I need help getting SWO information

[AJOaks]

Yeah, I do not have a desire, at this point in time, to work in the merchant marine community. I am looking more at the professional education I could get as well as all the leadership experience I will gain from the Navy.

 

[swerdna]

Thank you all for the replies.

I will inform this group that I have decided to take my SWO selection. All my paperwork was turned in last Thursday and could possibly go to OCS mid-October.

Oddly enough, my wife was a little hesitant at first, but once she researched more about the two jobs, she called me at work Thursday morning and told me to call my recruiter and go with the Navy. Funny how things can change in a week.

A lot of that had to do with her talking to some people she knows serving in various ratings in the Navy right now. We also both got to talk to a SWO fresh off her first sea tour. Her and the recruiter both told my wife to expect the first two years to be horrible, the next two years after that to still be pretty terrible, then after that, it would get better. We would be more familiar with deployments, and get the chance to have some shore tours.

So, we know it will be tough, but we also know it is for a very great cause and it will be as enjoyable as we let it be.

Thanks again everybody! I guess now if anyone has any advice they want to throw out seeing as my decision is made, that would be greatly appreciated. I have read most threads on here such as OCS gouges, what are good ships to be assigned to for your first ship, etc.

I think we talked about this before, but I have two big pieces of advice:

- You never know what you'll get as a SWO. Some guys are at sea a lot, others not so much. You could be like my friend who did part, or all of, 4 deployments in 4 years, or like me, who did 1 in 4 years. It's a roll of the dice, so stay flexible.

- Keep your spouse in the loop as much as possible. This is good relationship advice in general, but is critical in the military. Let her know what's going on with your career, training, deployments, and make sure she has a good support system for when you're gone (some spouses go home or have family come live with them). You'll get a pretty good intro to this during OCS when you can't talk every day, but as long as she knows that and understands I'm sure things will be fine.

 

[AJOaks]

Thank you swerdna. Yeah, that is the main thing that I have told her, and keep in mind for myself, is that we do not know what my career will be like. There are so many factors that could make our experience way different than others.

 

[Duc'-guy25]

Interesting. Personally, I never want to work like the merchant community does. Spending 9 months at sea with only a handful of days in port is not my idea of a good time.

I can't think of any commercial company that has their crews working 9 months a year...not one that American mariners work for at least. Most deep sea outfits are 3 months on 3 months off, and domestic/offshore stuff is usually less than a month on/off. But I'm a USNS type, I never actually sailed on my license on a commercial ship, our work schedule is fairly lopsided compared to most of my classmates. About even in port/at sea time though.

 

[AllAmerican75]

I can't think of any commercial company that has their crews working 9 months a year...not one that American mariners work for at least. Most deep sea outfits are 3 months on 3 months off, and domestic/offshore stuff is usually less than a month on/off. But I'm a USNS type, I never actually sailed on my license on a commercial ship, our work schedule is fairly lopsided compared to most of my classmates. About even in port/at sea time though.

Interesting. I'm not a commercial dude nor do I have any desire to be, so all the exposure I've had is dealing with the various USNS types bobbing around and speaking with them, the "deployment cycle" seems to be brutal with long periods away from homeport, and most of those "deployments" spent at sea. The guys I talked to made it sound like they were living a 6 months on, 3 months off lifestyle. What's it like working for MSC? Do you guys have all of the same headaches as the rest of us regular Navy guys or is it more like working for a corporation?