The U.S. Navy entrusts its premier weapons system to the enlisted servicemen and women aboard the Navy’s ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). These young Sailors maintain, operate, and even sleep next to these missiles, all while keeping the weapons at the highest standard of readiness.

SSP’s Program Management Offices (PMO) are SSP’s “eyes in the field” as the government representatives for the design, development, production, installation, and testing for the Trident II D5 SWS at industry partner sites. For the Navy, the partnership between the fleet and SSP’s PMOs is key to building confidence in the submariners who are charged with this mission-critical responsibility; and the newly established “Reverse SWS Week” is accelerating understanding of the weapon system for the Sailors.

Reverse SWS Weeks are educational training opportunities modeled after the regularly occurring SWS Weeks at submarine bases on the East and West Coasts. SWS Weeks bring SSBN and guided missile submarine (SSGN) crews, Navy support commands, and industry partners together to share new updates to the weapons system, troubleshoot issues, and forecast upcoming needs for the submarine fleet. Reverse SWS Weeks go a step further by bringing crew members out to SSP’s PMOs and detachments – dispersed throughout the nation – to give them an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the weapons system they maintain and operate while on strategic patrol.

These Reverse SWS Week training opportunities began in 2022 and were formalized in 2023. Today, they occur biannually at SSP PMO Shipboard Systems (SPS) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

As one of SSP’s two PMOs, SPS specializes in overseeing the development of the shipboard instrumentation, navigation, and fire control subsystems for the SWS and SSGN attack weapon system. Like the original SWS Weeks, SPS hosts one submarine crew from each coast per year, which Chief Petty Officer Stephen Boyle, the Fleet Liaison Chief for PMO SPS, said allows Sailors to gain a more in-depth look into the processes for the SWS.

“We give [the crews] a chance to see what the system looks like on our end,” said Boyle.

Reverse SWS Weeks offer a unique and valuable experience for Sailors and SSP’s workforce to learn from each other and collaborate on how to effectively maintain the weapons systems patrolling the free and open sea lanes. In particular, submarine crews have the chance to voice ideas, concerns, and feedback about their recent experiences operating and maintaining the weapons system.

On the other hand, SSP’s PMO team can provide direct troubleshooting guidance to Sailors and provide insight about upcoming updates and alterations to processes and technical aspects of the system. This early access to updates is another key element of Reverse SWS week’s programming; allowing for Sailors to provide immediate feedback to changes the PMO is making to the weapon system. In certain cases, those fresh perspectives – from the Sailors – are exactly what is needed to refine a process or rethink a design change before it is implemented across the entire fleet.

SSP’s PMOs make a concerted effort to include junior Sailors among the group that is representing the submarine crew, precisely because of their ability to bring in new ideas.

“We really aim for junior sailors to come,” said Boyle. “Not only will they understand a lot more about the programmatic aspect of it [after their visit], but they bring the fresh ideas that we just don’t think about.”

“The Sailors provide ready, relevant feedback to the designers and engineers,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Dwayne Chapman, the Fleet Liaison for SPF, who is encouraged by the engagement between the fleet and the shore-based teams at his sibling command at SPS.

One instance of that feedback occurred when SPS was preparing to install a new component to the SWS shipboard system. During a previous Reverse SWS Week, the PMO engineers and programmers solicited feedback from Sailors and one of the questions that the fleet brought up was whether there would be a spare for the new component. Up until that point, the PMO hadn’t seen the need for a spare component to be included as part of the update, but after in-depth discussion with the Sailors, they agreed that providing a spare component would be a simple solution to redundancy concerns that boats face when out at sea for long periods of time. Observations like this often come from newer Sailors participating in the events, according to Boyle, who said that their “recency of experiences from coming hot off the boat,” adds to the relevance of their input.

One specific area that drives fleet interaction with SSP’s PMOs while the boats are underway on mission is the Trouble Failure Report (TFR) process. TFRs are messages the fleet sends back to shore support sites when there is a technical issue aboard the boat that requires further guidance. These reports are then distributed across the Navy’s submarine support organizations for troubleshooting and response. SPS and SSP’s PMO Flight Systems (SPF) work with the command’s technical branches, headquartered at Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., to respond to fleet questions and requests for information.

Speed, of course, is crucial when responding to TFRs, so everyone involved in the process must be solution oriented. That does, however, come with some challenges, leading to times when context and background information is lost and may result in the fleet being told how to fix a problem, but not the “why” behind the problem’s cause or solution.

This is where Reverse SWS Weeks comes in. By providing a small group setting where no question is too small to answer, SPS has found that Sailors are more confident in asking the technical questions that they haven’t had the opportunity or confidence to ask before.

While Reverse SWS Weeks are valuable for Sailors, they are just as important to SSP’s PMOs, especially with the high number of technical updates and process improvements that the PMOs put out related to handling the SWS.

Another group that has benefitted from the Reverse SWS Weeks are the industry partners that manufacture much of the SWS, from the smallest bolts to the giant fire control and guidance systems that help the missile navigate through space. Many of these industry partners, especially the smaller companies that specialize in singular widgets and electronics, do not have a strong understanding of their importance to the overall sea-based strategic deterrent program. Bringing the warfighter out to meet them on their factory floors has a significant impact.

“Getting to meet the hardworking Americans that are building the systems and getting to answer the questions they have is great,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Smith, who is stationed at the Trident Training Facility at Naval Base Kitsap in Bangor, Washington. “[I enjoyed] being able to answer their questions and see what they go through.”.

Chapman agrees with the benefit that industry gets from interacting directly with the Sailors.

“As the PMO [ SPF] chief, I’ve had the opportunity to meet three suppliers, and it’s just like Smith said – we have Americans building these things and they don’t know why,” he said. “Having the uniformed presence there to tell them what they are doing is important is so valuable.”

Sailors have been eager to spread the word about the benefits of Reverse SWS Weeks, so much so that Chapman began to advocate for SPF to create its own version of the event. His vision was for SPF’s Reverse SWS Week to focus on the Trident II D5 missile that fleet missile technicians aboard SSBNs work on every day.

“These opportunities for us are very rare,” said Chief Petty Officer Kristopher Peters.

Peters recently completed a trip to SPF with a small group of Sailors from the fleet. His team provided up-to-date expertise on equipment that is going through proofing and testing at the PMOs, and his team’s time there served as a dry-run for something that SPF, and Chapman in particular, has been working toward for several years – their very own Reverse SWS Week.

SLBMs are one leg of the nation’s Nuclear Triad, which also includes the U.S. Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and nuclear-capable bombers. Each part of the Triad provides unique capabilities and advantages; however, SLBMs make up the majority – approximately 70 percent – of the U.S.’ deployed strategic nuclear deterrent. SLBMs are not only the most survivable leg of the Nuclear Triad, but also provide persistent presence and allow flexible concept of operations to military senior leaders.