Skip to main content
HonestMOS
●InvestigationsHow EUCOM shelved a tax break for 9,000 troops in Poland — for five years.→
←Back to STS Sonar Technician (Submarine) — overview, pay, training, civilian translation, reviews
STSE4

Sonar Technician (Submarine)

E-4 (Specialist/Corporal) · Navy

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

You hold the watch independently now — your contact report goes to the OOD with your name on it. The towed-array watchstander qualification and the STS2 NWAE preparation are running in parallel and the sonar chief is tracking both. On a fast-attack with a small STS division, the advancement score is not private.

The Honest MOS Read
STS3 is where the training wheels come off. You are a qualified sonar watchstander standing independent watches on an attack submarine — no supervisor at your elbow verifying the contact format before it goes to the OOD, no co-signature on the PMS log, no training-watch notation next to your name on the watchbill. The sonar shack trusts you enough to put you on the display by yourself. Now prove you can hold a contact. The daily work at STS3 on an SSN runs on the watch section rotation. Three sections, roughly six-hour watches at sea depending on the watch bill, rotating around the clock. You sit the sonar watchstation and monitor the broadband and narrowband displays — sphere array and towed array if installed — tracking contacts by bearing rate, classification, and tonal characteristics. When a contact develops you report it to the OOD in the correct format: bearing, classification, confidence, hold/lost status. The fire-control coordinator works with what you give them. A clean, confident classification drives a clean fire-control picture. An equivocal or guessed call muddies the picture and the sonar supervisor who is not in the shack finds out about it at the watch turnover. Target Motion Analysis (TMA) is the analytical skill you are building at STS3. TMA is the process of developing a contact's course, speed, and rough range from nothing but bearing measurements over time — pure geometry and acoustic interpretation, no active sonar transmission, no radar. The fire-control plot system provides the computational framework but the interpretation is the watchstander's. The STS3 who can develop a TMA solution and brief it to the sonar supervisor in a format he can pass to fire-control is the STS3 the supervisor is starting to mention for the Junior Sonar Supervisor billet. On the maintenance side, the STS3 runs PMS on assigned sonar equipment sections without the supervisor reviewing each card before it is logged. The PMS log carries your signature and the sonar chief reads it. A logged step that was not actually completed is discovered during a spot-check or during a casualty investigation — and the discrepancy is traceable to the date, the section, and the name in the maintenance record. The STSSN you are mentoring through early PQS line items is the first taste of what the petty officer job actually is: someone junior is building habits off what they see you do. The PQS signature you put on a line item is a professional certification that you tested the knowledge. If the STSSN you signed off cannot hold a contact or execute a procedure under supervision after you signed the card, the sonar supervisor comes back to your name on the qual card. The STS2 NWAE preparation runs in parallel with all of this from day one at STS3. On a fast-attack with a cohort of four or five STS3s, the advancement score is not private — the sonar chief knows every score in the division and the eEVAL ranking reflects the chief's assessment of who is performing, who is advancing on schedule, and who deserves to go first on the slate. Build the study log on the sonar supervisor's timeline, not on your own estimate of when you need to start.
Career Arc
  • 01STS3 pin-on via NWAE; first independent watch qualification.
  • 02Towed-array watchstander qualification earned (where installed) — typically within the first 12-18 months at STS3.
  • 03TMA proficiency developed through operational watch sections and ASW exercises.
  • 04STSSN mentoring and PQS sign-off responsibility begins.
