submarine  tenders  (AS),  and  SIMAs  are  shore  IMAs. SIMAs are an outgrowth of the Atlantic Fleet’s Fleet Maintenance  Assistance  Group  (FMAG)  and  the  Pacific Fleet’s Development and Training Center (DATC). For convenience,  we  will  refer  mostly  to  IMAs  in  this section, but the information will normally refer to both IMAs  and  SIMAs. While each type of IMA has its special purpose, all of  them  have  many  characteristics  and  facilities  in common that make them suitable for general repair work on most ships. Repair ships and tenders perform battle and operational damage repairs on ships in the forward areas, and they provide logistic support to ships of  the  fleet.  They  also  can  provide  other  services, including  medical  and  dental  treatment,  for  the  ships they tend. Their shops can handle hull, machinery, electrical, and ordnance work and they stock parts to help them deal with most of the repairs they perform. Ships are assigned to IMAs with a flexible approach that considers  unusual  repair  requirements  and  operational commitments,   particularly   for   ships   outside   the continental  United  States. Ships  are  scheduled  for  regular  IMA  availabilities or upkeep periods at certain intervals of time that vary with different types of ships. The availability periods are usually planned in advance and they depend upon the quarterly employment schedule of each ship. A ship’s commanding officer sends a request for an IMA availability with a forwarding letter to the TYCOM or his representative. The request must include job sequence  numbers  (JSNs)  for  work  requests  in  the Current  Ship’s  Maintenance  Project  (CSMP)  and  a listing of TYCOM master job catalogue work items. A reviewing officer with TYCOM will review the request  and  make  any  necessary  corrections  to  conform to  established  policies  and  procedures.  Most  of  the ship’s work list items will be approved, but the ship may have to furnish more detailed information on certain work  requests.  The  reviewing  officer  will  forward  the approved ship’s work requests to the appropriate IMA. He does this well in advance of the period of availability so the IMA repair department personnel can prepare for the work. You should know something about these personnel before you learn about the arrival conference, the shops, and the ship maintenance procedures, so we will discuss them in the following pages. REPAIR PERSONNEL Standard  Organization  and  Regulations  of  the  U.S. Navy,  OPNAVINST  3120.32,  contains  general information   about   the   relative   positions   and responsibilities of IMA departments. Also, TYCOMs issue standard ship organizations for their type that describe the organization for every routine function and  most  emergency  conditions  that  can  exist  aboard ship. The IMA’s commanding officer is assisted by the executive  officer  who  also  acts  as  the  CO’s  direct representative.  The  XO  is  responsible  for  the  daily functions  that  affect  the  IMA  as  a  whole  and  he coordinates  the  activities  of  the  IMA’s  departments  and divisions.  The  following  pages  explain  the  roles  of  the repair officer, the assistant repair officer, the repair division officers, the diving and salvage officer, the gas free  engineer,  and  enlisted  personnel. Repair Officer The repair officer is head of the repair department on an IMA. He oversees the upkeep, operation, and maintenance  of  the  equipment  assigned  to  the  repair department, and the training, direction and coordination of  its  personnel.  He  keeps  up  with  production  and ensures  efficient  and  economical  operation  of  the production  process. Assistant  Repair  Officer The  assistant  repair  officer  assumes  the  repair officer’s  responsibilities  in  his  absence  and  carries  out responsibilities the repair officer delegates. This officer usually  handles  the  internal  administration  of  the department  and  specifically  keeps  progress  records  on all work. Division  Officers The division officers have both administrative and production  responsibilities  for  the  actual  work  that  is done  in  shops  under  their  supervision.  Their administrative  responsibility  is  in  the  administration  of personnel in their respective divisions, including the assignment  of  berths  and  watches,  and  all  training  and training  records.  Their  production  responsibilities include oversight of all work requests and review of progress,  requisitions  for  material,  proper  operation  of division shops for which they are responsible, safety, and progress reports to the repair officer. Diving  and  Salvage  Officer The position of diving and salvage officer may be a separate assignment or a collateral duty for an officer in 9-4