The Navy Supply Corps School (NSCS) is no stranger to equipping future supply officers with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in their assignments. However, when Lt. Evan Sarina from the Submarine Officer Basic Course (SOBC) training team in Groton, Connecticut raised concerns about the academic struggles of prospective submarine Supply Officers (P-CHOPs), NSCS faced a Get Real moment. Embracing the Navy’s Get Real Get Better (GRGB) initiative, the NSCS team turned the situation into an opportunity to improve outcomes for its students and Get Better.

The Get Real Get Better initiative focuses on tackling challenges through a structured approach: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC). It encourages Navy commands to foster a culture of continuous improvement and accountability while delivering real-world results.

When Sarina highlighted that more than half of the P-CHOPs struggled with initial academic requirements at SOBC, particularly with geometry and trigonometry concepts for Target Motion Analysis (TMA), NSCS sprang into action.

Steps Taken Using DMAIC:

Define: P-CHOPs attending SOBC consistently struggled with initial academic concepts like TMA, a critical watch-standing requirement for submariners.

Measure: More than 50 percent of students failed the first two exams and quizzes at SOBC, highlighting a gap in preparedness.

Analyze: The SOBC Director of Training, NSCS Executive Officer, and NSCS instructors collaborated to identify areas for improvement and design a tailored plan.

Improve: Study resources were added to the SOBC Welcome aboard Letter for incoming students. NSCS implemented a SOBC introduction and familiarization tour during Chop University week. SOBC instructors visited NSCS to provide introductory training on core principles, including TMA and Rules of the Road (ROR).

Control: Feedback from students in Week three of SOBC confirmed they felt better prepared and more confident in meeting the academic demands.

The impact of these changes was immediate and measurable. Students who benefited from the enhanced preparation shared their experiences:

Ens. Tayler Clabaugh said, “We started week two of SOBC, and I just wanted to say how helpful it was to get that first lesson on TMA before we got here!”

Ens. Keith Baker said. “Had the first test today on Rules of the Road. Most Chops did well. Two got above 90. I got an 86.”

These testimonials emphasize the value of the proactive steps taken by NSCS in collaboration with SOBC.

During a recent visit to NSCS, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations’ Get Real Get Better program Director, Rear Adm. Scott W. Ruston, commended the schoolhouse for its application of the initiative. The director emphasized how NSCS’s efforts exemplify the program’s goals and showcases the power of the Get Real Get Better mindset: identifying challenges, working collaboratively, and achieving lasting solutions that improve mission readiness.

Building on this success, NSCS plans to further integrate Get Real Get Better principles into its training framework. Future initiatives will focus on completely redefining and reworking BQC curriculum to create logisticians who are confident, bold, tough, and adaptable and possess the training, education, and knowledge to be truly Ready for Sea.