The humor is that the MK13 GMLS has been removed from the Frigates - they were neutered! SWO humor is that they are all FFs now instead of FFGs.
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Really stupid questions about life as a SWO and anything else not aviation related [mod dog wuz hərə]
- Thread starter Wiley
- Start date
The humor is that the MK13 GMLS has been removed from the Frigates - they were neutered! SWO humor is that they are all FFs now instead of FFGs.
I get it. I'm about to go on my fourth (4 out of four) frigate deployment. Plus the month I spent onboard the USS THATCH during Middie cruise. It's just a dig on Steve on how it's not really "Ha Ha" funny. Besides, any chance to poke Steve w/ a stick is a plus.
TheLastChimney
Ever
There's a lot of information here about JOs, but what about the other 16 years of a SWO career? I gather that most make DH pretty quickly after the first four or five. What is the life of a DH/XO/CO like on a day to day basis? What is a shore tour like?
Also, what kind of benefits do you get for going Nuke?
Also, what kind of benefits do you get for going Nuke?
Great questions!
Our SWO detailing shop, PERS-41, has a SWO Career Planning Brief on their website and it goes into A LOT of detail on the entire career. Go to http://www.npc.navy.mil/Officer/SurfaceWarfare/ and click on the Career Planning Brief.
1) Shore tours are many and varied. The first shore tour following Division Officer tours is one area where the SWO career path does differ from Aviation. SWOs are expected to get graduate education on their first shore tour and there are numerous options available from Naval Postgraduate School, teaching at USNA or NROTC and a slew of others. Post DH/XO/CO, it's generally the same for all communities - you see a mix of OPNAV, Joint, Fleet, Battle Group or Community staff jobs. The Battle Group staff jobs are all sea going. Not all the numbered Fleets go to sea anymore.
2) Department Head: Very challenging and rewarding tour. As a division officer sometimes feel acute pressure for the ships success or failure. As a DH, it's a chronic pressure. You really see things from a different perspective and become one of "they."
3) XO/CO: Not quite there yet due to our shift to Fleet Up, but from what I've observed first hand over the years and from what my mentors have said, the best jobs ever!! Extremely challenging and also extremely rewarding!!
4) Nuke benefits: SWO nukes get extra Nuke pay and bonuses. Pretty good money. For sea tours, SWO Nukes alternate between traditional SWO tours and a tour about a Carrier as an Nuke engineer. There's a lot of information at: http://www.npc.navy.mil/Officer/SurfaceWarfare/Detailers/412_SWON/
GreenLantern330
Active Member
Do you get to choose the type of boat you want to serve on or does the Navy just stick you where they need you?
There's usually a list of ships available and then selections are based on order of merit. For OCSers, this is academic standing in your class. Can't speak to ROTC/Academy rankings. So, you can pick based on what's available when it's your time to pick. The list for my class had CG/DDG/FFG/LPD/LHA on it. FFGs were, unsurprisingly, the last to be picked.
Little bit of both. Out of the Academy, NROTC and OCS, you go through a ship selection process based on order of merit. The rest of your career you will submit preferences to your detailer and go through a slating process. More often than not, your preferences line up with needs of the Navy. Sometimes they don't.
GreenLantern330
Active Member
Thanks for the clarification, Synix and Bubba.
GreenLantern330
Active Member
A day or two ago I was told something about IA in SWO. Can anyone explain exactly what you do with IA? Do you volunteer for IA or do you get selected/ordered? If it's a matter of being ordered/selected, do women ever have to do IA?
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
It can be a mix of both being selected or volunteering myself. People do it for various reasons too. My DCA (Damage Control Assistant) was able to negotiate the detailer to send him to Postgrad School if he volunteered for an IA. Not a bad deal.
Is that E or O? Not sure what billets are for SWOs.
Individual Augments for Iraq and Afghanistan are for both Officer and Enlisted. Requirements go from CENTCOM to US Joint Forces Command and then to the Navy through Fleet Forces Command. Fleet Forces Command then parses the requirements out to various Navy components to fill. When COMNAVSURFOR or COMNAVAIRFOR (for instance) get he requirements, they have have to fill them from their commands, whether the requirement is for an enlisted Sailor or Officer.
asomm1
New Member
Maritime schools?
Hey all,
Just got the word yesterday that SWO boards are postponed until September '11. My application is already in, but unless the boards get put back on, I'd like to take the extra time to bulk up my application. Since I'm a senior graduating with a non-technical degree, my thoughts now are to take the summer (and maybe fall) to get some certifications (USCG) from a maritime school to bulk up my application to SWO. Is this just a complete waste of time and money? Have people done this before?
Hey all,
Just got the word yesterday that SWO boards are postponed until September '11. My application is already in, but unless the boards get put back on, I'd like to take the extra time to bulk up my application. Since I'm a senior graduating with a non-technical degree, my thoughts now are to take the summer (and maybe fall) to get some certifications (USCG) from a maritime school to bulk up my application to SWO. Is this just a complete waste of time and money? Have people done this before?
Probably a waste of time. You'd be better off doing some volunteering, or starting some graduate work, going to the gym, or just killing off the slower, weaker brain cells with alcohol.
Being a SWO is, unfortunately, only fractionally about seamanship. The bulk of the job is mostly people and money management.
Being a SWO is, unfortunately, only fractionally about seamanship. The bulk of the job is mostly people and money management.
asomm1
New Member
Right, agreed. But for those of us who have built solid kits (ie strong volunteer hours, getting in shape, LORs) for the upcoming boards that are no-more, what would be the best way to add more bulk to our app? Come September, there's going to be quite a backlog of strong applicants, and I'll need to use the extra time to make my app that much stronger to stand out. It seems getting maritime school credentials would look good to a SWO board, no?