Really stupid questions about life as a SWO and anything else not aviation related [mod dog wuz hərə]

[Aluroon]

SWOs go to BDOC in either Norfolk or San Diego to basically gain leadership skills and learn how to be a DivO. Any more specialty training after that stems from the actual job they want you doing on their ship.

To clarify / expand on this.

Everyone goes to BDOC. First tour division officers also frequently go to a course related to their job when they check into their command and figure out what they're going to do. Some are a couple days (SAR O), others are a month (COMMO, AUX/ELECTRO). No guarantees though.

Before their second tour a division officer goes to ADOC (a month long course in Newport) and focused courses specific to their 2nd tour warfare area that are typically 1-3 months long.

 

[prestonaz]

Let’s say a newly graduated SWO from OCS wanted to get stationed in DC or near DC (Norfolk Annapolis, Lakehurst). What are the odds

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Let’s say a newly graduated SWO from OCS wanted to get stationed in DC or near DC (Norfolk Annapolis, Lakehurst). What are the odds

There’s ships in Norfolk. Not so much with the other two...

 

[Aluroon]

Let’s say a newly graduated SWO from OCS wanted to get stationed in DC or near DC (Norfolk Annapolis, Lakehurst). What are the odds

Norfolk is like 3 or 4 hours away and is by far your best bet. Typically Norfolk ships are considered less desirable and there are more than a few on your class's list. I've seen it go the other way though, where you have a lot of east coast guys and not enough Norfolk.

Overall I'd say if you consider Norfolk close pretty good odds.

 

[BackOrdered]

Let’s say a newly graduated SWO from OCS wanted to get stationed in DC or near DC (Norfolk Annapolis, Lakehurst). What are the odds

Its a stretch but if you do well and express that goal to your first CO, he/she COULD help you for your shore slate. Not a guarantee.

 

[ea6bflyr]

Let’s say a newly graduated SWO from OCS wanted to get stationed in DC or near DC (Norfolk Annapolis, Lakehurst). What are the odds

Like @RecruitingGuru said, not much opportunity for your first and second sea tour (48 months later) to be stationed in DC, but Norfolk (Hampton Roads) is probably the closest location. On a positive note, during your first SHORE tour, you can live and work in DC. Pick your poison carefully..Lots of SWO goodness at the Pers-41 website.

 

[Aluroon]

Its a stretch but if you do well and express that goal to your first CO, he/she COULD help you for your shore slate. Not a guarantee.

First CO isn't going to give meaningful shore slate inputs. Second ship CO could help though for your shore slate, though as ea6bflyr notes, getting to DC for shore isn't that difficult. You just pass up on most of the conventional benefits of that shore duty. Do not put the cart before the horse though with that. Your focus upon first ship arrival should be getting your SWO qualification. Show up motivated to be there. If you show up talking about 4 years down the line you're going to put yourself in a tough spot.

 

[BackOrdered]

First CO isn't going to give meaningful shore slate inputs. Second ship CO could help though for your shore slate, though as ea6bflyr notes, getting to DC for shore isn't that difficult. You just pass up on most of the conventional benefits of that shore duty. Do not put the cart before the horse though with that. Your focus upon first ship arrival should be getting your SWO qualification. Show up motivated to be there. If you show up talking about 4 years down the line you're going to put yourself in a tough spot.

Did they not make the change yet to one long first SWO divo tour vice two divo tours?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Did they not make the change yet to one long first SWO divo tour vice two divo tours?

There’s still fleet up but most SWOs do their divo tours on different ships.

 

[Aluroon]

Did they not make the change yet to one long first SWO divo tour vice two divo tours?

Wouldn't really matter for orders anyway, since CO tours are <18 months. Even if you fleet up, depending on their timing it might be your second, or even third CO that has inputs on your orders. I went through 3 COs on USS First Ship, and none of them got fired.

As Guru says though, multi-tours are still the norm. There's the option to fleet up on a single ship if your CO wants you to stay on, and there is a billet opening for you (i.e. someone is intended to leave around the same time you would complete your training pipeline), but that's not guaranteed or the norm by any means, especially since they've created a huge number of new 2nd tour jobs on MCMs / LCS / CVN that need to get filled (with no 1st tours on them to fleet up even if they for some reason wanted to).

