UK: IWO(F) – Course Gains in Popularity among International Students

In recent months, amongst its twelve dedicated International Defence Training Warfare courses, the International and Commonwealth Training Unit (ICTU) in HMS Collingwood has been busy delivering the International Warfare Officer (Foundation) – IWO(F) – Course to junior warfare officers from around the world.

This new foundation level course found its origins in the rather ‘long in the tooth’ International Coastal Officers Course (ICOC), which ran successfully for many years until 2009.

However, times have moved on and in order to meet the requirements of the navies of today, the ICOC has now been superseded with the IWO(F).

The 13-week IWO(F) runs three times a year with up to twelve students on each course and, to date, has had attendees from Ghana, Iraq, Jamaica, Nigeria, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, Lebanon, Kuwait and Indonesia.

The students may join from basic new entry training at BRNC Dartmouth, but additionally, the course is open to students who have completed their own national new entry training.

The course aims to provide basic theory and practical experience in navigation, seamanship and leadership in order to better prepare the students for their initial seagoing assignments.

It also provides a good baseline for students from non-English speaking countries to progress to further UK training and, as such, comprises a wide-ranging syllabus.

Particularly notable elements of the course include attendance at the Royal Naval Leadership Academy, the Basic Sea Survival Course at Phoenix, Board and Search training as well as practical Seamanship at HMS Raleigh, First Aid, an introduction to Warfare and a comprehensive Navigation module.

Although the course starts at a relatively basic level, the training during the last few weeks of the course, which includes the Bridge Simulator Phase, becomes increasingly challenging.

During this final module, each student is presented with the opportunity to bring together much of the earlier elements of the course in becoming a fully competent 2nd Officer of the Watch.

During their Bridge practical assessment, the students conduct elementary pilotage serials under the supervision of a Staff Captain in order to help build their confidence prior to proceeding to sea.

It is envisaged that a number of students who have attended IWO(F) will subsequently return to the Maritime Warfare School for further training later in their careers.

Popular career courses include the well-established International Sub Lieutenant and International Principal Warfare Officer Courses.

However, also on offer in the ICTU’s curriculum are more specialist courses in navigation, electronic warfare, communications, Exclusive Economic Zone Protection, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Sea Command.

Still in its infancy, the IWO(F) Course is becoming increasingly popular amongst UK’s allies and places are already highly sought after.

An attractive feature of the course is that it furnishes the students with a number of formal qualifications, such as the GMDSS VHF Short Range Certificate, the worldwide recognised St John Ambulance First Aid Certificate and the Royal Yachting Association’s MIB / RIB / Displacement Boat qualification.

[mappress]
Naval Today Staff, February 21, 2013; Image: Royal Navy