Executive Department

Administering Thousands of Careers

The Executive Department, under the Executive Officer — the ship’s second in command — ran the daily administration that kept thousands of careers and lives in order. Organized into divisions commonly designated X-1 through X-5, it handled personnel records, pay and administrative matters, the captain’s office and ship’s correspondence, the print shop, the post office, and the support functions grouped under the XO. It was the ship’s headquarters staff.

Each function touched every sailor aboard. Service records had to be accurate, evaluations and advancement paperwork processed on time, orders and reassignments tracked, and the ceaseless flow of official correspondence routed and answered. The print shop produced the daily plan of the day, forms, and notices; the post office connected a deployed crew to home. None of it was glamorous, and all of it was indispensable.

Aboard Constellation

On deployment the department’s work never slowed. Personnel reported, transferred, advanced, and reenlisted while the ship was at sea, and every transaction had to be recorded correctly with no personnel office ashore to fall back on. The X-divisions kept the administrative machinery of a 5,000-person community running through six months away from home port.

The post office carried a particular weight on a long cruise. Mail was the crew’s lifeline to families, and moving thousands of letters and parcels on and off the ship at each opportunity was a real logistical effort that lifted morale with every delivery. The plan of the day, printed and distributed each morning, set the ship’s schedule; through it the Executive Department spoke daily to the entire crew.

Divisions

Divisions

The Executive Department comprised 5 divisions; each has its own roster page with every Sailor by rank, name, and a link to the cruise book.

Questions & Answers