Who determines the manning levels for individual communication watch positions?

• A. Commanding Officer
• B. Executive Officer
• C. Chief of Information
• D. Operations Officer

Answer: (A)

The commanding officer sets the number of people assigned to each communication watch because they are responsible for the ship’s overall readiness, safety, and mission success. This role has to guarantee that critical communications tasks are covered at all times, with enough qualified personnel and redundancy to handle shifts, contingencies, and equipment failures. The executive officer typically drafts the watch bill and coordinates day-to-day execution, but final approval and allocation rest with the CO, who weighs factors like training status, quals, and current operational demands. The chief of information focuses on information systems and messaging rather than manpower decisions, while the operations officer may advise based on current operations but does not unilaterally determine manning levels.