  • 05STS2 NWAE preparation documented on the sonar chief's timeline.
  • 06Chief board eligibility window watching — the LCPO is reading the eEVAL profile and ranking input begins to matter.
  • 07Second-boat orders (optional at STS3/STS2 gate) or shore billet eligibility after first sea tour completion.
Common Screwups
  • ×Calling a contact with high-confidence classification when the data does not support it. The fire-control party drives targeting and defense decisions based on what the sonar shack reports; an overconfident call on an ambiguous contact is more dangerous than reporting 'classification uncertain, tracking.' The sonar supervisor who catches a guessed classification in the watch log will discuss it with the chief.
  • ×Running a towed-array stream or retrieval evolution from memory instead of the applicable technical manual. Towed arrays represent significant capability investment; a procedural error that damages the array is a maintenance event that traces back to the watchstander's name in the casualty log.
  • ×Logging a PMS step as complete when the verification was not performed. The maintenance log is the legal record of the system's maintenance history. A discrepancy found during an operational readiness assessment or a casualty investigation under your name does not stay at the watchstander level.
  • ×Falling behind on STS2 NWAE preparation and not telling the sonar supervisor until two weeks before the exam. The plan that was not briefed 90 days out is the one that has already failed — the exam score reflects the study that happened, not the study that was planned.
  • ×Signing off an STSSN's PQS line item without physically testing the knowledge. Your signature says the watchstander knows the material to the standard. If the STSSN cannot answer the chief's questions on a section you signed, your judgment is what the chief questions next.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500Reveille at sea. Dress and check the watch bill — know your rotation time before you leave berthing.
  • 0530-0545Pre-watch brief from the off-going watchstander: contacts held, bearing and classification of each, any developing tonal lines, anything the sonar supervisor flagged for continuity. Review the contact log before the official relief.
  • 0545-1145On-watch in the sonar shack (six-hour watch in a three-section rotation). Broadband monitoring, narrowband tonal analysis on flagged frequencies, contact reporting to the OOD, TMA plot maintenance on developing contacts. Brief the sonar supervisor when a contact classification changes or a new contact is developing. Log the watch events in real time.
  • 1145-1230Watch relief. Brief the incoming watchstander on the full acoustic picture — every contact, bearing, classification, and any anomalies in the watch period. The incoming STS needs to hold the picture you built without any gaps in continuity.
  • 1230-1330Lunch at the mess. Then PMS execution on assigned equipment section — MRC card pulled and read before touching the hardware.
  • 1330-1530Off-watch: NWAE study (the 45-minute focused session, every off-watch day), STSSN mentoring if a PQS walk-through was scheduled, towed-array doctrine or NWP 3-21 self-study.
  • 1530-1730Division administrative support as assigned by the LPO — PMS completion log, classified material accountability, watchstander qualification tracking. This is also when the sonar supervisor may schedule an informal TMA debrief on the last watch period's contacts.
  • 1730-1800Dinner.
  • 1800-2200Rack time (critical — sleep discipline on a submarine is a safety issue), or NWAE study if the rotation allows. The next watch relief is at 2345 if on a standard rotation.
  • 2345Pre-watch brief from off-going watchstander; relieve the watch and hold the acoustic picture through the 0000-0600 section.
  • In portDuty section rotation, liberty during non-duty windows. PMS scheduled during duty days. NWAE study at the boat or in berthing. Towed-array qualification walk-throughs during the work day. PRT training before the next cycle. The STS3 who uses in-port time for qualification and advancement work is the one who emerges from each deployment cycle with metrics the chief can point at.

