Officer of the Deck (OOD) is a position in the United States Navy that confers certain authority and responsibility. The Officer of the Deck on a ship is the Captain's direct representative, having responsibility for the ship. In port, he or she is stationed at the brow, managing who comes and goes, as well as security. At sea, the Officer of the Deck is in charge of navigation and safety of the ship, unless relieved by the Captain. The Officer of the Deck is assisted by the Junior Officer of the Deck, who is becoming qualifed as full Officer of the Deck.

There is also a very formal method for relieving the Officer of the Deck. In the following example, Lieutenant Smith is the Officer of the Deck and Lieutenant Doe is his replacement. Lieutentant Doe will check into the Combat Information Center (CIC) to determine any necessary actions that will be expected to occur during the watch, check the navigational track, read any orders, and determine the position of all nearby ships. After this is complete, Lieutenant Doe will state to Lieutenant Smith, "I am ready to relieve you, sir." Lieutentant Smith states, "I am ready to be relieved." He will then brief Lieutenant Doe on any additional information that the replacement should be made aware of, reconfirming the information that Lieutenant Doe has previously gained on his own. When Lieutenant Doe is fully satisfied, he then states, "I relieve you, sir." Lieutenant Smith then states, "I stand relieved. Attention in the Pilot house (or bridge), Lieutenant Doe has the Deck." An exchange of hand salutes would also be appropriate, depending on the ship. Lieutenant Doe would then announce, "This is Lieutenant Doe, I have the Deck." (Interestingly, the use of sir in the manner indicated, occurs without regard to the actual ranks held by the officers.) A Lieutenant is a military, paramilitary or police officer. ...

Typically, the Junior Officer of the Deck has the "conn" or control of the engines and rudder. The Junior Officer of the Deck is relieved in a similar manner. The deck and or the conn may be assumed by the Captian, simply by announcing the fact or by issuing an order to the helmsman or lee helmsman. For example, the captain may state, "I have the deck and the conn," or "I have the conn," or "Right full rudder, all ahead flank." In the later case someone (ordinarily the Junior Officer of the Deck) in the Pilot house (or Bridge) will announce, "The Captain has the conn." The conn may also be passed, to someone else for a particular purpose. While the Captain may assume the conn, the Officer of the Deck may order the Junior Officer of the Deck to pass him the conn, "Ensign Pulver, pass me the conn." Ensign Pulver will then state, "This is Ensign Pulver, Lieutenant Doe has the Deck and the Conn." Lieutenant Doe then announces, "This is Lieutenant Doe, I have the Deck and the Conn." In an emergency, the Officer of the Deck can, if he so chooses, assume the Conn by announcing, for example, "This is Lieutenant Doe, I have the Conn. Right hard rudder, all engines ahead flank." However, in most ships, during normal underway operations, it is generally considered "poor form" to request the JOOD to pass the conn, as a good OOD would be expected to direct the JOOD without the necessity of assuming the conn himself.

These changes in status are marked down in the ship's log.