181
1 INTRODUCTION
Retrospectively, the education and training of
personneltoprovidetheinformationexchangeinthe
radio networks of the Navy of the Republic of
Bulgaria can be reviewed in two directions – before
andafterthecountry’spreparationforandaccession
to NATO. It is well known that before the polit
ical
changesthetrainingofradiooperatorswasaimednot
onlyatlearningtherulesfortelephoneexchangebut
alsoattheacquisitionofskills forusingMorsecode
telegraphy. In those conditions there was a relative
balance of the allotted time for the two types of
training. Of course, theory was supported in
accordance with the communication procedures
uniformfortheBulgarianArmedForces,whereasthe
exchange in the ta
ctical radio networks of the Navy
mainly involved tactical messages from the signal
codealsoadoptedforusebythecountriesthatwere
Bulgaria’s partners at the time. This unification also
facilit
atedthetrainingduetothesignificantlyhigher
number of classes in the curriculum at Nikola
Vaptsarov Naval Academy compared to today’s
programme,andtheprovidedconditionsforworkin
specializedclassroomsensuredtherequiredresults.It
is important to point out that in the late 90s of the
previous century thi
s process was influenced by a
number of factors, for example the reduction of the
shareofMorsecodetelegraphyincommunicationsas
opposed to the increase of English‐language voice
exchange. In result of the occurring changes a great
dealofeffortwasdirectedatlearningtheprocedures
and rules for radiotelephone exchange in English,
init
ially as a partner, and subsequently as a full‐
fledgedNATOmembercountry.Evenbackthenthe
necessitytoadapttothenewrealitiesofthetraining
inradiotelephoneexchangerulesandprocedureshad
no alternative. One of the reasons for this still
continues to lie in the ever‐increasing requirements
withregardtotheskillsforvoiceexchangeinEnglish
language,includinginanationalformat
.Itshouldbe
noted that the naval education system responded
adequately to the occurring changes, but the
adaptation to the contemporary requirements and
conditionscanbedefinedasadynamicprocesswhich
demands continuous renovation both in terms of
trainingma
terialsandwithregardtomethodology.
Ways to Improve Radiotelephone Procedures Training
for the Navy
Zh.K.Nikolov
NikolaVaptsarovNavalAcademy,Varna,Bulgaria
ABSTRACT:Everytypeoftrainingcanbeimproved.Tryingtofindwaystodosoisacontinuousprocess.The
identification and implementation of the most effective of those can only be adequate to the changing
environment in case of objective review, comparison and analysis. This pa
per discusses some approaches
whoseadoption canleadto theenhancement ofthetraining forradiooperatorsfor workingin tactical net‐
worksfortheNavy.Italsosharessomeexperiencefromtheimplementationofsuchmethodswhentraining
cadetsattheBulgarianNavalAcademy.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 11
Number 1
March 2017
DOI:10.12716/1001.11.01.22
182
2 WAYSTOIMPROVERADIOTELEPHONE
PROCEDURESTRAININGFORTHENAVY
According to the curricula effective attheBulgarian
NavalAcademy,studyingradiotelephoneprocedures
and rules is an integral part of the training of the
cadetsfromthecourseOrganisationand managementof
military units on the tactical level, specialising
in
Military communications and radio systems and
Navigation.One of thelearningobjectives set forthe
disciplinesthatincludethestudyofcommunications
andinformationsupportisforthestudentstobeable
toconductradiotelephoneexchange.Themethodsof
training laid down in these curricula include the
delivery of
lectures and practical workshops. As a
result of this the training in this respect allows the
futurecommandingpersonneltobuildthefoundation
required for the successful radio communication in
the tactical networks of the Navy. However, as
already mentioned, the occurring changes and the
continuoussearchfornewapproachesto
improvethis
trainingisanimportantsteptowardstheadaptation
oftheeducationalprocesstothenewrealities.
There are a number of ways capable of ensuring
the enhancement of the preparation of
communicationsspecialistsfor theNavy. Oneofthe
tasksofthis paperistoidentify,compare and
select
those of them whose application could lead to a
higherefficiencyandexpediencyoftraining.
Amongthewaystoimprovethetrainingofcadets
in the area in question, the following can be
identified:
2.1 Developmentofacontemporarymethodologyof
trainingbasedontheexperienceofalliedcountries
and
designofanup‐to‐datestudenttext
Thecurrentlyexistingmethodologyofpreparationfor
the use of radiotelephone procedure and rules in
Bulgarian language is only relevant for
communicationsina domesticformat. Therefore the
development of a methodology for training for
operationinanalliedandcoalitionformat
ofactivities
with the participation of the Bulgarian Navy is
necessary, whereas this, of course, would be most
rationallyaccomplishedonthebasisoftheexperience
ofpartnercountries.
TheCombinedCommunications‐ElectronicsBoard
(ССЕВ) andparticularly its workgrouptasked with
developing and updating the allied communications
publicationsprovides
theopportunityfortheNATO
member countries and the partner states to obtain
interoperableC4capabilities,primarilyintheareaof
information exchange. The methodology detailed in
the ССЕВ publication,АСР‐125 Communication
Instructions Radiotelephone Procedures, enables the
acquisitionofthevoiceproceduresandrulesadopted
bythe Alliance.The adaptationof
thismethodology
inconsiderationoftheextantenvironmentandfactors
indubitably facilitates the enhancement of the
effectivenessoftrainingofcommunicationsspecialists
fortheNavy.Designingofastudenttextwouldcome
as a natural continuation of this publication, which,
while conformable to the education and future
realization of the
cadets, would also be usable by
communications personnel from the Navy. Thus,
profound training would be provided not only in
theoretical aspect, but also within workshops in
specialisedsimulationfacilities.