Weekly Cadence

At sea the watch section is the clock — six on, twelve off, rotating continuously. The sonar supervisor uses the section-change transitions for qualification briefs, TMA debriefs, and PMS assignment coordination. The STS3 who shows up to the off-watch period with a plan (PMS card, PQS walk-through, study session) is the one the LPO's weekly sync produces positive inputs for. The STS3 who shows up to the off-watch period with no plan is visible for the wrong reason in a space where everyone is visible to everyone. In port the week is more structured. The LPO publishes the plan of the week at Monday section sync: PMS assignments by day, watch section duty rotation, training scheduled by the sonar supervisor, and any qualification walk-throughs blocked in the calendar. The STS3 who reads the plan of the week on Sunday and knows his schedule Monday morning is the one who does not hold up the section sync with questions everyone else already answered by reading the document. Tuesday through Thursday are the working core — PMS evolutions, STSSN mentoring time, watchstander qualification admin, and the NWAE study window the LPO blocked on Thursday afternoons for advancement-eligible petty officers. ASW exercises and training periods break the in-port/underway pattern with compressed watchstanding schedules and intensive contact prosecution training. These are the periods that build the TMA and classification proficiency the advancement exam tests at a knowledge level but operational watch sections test for real. The STS3 who treats ASW exercises as the most important training events in the cycle — logs clean, analysis honest, debrief questions asked — is the one the sonar supervisor mentions in the post-exercise report.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Stand an independent sonar watch — broadband monitoring, narrowband analysis, contact classification, bearing rate assessment — with contact reports that do not require sonar supervisor correction.
    The contact report format is mechanical and must be automatic: bearing, classification, confidence level, hold or lost. Practice saying the format out loud during quiet watch periods even when there is nothing to report — the habit of correct format when nothing is happening is what produces correct format when a contact develops at 0300. The sonar supervisor who overhears an incorrect format during a training event will correct it immediately; if he hears it during an operational contact prosecution, the correction is louder and the watch log captures it.
  2. 02
    Execute towed-array stream and retrieval procedures per the applicable technical manual.
    Read the towed-array technical manual cover to cover before the first supervised stream evolution, not after. The manual is hull-specific and classified — access it through the sonar supervisor or the LPO during the workup cycle. Walk through each step during a pre-evolution brief with the sonar supervisor; know which safety precautions are mandatory holds and which are advisory. The paravane handling and the cable management are where injuries happen on stream and retrieval — the technical manual precautions are not administrative.
  3. 03
    Perform target motion analysis (TMA) to develop a contact bearing rate, rough range, and course/speed estimate, and brief the result to the sonar supervisor in a usable format.
    TMA is learned by doing it on real contacts during operational watches and by reviewing the solutions against subsequent plot development. The fire-control plot system processes the bearing time series; your job is to understand what the output means and brief it honestly — not to present a confident solution the data does not support. Ask the sonar supervisor to review your TMA briefs during the first patrol's quiet periods; the watchstander who asks for feedback on his TMA interpretations learns faster than the one who waits for the supervisor to catch an error.
  4. 04
    Mentor an STSSN through Submarine Qualification PQS line items in the sonar spaces.
    Walk the STSSN through the sonar spaces on your off-watch time the same way a senior STS did for you. Ask the question before you accept the answer — can the sailor explain the equipment function, not just point at it? If the knowledge is not there, tell the sailor what to study and schedule a follow-up. Do not sign the qual card to be the one who moved the STSSN's PQS forward; sign it when you are confident the sailor can pass the Captain's board on that section without preparation.
  5. 05
    Execute PMS on assigned sonar system components to MRC completion standard — sphere array, towed array, processing equipment.
    The MRC sequences are not negotiable. Complete them in the documented order; if a step cannot be completed because of operational constraints, log the deferral with the reason and notify the LPO the same day — never simply skip and log as complete. The sonar chief's spot-check reads the deferral log against the operational schedule; an unexplained deferral is a discrepancy, a documented deferral with a reason is maintenance management.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • NSTM Chapter 565 — Sonar Systems
    At STS3 you are using this not just for PMS but to understand what the maintenance you are performing actually protects operationally. The sonar supervisor who asks you why a calibration step matters is testing whether you know the system or just the procedure. The chapter sections on system architecture and operational performance are the ones the watchstander reads when no one assigned them as homework.
  • NWP 3-21 series — Anti-Submarine Warfare
    The contact prosecutions and ASW exercises you participate in as a watchstander all operate within the NWP 3-21 framework. The STS3 who can explain why a prosecution procedure sequences the way it does — not just execute it mechanically — is the petty officer the sonar supervisor is building toward the Junior Sonar Supervisor billet. Read the current edition and understand the barrier patrol, prosecuting contact, and torpedo-evasion chapters.
  • NWAE Bibliography for Advancement (BIB) for STS2 cycle — current edition from MyNavyHR / NETC
