I was actually referring to this quote from the "Navy OCS" forum:
wonderwoman said:
so...you telling me that he will be gone a lot? i thougt it depends on which program u get accepted for..? any insights?
Which is pretty much the same question you asked in this thread:
My husband is thinking of applying for SWO as one of this three choices...but my concern is that he would be gone all the time. I understand many Special Warfare Officiers end up on ships...anyone have any insight? What about Iintell? Are they gone much?
I didn't mean to be "fisty," but you are asking a question which is A) covered in 9 million threads on this forum and B) was answered in a prior thread and C) has a pretty obvious answer if it wasn't answered before: yes, your husband will be deployed 'a lot.' I was told to expect a 6 month deployment once every 18 months as either sub or SWO, but the 12 months "off" consist of workups and short sea times. And the 6 month deployment (or any, for that matter) can be extended depending on the situation in the world at the time, which is why no one can tell you an exact amount of time he will be gone. Such is the way of life in the military. The CDR (subs) at the interviews had done 4 6-month deployments in his ~15-20 year career, but that would also include at least one tour on boomers because sub officers have to work on both platforms. Boomers are apparently are the most schedule-friendly platforms there are for unrestricted line officers -- they go out for 3 months, come back, switch to a new crew, come back and undergo maintenance, repeat.
I also got the impression from the SWO that the Navy likes SWOs and SWO/N to qualify on multiple types of ships as well (the latter also has to do the "/N" part), and deployment schedule will vary with the ship's schedule, which will also vary depending upon the needs of our defense.
As far as short notice: while I haven't even been through OCS yet, I can tell you that I have yet to have advanced warning for anything. I got my orders to report to the interview 1 week prior. I got my orders to do the PRT 1 week prior. I found out that I got to go to the VIP trip to Georgia (required for my application) 2 days prior. I was told to go to MEPS 2 days prior. It was pretty frustrating, considering the time before just consisted of waiting around waiting for the answer. Luckily, I had a job that didn't fire me for taking so many days off with short notice.
For me, I'm not signing up so that I can sit on US mainland soil for 5 years and do nothing. But I also have the luxury of not having a wife and children, so the random schedule doesn't matter to me so much. There's nothing wrong with being concerned about how to cope with that sort of lifestyle (hell, I worry about how it would work out if I met a good woman myself), but it seems like you are surprised by the fact that your husband is going to be deployed for long periods of time. I would think this is something you two would've discussed before he visited the recruiter and put in his application.
