

Cool! It's nice to hear about an old favorite having a real-life application. It's also nice to find out where someone's screen name comes from.

[Hinrich Schwab]

Hearing this story is highly encouraging. I have plans to propose an interactive exhibit at the museum I am interning at using SHII/DC to better show patrons how "frisky" World War II era ASW could get. Knowing that the sim has been used by others as a training aid makes presenting my proposal easier.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Hinrich Schwab

Hearing this story is highly encouraging. I have plans to propose an interactive exhibit at the museum I am interning at using SHII/DC to better show patrons how "frisky" World War II era ASW could get. Knowing that the sim has been used by others as a training aid makes presenting my proposal easier.

That sounds awesome!

I want to visit that musuem.

[Hinrich Schwab]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

That sounds awesome!

I want to visit that musuem.

Ok.

http://museumofmilitaryhistory.com/

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Hinrich Schwab

Ok.

http://museumofmilitaryhistory.com/

Looks awesome. I wish there was a good museum like that around here.

[Deamon]

Originally Posted by CBDR

Yesterday I had a very enjoyable opportunity to put Destroyer Command to use in a professional training environment. In my engineering section there are two other former Surface Warfare Officers, such as myself, as well as about 8 other engineers who do not have naval experience. On a monthly basis we have a section meeting followed by a training session where the presenter can present a training topic of his choice as long as it relates to our business. As we make marine navigation and control systems, I chose the topic of relative motion.

My colleagues are all very good at math and vectors, so they didn't have too much trouble following the "classroom" power point presentation and working out the problem on maneuvering boards. However, after that I fired up my laptop with a Destroyer Command scenario exactly the same as the one we had just covered in the power point presentation. It was a simple crossing situation and my colleagues had to determine the other ship's true course and speed (no looking at F2 CIC!) as well as the range, bearing and time of Closest Point of Approach (CPA). I told them that once I hit OK on the Game Paused window there would be no pausing the simulation as real mariners do not have a pause button. As the projector wasn't very powerful we had to turn off the overhead lights in the conference room, making it very much like being on the darkened bridge of a ship at night. My colleagues very quickly learned how easy it was in real time, even in a simple one on one situation, to quickly get behind the power curve and "lose the bubble."

For a second go in the simulation I placed my colleagues in a situation where the two ships were Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range (CBDR - my, where have I heard that before?). Things went much better this time as they eventually realized they were in a collision situation and they even took the appropriate avoiding action.

All in all it was a most enjoyable training session for all involved, and I was very glad that I had a real time simulation that allowed my colleagues to experience something they would otherwise not likely have had the chance to.

Ahoy CBDR, i am greeting you! Good to hear from you again, how are you doing lately, my friend ?

This is a fascinating story and reminds me on the experiences with my own project when i get the aha effects when i put new advanced features into place, test run them and then make startling discoveries that i haven't even expected.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Cool! It's nice to hear about an old favorite having a real-life application. It's also nice to find out where someone's screen name comes from.

Dear Sailor Steve : just re-perusing who still plays Destroyer Command which does come in handy when skirting Alcatraz in a 37 ft ketch with a Maersk container about to make a a hard port (without hitting the Baybridge tower) 90 degrees to Japan (and at me), dead ahead and the Marin Jet Cat on NNE to the Sacramento estuary off my 30 degree bearing-closing, with a prevailing westerly on two old Volvos, astern-the only constant. The only channel for the big guy IS called the Maersk trench and the carrier Enterprise captain lost his command on a known rock there awhile back. My screen name is from the old album, you guessed it, "Achtung Baby U2"! Too bad the Andrea Doria captain didn't play... talk about CBDR. Can SHII be played on Win 7 or just my old 98 windows?

[UncleBoomer]

Check this post in case you run into any problems . I cant say for sure cause im not using win 7.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=177938

Its cool to see ppl still trying to play DC and sh2 though .. hope it works out for you.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by UncleBoomer

Check this post in case you run into any problems . I cant say for sure cause im not using win 7.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=177938

Its cool to see ppl still trying to play DC and sh2 though .. hope it works out for you.