    Pull the current BIB the day you pin STS3. Build a study schedule with milestones — chapter-by-chapter, 45 minutes a day, four days a week, starting now. The STS community on a fast-attack is small; the sonar chief knows every advancement score in the division before the exam cycle closes. The study schedule the chief saw you carrying six months before the exam is the one that results in the EP ranking.
  • Hull-specific Sonar Acoustic Doctrine and Classification Procedures (controlled)
    The on-board procedural reference for the watch, contact prosecution, and emergency sonar procedures is hull-specific and classified. The STS3 who knows which procedure applies before the sonar supervisor asks is the one who runs the watch with authority. Get access through the LPO during the first week aboard a new hull and read the document before the first operational underway.
  • NAVPERS 18068 Vol II — NEC catalog (STS-specific entries)
    The STS3 / early STS2 window is when the career counselor conversation about advanced NEC pipelines should happen. Read the source NEC entries for the STS rating before the counselor meeting — know which NECs exist, what they require, and what billet access they open. The petty officer who walks into the counselor's office with a specific NEC path and supporting reasoning is the one who gets the slate slot when it drops.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • Independent sonar watch qualification held and current.
    The qualification is hull-specific and must be re-earned when you transfer to a new submarine. Brief your re-qualification plan to the sonar supervisor in the first week aboard any new hull — the supervisor who sees the plan in writing on day five is the one who schedules the walk-through sessions in the first month. The STS3 who waits for the supervisor to schedule it is the STS3 who is not on the watchbill at full capacity when the boat deploys.
  • STS2 NWAE preparation documented and on schedule.
    The study log is the visible commitment. Date, chapter, pages covered, questions flagged for follow-up. Bring it to section sync when the sonar supervisor asks about advancement preparation. The LPO who has seen the study log three times in six months has a concrete input for the eEVAL ranking board; the LPO who has never seen evidence of preparation has a different input.
  • Towed-array watchstander qualification earned or actively in-progress.
    If the hull has a towed array and the billet is open, the towed-array watchstander qualification is not optional for an STS3 who wants to carry the division's watchbill at full capacity. The sonar supervisor plans the watch rotation around qualified towed-array operators; the STS3 who does not hold the qualification constrains who can be scheduled when. Build the qualification into the first-patrol plan when you check aboard.
  • PRT Good Medium or better; BCA in standard.
    Train for Good High as the floor — the PRT cycle runs twice a year and the trend the chief reads is more important than any single score. An STS3 who is trending up is one thing; an STS3 who barely passes the same score each cycle and needs remedial counseling is a readiness issue the chief manages. Maintain the submarine physical fitness habit throughout sea tours; the shore rotation is where PRT performance typically drops, and the gap shows up at the next cycle.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Presenting a TMA solution to the fire-control coordinator that the bearing-time data does not support.
    The fire-control party builds the tactical picture from the sonar data. An incorrect bearing-rate solution that drives the wrong course-speed estimate for a prosecuted contact means the submarine is maneuvering and tracking based on bad acoustic data. When the solution is later corrected, the sonar supervisor walks the watch log with the OOD and identifies the point where the watchstander's analysis diverged from the data. The watchstander who presented honest uncertainty gets a learning conversation; the one who presented confident confidence gets a different one.
  • Running a towed-array casualty recovery procedure outside the technical manual's scope without formal work authorization.
    Unauthorized modification or improvised repair of a towed array is a maintenance event requiring engineering investigation, not a watchstander initiative. The array's acoustic performance after an unauthorized repair cannot be certified; the submarine's sonar capability cannot be fully assessed until the system is formally inspected. The watchstander who improvised the repair is named in the maintenance casualty report and the chain investigates the decision to work outside published procedures.
  • Treating sonar classification briefings to the OOD as fill-in-the-blank when the classification is not resolved.
    The OOD takes torpedo defense, contact prosecution, and evasion actions based on the sonar picture. Vague, equivocal, or optimistically filled-in classifications during an unresolved contact presentation mislead the watch team during a period when honest uncertainty is the most useful data the sonar shack can provide. 'Classification unresolved, probable merchant, tracking bearing rate' is more useful than a guessed confident call. The sonar supervisor who debrief a watch section where the OOD was working with confident-wrong data discusses it with the chief.
  • Bypassing the sonar supervisor to brief the OOD directly on a developing contact without the supervisor's awareness.
    The contact reporting chain runs through the sonar supervisor — that is how the submarine's watch team synthesizes the acoustic and tactical pictures in real time. The OOD hears the contact either way; how it got there is part of the story. The STS3 who brief around the supervisor because 'it was faster' teaches the junior watchstanders that the chain is optional, and the sonar chief finds out about the chain violation before the watch section ends.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • Reenlistment or ETS at the end of the first enlistment — typically arriving at STS3 or early STS2
