CrimsonWarrior55 said
What is a quartermaster, and why would we need one on our ship?
Quartermaster is one of two military occupations.
In land armies, especially U.S. units, a quartermaster is either an individual soldier or a unit that specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior unit, post or base supply officer is customarily referred to as "the quartermaster". Often the quartermaster serves as the S-4 in U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps units and NATO units. In the British Army, it is an appointment held by a Late Entry Officer (commissioned from the ranks). They normally control the Quartermaster's Department of a unit's Headquarters company.
In many navies, quartermaster is a non-commissioned officer (petty officer) rank for personnel responsible for their ship's navigation. In the U.S. Navy, the quartermaster is responsible for the ship's navigation and maintenance of nautical charts and maps. Aboard merchant ships, quartermasters are usually the Able Seamen assigned to bridge watches. A naval quartermaster's main task is to steer the ship and execute the helm orders given by the Captain or watch officers.
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