Are stories of the SWO community valid?

[Pags]

Why do sub guys get tons of cash in hand to sign on the dotted line? Because, from all that I've heard from sub guys I met at OCS, sub life sucks ass. They pay for retention, and they pay a mint.

most of the sub guys i know seem to enjoy what they do and have a lot of esprit d'corps in their community.

 

[MasterBates]

I considered Sub Nuke.. I'd possibly have done that if I got a no-flying-for-you NAMI WHAMMY..

But SWO? Fuck that noise. Maybe 2 or 3 SWOs out of the whole I know are not totally retarded.

 

[boobcheese]

Lets put it this way.... We get the bonus. Mostly so we can gloat.

Would you like to know what my bonus works out to on a daily basis?

Would that be before or after the manatee gets her cut?

 

[MasterBates]

My bonus is theoretically Manatee free.. For now.

 

[BACONATOR]

most of the sub guys i know seem to enjoy what they do and have a lot of esprit d'corps in their community.

Perhaps it takes some time in the fleet and a couple deployments, because most of the sub guys I know have status updates on FB which usually consist of "XYZ.... FML".

 

[Schnugg]

The extra $$$ we make for flying is sweet...

 

[MasterBates]

Flight pay alone paid my truck payment, motorcycle payment and camper payment combined.

That's just the "normal" $650/mo flight pay.

 

[Pags]

Perhaps it takes some time in the fleet and a couple deployments, because most of the sub guys I know have status updates on FB which usually consist of "XYZ.... FML".

Don't worry, once you get to the fleet you'll have your fair share of "FML..." moments, even in Naval Aviation.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Being a SWO sucks because of the people. I knew some good guys in my Shoe days. Every single one of them moved on to something else as soon as he could. I'll just put it this way: many Shoes, including myself, fought hard to get into Air and never once regretted it. I dare you to find an aviator who went the other way.

 

[Seafort]

As far as nuke subs not drafting people... tell that to USNA and NROTC midshipmen.

That matches with some of the experiences of my peers. A few from my unit didn't want really want to be nukes, as I recall.

 

[jbuck387]

I love these threads, having been Ships Company before going to a helo squadron. Anyone who considers SWO, has probably never been on a boat other than for a Midshipmen Cruise. Mid Cruise ? Being stationed on a ship. My Maintenance Officer for AIMD when I was ships company put it best "SWO's eat their young."

 

[SDNalgene]

To the OP:

If you think it is just aviators taking pot shots at SWOtivators, look at manning levels in the O4-O6 levels in aviation versus SWOs. To save you the trouble of looking it up, aviation is considerably overmanned at those levels whereas SWOs are considerably undermanned at those ranks despite being very overmanned at the JO levels (that whole "high acceptance rate" thing). That should give you a general idea as to job satisfaction levels in each community. Quality people stay in aviation because they love it. In general quality people in the SWO community find work elsewhere as soon as possible. I am painting with a broad brush, but as far as generalizations go I am not far off base. If you think I am, enjoy your SWO billet.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Jesus Christ, man. If by some weird freak ocurrence you get 'drafted' into Air or Nuke, then fucking DOR or deliberately flunk out. Know where you end up then? SWO. What exactly are you so worried will happen?

As for the 'nuke draft' - yes, I too know guys from my Boat School class who were persuaded to go Nuke after an interview with DNR. But again - these guys got the big Nuke signing bonus, and then go to an insanely hard school where if you don't like it, you quit. You guys are acting like someones going to try and defeat his shipdriving aspirations and force him into a cockpit or reactor control at gunpoint.

 

[Mos]

The process is different for OCS than for NROTC, of course, but I made up my mind I wanted to be SWO as a Second Class Midshipman. The times I spent on surface vessels were the most interesting to me. I've never felt the urge to fly. So, if I push myself to qualify for NFO (nuke, not in two weeks, just too weak on science/math), then I should also qualify for SWO if it is my first choice. I'm all about doing more than I have to. If I should PRO-REC for both, maybe I'll come back and ask for opinions on why I should change my mind, but I'd hate to take the spot away from someone who really, really wants it.