    The STS community's reenlistment decision deserves honest evaluation before the SRB is on the table. The submarine lifestyle — patrol cycles, 60-90 day underways, hot-racking on older hulls, limited connectivity underway — is the defining variable. If the lifestyle fits and the community is technically rewarding, reenlist with specific goals locked in (second hull, towed-array qualification, NEC pipeline). If the lifestyle does not fit after two-three years of evidence, ETS is a more honest answer than re-upping for a bonus while planning to hate the next three years. The SRB for STS and submarine ratings is published by NAVADMIN — pull the current message before the counselor conversation, not during it.
  • LDO (Limited Duty Officer) or ECP (Enlisted Commissioning Program) consideration at the STS3 / STS2 window
    The LDO application window is typically tied to time-in-service requirements (generally 4-8 years), performance evaluation history, security clearance, and command recommendation. At STS3 / early STS2 the decision is not whether to apply yet but whether to start building toward it — taking college courses through NCPACE or off-duty enrollment, earning college credit through CLEP, maintaining the eEVAL performance baseline that makes the package competitive. The LDO community in the submarine force offers technical officer billets that leverage the STS acoustic background. The honest version: LDO is competitive and requires a documented performance record built over years, not a last-minute application. Talk to the CO's admin officer and read the current OPNAV LDO application instruction before deciding whether the path fits.
  • Second-boat orders — same hull class or a different class (SSN to SSGN, LA-class to Virginia-class)
    The second boat shapes what the STS2 / STS1 career looks like. A Virginia-class second boat on the East or West Coast puts you on the current-production hull with the most operationally relevant sonar system in the fleet — and the associated deployment tempo. An SSGN second boat exposes you to a different operational mission set. The detailer conversation at the end of the first sea tour is the leverage point; the STS3 who arrives at that conversation with a stated preference and a good performance record gets more of the decision than the one who says 'anywhere is fine.'
  • Advanced NEC pipeline timing and path
    The STS rating's advanced NEC options include acoustic analysis specializations and towed-array specific qualifications that distinguish the watchstander's technical profile and open follow-on billets. The NEC source-rating message (published through NAVADMIN, current version from the NPC website) describes the qualification path for each NEC. The STS3 who identifies a specific NEC path and builds the qualifications toward it before the pipeline slot becomes available is the one the LPO recommends when the slot drops. Read NAVPERS 18068 Vol II, identify the NEC you want, and brief the LPO on the timeline before the career counselor conversation.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • Los Angeles-class SSN (attack submarine, 688-class)
    Most common first and second boat assignment for STS sailors. BQQ-5 series or BQQ-10 depending on the hull's modernization level. Compact sonar spaces, tight crew, clear division of responsibility between the STSC LCPO and the STS1 LPO. Patrol cycles of 6-8 months. The 688-class hull is scheduled for eventual decommissioning as Virginia-class hulls replace them, but there are enough 688s in the fleet that STS3 sailors will serve on them through the mid-2030s.
  • Virginia-class SSN (Block I through current production)
    The current production attack submarine with the BQQ-10 large-aperture bow array, wide-aperture array (WAA), and towed-array suite. Block III and later hulls have the Virginia Payload Module. The sonar system architecture is more capable than LA-class and the processing infrastructure reflects two decades of system evolution. First-boat or second-boat orders to a Virginia-class are competitively sought.
  • Ohio-class SSGN
    Four converted Ohio-class boats operating as SSGNs. Primary mission is Tomahawk land-attack and special operations support. The sonar suite is the Ohio-class acoustic architecture. The ASW mission is secondary; the operational tempo and deployment pattern are different from a dedicated ASW fast-attack. SSGN shore-rotation assignments in Kings Bay GA and Bangor WA; deployments to CONUS-East and CONUS-West operating areas and forward.
  • Shore billets (SUBRON staff, NUWC, schoolhouse instructor)
    The STS3 / STS2 window is when first shore-rotation orders become available after the first sea tour. SUBRON staff billets support multiple boats from the squadron level. Naval Submarine School instructor billets at Groton put the experienced STS into the pipeline teaching STSSN students. NUWC technical support billets are more senior (typically STS1/STSC) but the shore-rotation pipeline is worth understanding at STS3 to plan the second enlistment intentionally.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good STS3 is the petty officer the sonar supervisor schedules for the watch section where the contact density is highest and the OOD needs clean reporting — because he knows the call will be in the correct format and the confidence level will be honest. The contact track on the broadband display when the STS3 is on watch is the clean track: bearing history smooth, classification updated as the picture develops, no unexplained bearing jumps that do not appear in the watch log. His towed-array qualification went on the watchbill inside the first patrol on a hull with an array. He did not wait for the supervisor to schedule it — he briefed the qualification plan and held to the schedule. The PMS log on his section has no unexplained deferrals; when a step could not be completed on the scheduled day, the deferral was logged with a reason and briefed to the LPO before the end of the watch day. The STSSN he is mentoring has PQS line items signed at the actual milestone dates in the plan — not catch-up signings the week before the patrol ends. His STS2 NWAE study log is a physical notebook with dates, chapters, and flagged questions. The sonar chief has seen it at section sync three times and already has a concrete input for the next eEVAL ranking. When the STS2 advancement cycle publishes the selection results, the sonar chief knows the score before the official word arrives and already has the next conversation in mind for the STS3 who advanced and the one who did not.

