Senior Officer Present Afloat
Senior officer present afloat , generally military parlance only SOPA called, is a temporary official position of the US Navy for the senior or - at several officers the same service level - senior oldest commander of a lying in the port association , several different organizations or individual warships or submarines .
The SOPA represents all Navy units to higher command levels or civil authorities for the duration of the port stay. He is therefore responsible for all crews and their behavior when going ashore .
The function of the Senior Officer Present Afloat is a service position for the regulation of all matters of a ship group in foreign ports either with civil authorities or with foreign naval forces, nevertheless the principle can also be applied in own ports .
Examples of the application of the service position
Example A
A mine sweeper enters the port of Sasebo, Nagasaki , ( Japan ). The ship's commander has the rank of Lieutenant Commander and has been notified in advance who the incumbent local SOPA is - in this case a higher-ranking officer of the destroyer group also in port, either a commander or a captain . Immediately after anchoring the Lieutenant Commander receives his instructions, which regulate his entire stay in port, from SOPA . This concerns both the replenishment and the shore leave as well as the common tactical alignment of the ships which are at the time in the port (communication and weapons networking, patrol regulation).
Example B.
A missile cruiser with an officer of admiral rank docks in the same port. The SOPA position is immediately transferred to this officer. From the moment of berthing, his orders regarding the port stay apply.
Example C
During the Second World War and the Korean War , the SOPA principle was also applied in allied multinational ship groups that were moored together in a port. For example, a British officer as SOPA was able to exercise command over US warships.
SOP (A)
SOP (A) denotes the position of Senior Officer Present (Ashore) .