I tend to think fleeting up is a pretty poor decision professionally. There are a bunch of highly valid personal reasons for it (staying in the same home port, ensuring you'll see a deployment or downtime, not risking orders you don't want, etc) but professionally the trade off in terms of opportunity to reinvent and develop yourself at your second command, as well as see other ways of doing business and (likely) other platforms is pretty damn high. Especially since your next ship ride thereafter is as a department head.

Your first ride is essentially your screw up and figure it out ride. Your second is application of those lessons. Putting them together on the same ship has the potential to significantly stunt your growth, as instead of having to develop fresh relationships from a different position (of having knowledge, but not knowledge of the new ship) you essentially tread the same ground. There's also a tendency for a lot of enlisted sailors (who are on 4-5 year orders) to essentially view you as that same JO that checked on-board, and for you to have those relationships you built as an idiot Ensign that can get professionally murky.

Just my take though.

 

[prestonaz]

When a ship is docked in its home port, what does a SWO do on a day to day? Also, dumb question, but do you ever get days off, or rather, do you have a set schedule with time off during the week?

 

[BigRed389]

When a ship is docked in its home port, what does a SWO do on a day to day? Also, dumb question, but do you ever get days off, or rather, do you have a set schedule with time off during the week?

Day to day...run your division or department. I realize that seems vague.

You’re responsible for maintenance to get executed, broken stuff to get fixed, your personnel staying current on training, and your part of the ship being in good shape. Ultimately, it’s about doing your part to ensure your ship is ready to execute tasking.
As a leader, that really generally means you keep tabs on all of it, rather than getting involved hands on in everything.

You generally get weekends off and go home evenings on weekdays unless you have a duty day. You can expect one a week, on a rotating basis, and that frequency drops the higher up you go. XO/CO don’t stand duty at all.

 

[Aluroon]

When a ship is docked in its home port, what does a SWO do on a day to day? Also, dumb question, but do you ever get days off, or rather, do you have a set schedule with time off during the week?

As a first tour?

Work on evaluations for your sailors. Supervise or give (rarely) training. Route paperwork to get stuff fixed (CASREPS). Conduct spot checks (making sure people do their maintenance). Review known maintenance problems. Attend meetings for planning. Study for your own professional qualifications. Seek out others on your ship to provide training to you. Meet with your department head to coordinate divisional / departmental stuff. Work on collateral duty assignment (i.e. keeping the books for MWR or the Wardroom). Complete required professional reading. Read and respond to emails with off ship maintenance activities. Review professional documents you need to learn. Review instructions on the ship that you may own for required changes. Manage your problems of record for the navy (i.e. document training, document maintenance, document disciplinary issues). Talk to your sailors. Talk to your fellow division officers. Go through murder and qualification boards in which you are orally tested by subject matter experts. Walk your spaces. Prepare for upcoming certifications, inspections, events. Work on briefs you're going to give. Participate in drills, scenarios, and so forth. Most ships run between 1-3 drills a week (General Quarters, Toxic Gas, Fire, Flooding, etc).

Typically you get weekends off (varies by ship workload / timing) and nights. When you leave at night may be in your own power, or it may be held by the ship at large. Most 1st tours tend to leave the ship between 1700-1900 (varying by their workload), but I've mostly seen DIVO's allowed to manage themselves with regard to when they leave so long as they accomplish their duties. If you're leaving at 1400 there'd better be a reason, but when I did I rarely recall getting much push-back. Rarely is there someone standing on the brow of the ship that's going to stop you from leaving or quiz you as to what you're doing as a DIVO.

Depending on ship class, between 1 in 3 and 1 in 8 days while in port you'll have duty, meaning you'll stand a watch (typically 5-6 hours, sometimes 10-12 if you're short handed) and spend the entire day / night on-board. Your watch may or may not be armed, and may or may not be in a dress uniform. You'll attend duty section training (typically an hour around lunch). Typically these are also days people work late to get ahead or catch up on paperwork, or seek out training.

 

[prestonaz]

Both of you gave the gouge I was looking for. Much thanks

 

[Hair Warrior]

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What are CDS and CPR?