Preview — The Next Rank

STS2 (E-5) is the first paygrade where you are the senior watchstander in the shack during your section — the chief is not necessarily on watch with you, the STS3s are learning contact prosecution by watching you run it, and the OOD's acoustic picture for the watch period is what you produce. The accountability shift from STS3 to STS2 is larger than the rank change suggests. The sonar supervisor watchstation qualification is the major technical milestone at STS2 on platforms where E-5 billets permit it. The Senior (or Junior) Sonar Supervisor watchstation is where you own the contact picture for the entire watch team — not just your display, but the synthesis that goes to the OOD. The STS2 who earns the supervisor qualification is the one the sonar chief is scheduling on the watchbill in a way that carries the section. The eEVAL bullet that reads 'qualified sonar supervisor, held contact during ASW exercise' is a different bullet than 'qualified watchstander.' The STS1 NWAE preparation timeline starts the day you pin STS2. On a fast-attack the advancement competition is visible inside the division and the sonar chief's eEVAL ranking input to the department head is the second input behind the exam score. Build the study log from day one at STS2 — not when the cycle date is announced. The STS2 who walks into the STS1 exam with documented preparation is the one the chief's eEVAL can defend.
FAQ

STS E4 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E4 STS (Sonar Technician (Submarine)) actually do?
You are a qualified sonar watchstander standing independent watches in the sonar shack of an attack submarine (SSN) or guided-missile submarine (SSGN).
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E4 STS?
You hold the watch independently now — your contact report goes to the OOD with your name on it.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E4 STS?
Time-blocked day at the E4 STS rank tier: 0500 Reveille at sea. Dress and check the watch bill — know your rotation time before you leave berthing, 0530-0545 Pre-watch brief from the off-going watchstander: contacts held, bearing and classification of each, any developing tonal lines, anything the sonar supervisor flagged for continuity. Review the contact log before the official relief, 0545-1145 On-watch in the sonar shack (six-hour watch in a three-section rotation). Broadband monitoring, narrowband tonal analysis on flagged frequencies, contact reporting to the OOD,…
Q04What mistakes get E4 STS soldiers fired or relieved?
Calling a contact with high-confidence classification when the data does not support it. The fire-control party drives targeting and defense decisions based on what the sonar shack reports; an overconfident call on an ambiguous contact is more dangerous than reporting 'classification uncertain, tracking.' The sonar supervisor who catches a guessed classification in the watch log will discuss it with the chief;…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E4 STS rank tier?
Reenlistment or ETS at the end of the first enlistment — typically arriving at STS3 or early STS2 — The STS community's reenlistment decision deserves honest evaluation before the SRB is on the table. The submarine lifestyle — patrol cycles, 60-90 day underways, hot-racking on older hulls, limited connectivity underway — is the defining variable. If the lifestyle fits and the community is technically rewarding, reenlist with specific goals locked in (second hull, towed-array qualification, NEC pipeline). If the lifestyle does not fit after two-three years of evidence,…
Q06What's next after E4 for a STS (Sonar Technician (Submarine)) in the Navy?
STS2 (E-5) is the first paygrade where you are the senior watchstander in the shack during your section — the chief is not necessarily on watch with you, the STS3s are learning contact prosecution by watching you run it, and the OOD's acoustic picture for the watch period is what you produce.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E4 STS need to know cold?
NSTM Chapter 565 — Sonar Systems; the technical maintenance and operation reference for every sonar equipment evolution aboard the boat.; NWP 3-21 series — Anti-Submarine Warfare doctrine; you operate within this framework on every underway and you can brief the basics to an STSSN without prompting.; Submarine Sonar Operating Procedures (hull-specific, controlled) — the on-board procedural reference for watch standing, contact prosecution, and emergency sonar evolution procedures.

This playbook has no tips yet. Be the first to share what you know.

Published by the Honest MOS Editorial DeskVerified against DoD/.gov sourcesUpdated May 2026Editorial standards