Good Stuff THNX!

[CaptainCruise]

I have SH2 and DC loaded on my Win7 laptop and they both play fine. The only game I had a problem with was SH3. The older version wouldn't play on Win7. I had to buy a newer copy of the game and that solved my probems.

Its great to see DC being used like this. That was a great game and the interop ability with SH2 was ground-breaking at the time. I remember one of the big gaming magazines...I think it was "Computer Gaming World" doing a story about it, and all of us here in the SubClub for all the work done creating our own mods and game patches to fix each game. We all remember how buggy and almost unplayable these games were when they were first released, and how "helpful" UBI was as far as fixing their mess. ACK!!! What a nightmare!!
CC

[Aktungbby]

@CaptainCruise : Good to hear from you! I was born in Bronxville in the year of '51 so, IMHO, you're in a good location! About two weeks ago I got to employ some rapid CBDR aspects of Destroyer Command in the San Francisco North Bay on our Friday outing. Basically against a 8 knot out-tide current in the Sacramento River with a large auto-hauler cargo carrier at 300 yards, doing 10 knots-tug free in ballast in the main ship channel on my 320; Closing very fast and optionless and the Carquinez Bridge footing on my immediate 90 at less than 50 yards; the 15 knot westerly wind just dropped, and we were doing 1.5 knots (becalmed according to the GPS speedpuck)...NO JOY imminent! Not standing on ceremony: as crew, exec, teak sander, and jibman-grinder, I turned to the skipper, an ex Navy Commander whose bucket-list gift this vessel is (a Catalina) and issued the Command Imperative: " Start the Engine!!!". His own blood pressure elevating, he hit the button on our mettlesome ancient Nisson 15 HP and it amazingly 'Tapocketa'd' to life as we cleared impending doom in true Mittyesqe fashion. We scuzzed aside the behemoth by 30 yards- were waved at by an officer from the bridge wing, received a salutary blast of the Nippon-bound ship's horn...and rode out the swell on our port quarter. The principle of big-ship little-ship played out to the MAX: and he has right-of way-in the main ship channel...whether I'm on a starboard tack or not! As we shortly re-entered the marina...we ran out of fuel and just glided 200' into the slip with two minor turns...best mooring ever! The skipper graciously forgave my breech of protocol but he bought lunch for going out short on gas-basic pilot error! Will crew for Food! Logging off to go sand and refinish the teak!

[Buddahaid]

[QUOTE=Aktungbby;2198673]@CaptainCruise : Good to hear from you! I was born in Bronxville in the year of '51 so, IMHO, you're in a good location! About two weeks ago I got to employ some rapid CBDR aspects of Destroyer Command in the San Francisco North Bay on our Friday outing. Basically against a 8 knot out-tide current in the Sacramento River with a large auto-hauler cargo carrier at 300 yards, doing 10 knots-tug free in ballast in the main ship channel on my 320; Closing very fast and optionless and the Carquinez Bridge footing on my immediate 90 at less than 50 yards; the 15 knot westerly wind just dropped, and we were doing 1.5 knots (becalmed according to the GPS speedpuck)...NO JOY imminent! Not standing on ceremony: as crew, exec, teak sander, and jibman-grinder, I turned to the skipper, an ex Navy Commander whose bucket-list gift this vessel is (a Catalina) and issued the Command Imperative: " Start the Engine!!!". His own blood pressure elevating, he hit the button on our mettlesome ancient Nisson 15 HP and it amazingly 'Tapocketa'd' to life as we cleared impending doom in true Mittyesqe fashion. We scuzzed aside the behemoth by 30 yards- were waved at by an officer from the bridge wing, received a salutary blast of the Nippon-bound ship's horn...and rode out the swell on our port quarter. The principle of big-ship little-ship played out to the MAX: and he has right-of way-in the main ship channel...whether I'm on a starboard tack or not! As we shortly re-entered the marina...we ran out of fuel and just glided 200' into the slip with two minor turns...best mooring ever! The skipper graciously forgave my breech of protocol but he bought lunch for going out short on gas-basic pilot error! Will crew for Food! Logging off to go sand and refinish the teak! [/QUOTE

Who says sailing is boring............