2.2 Creatingconditionsforputtinganemphasisonthe
traininginasimulatedenvironment
Working ina simulated environment in the
modern
conditions for the training of maritime personnel is
increasinginimportance.Inbroadterms,theusersof
naval personnel are setting higher and higher
requirements to the level of their preparation. Thus,
oneofthewaysfortheeducationsystemtorespond
to the new requirements is to create
conditions of
training as closely approximating those of the real‐
world environment as possible. Therefore, investing
in simulators adequate to the requirements has
becomeanimportanttask,particularlywithregardto
the acquisition of simulator facilities with a high
degree of integration, specifically of the type that
integratesgroupsofmodules,
suchasnavigationand
communications modules. This would enable
students from different academic courses to play
through different scenarios, including ones for
radiotelephonecommunications.Hereistheplaceto
point out that the Bulgarian Naval Academy, as an
example of a maritime education institution, is
activelydevelopingitstrainingfacilities
adequatelyto
the demand, creating favourable conditions for
traininginthenecessarysimulatedenvironment.
2.3 Increasingtherequirementstothestudents’levelsof
proficiency(SLP)inEnglishlanguage
Itiswellestablishedthatthesuccessfulpreparationof
students in the use of radiotelephone procedures in
English is closely dependent on their
level of
proficiencyinthelanguage.Table1showstheshare
of graduating students of the Bulgarian Naval
Academy from the course in Organisation and
management of military units on the tactical level,
specialising in Military communications and radio
systemsandNavigation,whohaveattainedlevel2‐2‐2‐
2
and higher from the English language proficiency
test for the Bulgarian Armed Forces in accordance
with NATO’s standardisation agreement STANAG
6001overthelastsixyears.
Table1. The Share of graduating students of Bulgarian
NavalAcademy,whohaveattainedlevel2‐2‐2‐2andhigher
fromEnglishlanguage proficiency testin accordance with
STANAG6001.
_______________________________________________
№ Yearofgraduation SLP2‐2‐2‐2andhigher
_______________________________________________
1. 201637,5%
2. 201550%
3. 201450%
4. 201369,2%
5. 201250%
6. 201120%
_______________________________________________
Thedatafromthetableindicatethatalthoughthe
resultsarehigh,onlyhalfthestudentshaveattaineda
standard level of proficiency of 2‐2‐2‐2, which
somewhathindersthestudyofalliedpublicationsin
the original. This confirms the need to design a
183
student text for radiotelephone procedure in their
nativelanguage.Ontheotherhand,itwouldalsobe
expedienttodirecttheeffortstowardstheattainingof
astandardlevelofproficiencyinEnglishof2‐2‐2‐2by
ahigherpercentageofcadetsbeforetheirgraduation,
in order to
ensure that the groups to be trained are
homogeneous,whichwouldmakethetrainingeasier,
especiallywithregardtothepracticeofradiotalk.
2.4 Conductingpracticaltraininginconditionswherethe
cadetscanwitnessradiocommunications
Another way to improve the training in
radiotelephone procedures is to plan for
the
participation of cadets in training missions within
ship formations, as well as to create conditions for
their participation in the routine radio drills of the
Navy.Itiswellknownthattrainingismoreefficient
in a real‐world environment, but here, of course,
balancemustbestruckbetweenthe
dailyscheduleof
thestudentsand theavailablepossibilities forgoing
at sea and for practical training in communications
andinformationcentres.
3 CONCLUSIONS
The practical training of Bulgarian Naval Academy
cadets on Bulgarian Navy ships and in shore‐based
communications and information centres are
indispensable for creating real‐life
work conditions.
Overthelastfewyears,effortshavebeendirectedat
ensuring that it is conducted regularly and
comprehensively.Buthereitisimpossibletooverlook
thefactthatthepracticaltrainingisprovidedmostly
in the summer period when the study of the
disciplineshasfinished.Inthisrespect
theclassesina
suitablesimulatedenvironmentmuststrikeabalance
betweentheoryandpracticewithintheacademicyear
andmustleadtothereinforcementoftheknowledge
of radiotelephone procedures and rules
simultaneouslywithstudyingthem.
Furthermore,thesignificanceof theabilitytouse
Englishtofacilitate talkingover
the radiocannot be
overstated. A possible working solution to this is to
create conditions for additional self‐study for the
students.
The experience at the Bulgarian Naval Academy
hasshownthatthedevelopmentofamethodologyfor
training in the use of radiotelephone procedures by
applyinganadaptationofthe
alliedcommunications
publication has the strongestbeneficial effect on the
training of military cadets. The analysis of the
possible ways to improve radiotelephone procedure
training hasshown that thereare different solutions
totheissue.Eachofthemenablestheimprovementof
theresultsfromthetraining.However,selectingand
implementing of a single solution would not be
conducive to the achievement of the optimal result.
An integrated approach which includes the
implementationofarangeofwayswouldleadtothe
mostbeneficialsolution.Nevertheless,thecreationof
conditions to enhance the proficiency in English,
conducting training at simulation facilities
and the
practical classes in real‐world environment cannot
supersede the leading role of the development of
radiotelephone procedure training methodology.
Such practice‐oriented methodology has been
designed at the Bulgarian Naval Academy and is
already being used successfully for the training of
militarycadets.
REFERENCES
DoctrineofCommunicationsandInformationSystemofthe
Armed Forc es of the Republic of Bulgaria‐NP 06.
Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Bulgaria, Sofia,
2012.
Allied Joint Doctrine for Communication and Information
Systems–AJP6,2010.
Communication Instructions Radiotelephone procedures –
ACP 125(F). Combined Communication Electronics
Board,2001