I understand that SWO is supervision, and managerial duties. My mother once asked me what an Ensign did and I said... "Walk around spaces with a qualification card, ask a lot of questions, evaluating how the sailors in my division are doing, making sure they're taken care of, writing their fitness reports, counseling them. Learning, essentially, to be a leader." My mother said, "Oh. Sounds like my job. Only on a boat." She's a Senior Reference Librarian, which one of the higher managerial positions in public libraries. And she does a lot of the same stuff. Just not in uniform, or on a boat, or with a qual card.

My hope is that it is also teaching. I'm a Junior High School teacher right now, and a large part of why I grew up is because, gee, things look awfully different when you're the one that is in the position of authority and trying to prevent kids from making stupid mistakes. Once I started teaching, my paradigm shifted, pretty quickly too, comparatively. I would say that the person I was in November 2007 when I began teaching was not the person I was even by May of 2008, six months later. One of the things that has always interested me about SWO is the opportunity to be there for junior enlisted as a resource. I'll be an older ensign compared to my NROTC peers were, with the experiences of four years of the real world. Two rocky years where my debt was crushing, and the last two, that have been so full "gettin er done." If I can help my sailors perform better, just as I am able to help my students perform better, that is definitely of interest to me.

How likely am I to be in a position to teach right off the bat in the aviation pipeline? Serious question. If it is likely, that doesn't jive with the information I had about the pipeline. That is one aspect that could make me reevaluate in my interest.

Seafort, if I may make an observation, I think you're nuking this. Perhaps you should learn a bit more about NFO if you're even remotely interested in that, but this agonizing over whether you'll qualify for NFO vs SWO just reads like unnecessary stress. As for being in a position to teach sailors, all I'll say about that is that as an SNFO this first year or so after getting my commission, I've had very little responsibility for anything except to keep my ass out of trouble and study hard during flight training. Very little interaction with enlisted sailors. I'm sure that'll change over time though. Inform yourself about the ways of the NFO and SWO and if you're still that excited about SWO, then make that your first choice. It's good to plan, but IMO, you shouldn't have to figure out your future, as your plans can easily go down the shitter.

 

[HeyJoe]

My hope is that it is also teaching. I'm a Junior High School teacher right now, and a large part of why I grew up is because, gee, things look awfully different when you're the one that is in the position of authority and trying to prevent kids from making stupid mistakes. Once I started teaching, my paradigm shifted, pretty quickly too, comparatively. I would say that the person I was in November 2007 when I began teaching was not the person I was even by May of 2008, six months later. One of the things that has always interested me about SWO is the opportunity to be there for junior enlisted as a resource. I'll be an older ensign compared to my NROTC peers were, with the experiences of four years of the real world. Two rocky years where my debt was crushing, and the last two, that have been so full "gettin er done." If I can help my sailors perform better, just as I am able to help my students perform better, that is definitely of interest to me.

Your "kids" will be a heck of lot older and although some might still be in their teens, you're going to have some as old or even older than you despite your "advanced" age. You might be wearing bars of gold, but they just might be the ones that can teach you a thing or two about the SWO world. And if you think you changed a lot teaching school, stand by for some real changes.

When liberty call sounds in port, then you can try and keep them out of trouble.

How likely am I to be in a position to teach right off the bat in the aviation pipeline? Serious question. If it is likely, that doesn't jive with the information I had about the pipeline. That is one aspect that could make me reevaluate in my interest.

Are you asking about flight school? Or your first fleet assignment? Don't think you won't go through training to be a SWO and be teaching then. As an aviator, Flight Training followed by the RAG lasts longer, but you'll get to a fleet squadron and be assigned to be a "resource" for at least a branch if you end up in maintenance dept off the bat. I daresay aviation has a lot more opportunity to become a "teacher"/instructor soon enough for an entire tour whether it be back in the Training Command, the RAG, a weapons school or even NSAWC. Regardless, methinks you ought be more focused on being willing to learn the ropes of being a SWO, qualifying as a watchstander and ultimately earning your SWO pin than focusing solely on being "a teacher".