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by CaptainCruise

We all remember how buggy and almost unplayable these games were when they were first released, and how "helpful" UBI was as far as fixing their mess. ACK!!! What a nightmare!!
CC

I remember looking for a fix for those bugs back in 2002...and discovering Subsim!

[CaptainCruise]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

@CaptainCruise : Good to hear from you! I was born in Bronxville in the year of '51 so, IMHO, you're in a good location! About two weeks ago I got to employ some rapid CBDR aspects of Destroyer Command in the San Francisco North Bay on our Friday outing. Basically against a 8 knot out-tide current in the Sacramento River with a large auto-hauler cargo carrier at 300 yards, doing 10 knots-tug free in ballast in the main ship channel on my 320; Closing very fast and optionless and the Carquinez Bridge footing on my immediate 90 at less than 50 yards; the 15 knot westerly wind just dropped, and we were doing 1.5 knots (becalmed according to the GPS speedpuck)...NO JOY imminent! Not standing on ceremony: as crew, exec, teak sander, and jibman-grinder, I turned to the skipper, an ex Navy Commander whose bucket-list gift this vessel is (a Catalina) and issued the Command Imperative: " Start the Engine!!!". His own blood pressure elevating, he hit the button on our mettlesome ancient Nisson 15 HP and it amazingly 'Tapocketa'd' to life as we cleared impending doom in true Mittyesqe fashion. We scuzzed aside the behemoth by 30 yards- were waved at by an officer from the bridge wing, received a salutary blast of the Nippon-bound ship's horn...and rode out the swell on our port quarter. The principle of big-ship little-ship played out to the MAX: and he has right-of way-in the main ship channel...whether I'm on a starboard tack or not! As we shortly re-entered the marina...we ran out of fuel and just glided 200' into the slip with two minor turns...best mooring ever! The skipper graciously forgave my breech of protocol but he bought lunch for going out short on gas-basic pilot error! Will crew for Food! Logging off to go sand and refinish the teak!

Forgive me, I don't know how I missed this post back when you wrote it, but that's quite a story you pitched. You hit the nail on the head......forget the "Rules of The Road" when on the water. The biggest boat almost always has the right of way!!! I've never sailed before but I was a Coast Guard licensed captain for almost 20 years, and I've been at the wheel of several different vessels. Mostly fishing boats, both open and charter boats up to 80'. I ran a 65' dinner "booze" cruise boat (hence my username. Almost no one on the water I worked back then knew me as "Captain Tom") for a few years that I can tell you guys some stories about!!! The cool thing about my cruise boat was it was originally a USN PT boat built around 1945. I don't remember if it was a Higgins or Elco boat, only that it was cut down to 65 ft. and re-fitted as a excursion boat. I also worked crew boats and launches, etc.
How about almost being run down by a USN submarine? I was transiting Long Island Sound from Port Jefferson heading east to Buzzards Bay Rhode Island to assist with the oil tanker "World Prodigy" running aground outside the marked buoy channel and spilling a whole lotta #2 'light sweet crude' oil, if my memory serves. Anyway its very late I'm running east in the Sound and out of nowhere I suddenly get a return on my radar fairly close aboard very close to my course track. I reach for the radio mic to make a call on ch.16 and try to establish comms when all of a sudden my wheelhouse is lit up like the sun. A vessel passing close down my port side just lit me up with his searchlight. It was so dark I never saw who it was and we never made radio contact, but when I looked back I was pretty sure I saw the rapid flashing yellow strobe light that is suppose to signify a submarine, probably heading into Groton. I couldn't make out the hull of any ship, just the lights. I'm not sure subs even have search lights so I may be wrong, but I do know someone lit me up and passed less than 100ft. down my side. It all happened so fast and I never found out what really happened. So yeah.....size means everything!

On my streets of Da Bronx..... Born in '65, moved to Long Island in '78.

"CC"