I am an AB taking courses to get my 3/M AGT, Oceans. Can anyone tell me which BRM class I need to meet the USCG requirements to test?
The NMC website lists 15 different types of BRM courses. I called NMC and Luke Harden wasn’t able to answer the question for me. I don’t need the assesements as I got those on my ship.
There are 3 day course, 5 day courses and longer ones with simulator/assesements. Some state they re for 1600 Mate so most likely that wouldn’t work but. Will the 3 day course meet the requirements? If Luke Harden didn’t know who can I ask? I’d hate to take a 3 day course only to find out it isn’t good enough. After the first of the year I’ll ask the schools but relying on them alone for an opinion probably isn’t a great idea.
[QUOTE=Navy SWO;92256]I am an AB taking courses to get my 3/M AGT, Oceans. Can anyone tell me which BRM class I need to meet the USCG requirements to test?
The NMC website lists 15 different types of BRM courses. I called NMC and Luke Harden wasn’t able to answer the question for me. I don’t need the assesements as I got those on my ship.
There are 3 day course, 5 day courses and longer ones with simulator/assesements. Some state they re for 1600 Mate so most likely that wouldn’t work but. Will the 3 day course meet the requirements? If Luke Harden didn’t know who can I ask? I’d hate to take a 3 day course only to find out it isn’t good enough. After the first of the year I’ll ask the schools but relying on them alone for an opinion probably isn’t a great idea.
Thanx![/QUOTE]
Luke doesn’t know for the same reason I don’t – we’re not at NMC and don’t have access to NMC’s course database. And since NMC no longer posts the verbiage of the actual; approvals on their web page, you don’t have an easy way to tell. In general, 3-day courses may be OK (the major diofference is that the 3-day courses don’t use simulators, while simulator training is arguably better, it takes longer). But, many of the 3-day courses are limited to 1600 GRT endorsements. The best way to tell is to ask NMC and the school for the specific approval given the course (for schools, ask fopr the approval LETTER, not the certificate from the NMC). You want a course that says it will meet 46 CFR 11.202(e) (or 10.205(o) if the approval is from 2009 oe earlier). Make sure the approval does not say it is limited to 1600 GRT.
They offer three day (23 hour) BRM and five day (37 hour) BRM. They also offer a five day BRM and ECDIS combo course. The cost is middle of the road compared to other schools.
MSI is a fairly large facility with several simulators. When the Navy was sending its officers to MSI for simulator training it was very busy. However, the Navy built its own simulators at the Naval War College and MSI now runs the Navy’s simulator training at the War College under contract. So the simulators at MSI are not so busy now. Unlike many schools, MSI does not cancel classes due to low enrollment. They will run the course on time even if you are the only person attending. The quality of the personalized instruction is very high. Newport is a nice place to spend a few days. At MSI its fairly easy to get a call back from an instructor or the director of the school. I think you can trust MSI to tell you which course you need.
MPT is a good quality school and reliably runs its advertised courses. I have not seen their new simulator. They offer three and five day courses. MPT is very busy, crowded, and they offer BRM about once per month. Fort Lauderdale is a pleasant place to spend a week. At MPT it is difficult to get pass the office ladies to speak with an instructor. I would not trust the office ladies to tell me which course I needed.
The maritime academies offer BRM, but they often cancel the classes due to inadequate enrollment. Same with many of the other schools where it can be difficult to find a BRM class that actually runs when promised. I don’t know how many BRM classes I signed up for that were cancelled due to low enrollment.
