I believe the most junior commands are the coastal patrol ships and minesweepers, both commanded by LCDR's. If you are really keen on commanding as a JO I would look at the Coast Guard, they have cutters commanded by LTJG's.
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Surface Warfare Officer......is it rewarding?
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I believe the most junior commands are the coastal patrol ships and minesweepers, both commanded by LCDR's. If you are really keen on commanding as a JO I would look at the Coast Guard, they have cutters commanded by LTJG's.
Thanks...yes, it seems like from what I have read that USCG provides ship command opportunities earlier for their officer. But, the larger ships are, of course, in the navy. I wonder what commanders and captains in the USCG do? Desk jobs?
Anyways, didn't the navy used to allow junior officers command smaller ships that saw action, like the PT boats from WWII and the "Swift" boats from Vietnam?
And, if an LCDR were to command a coastal patrol ship, for example, would he/she then give up an XO tour on a larger ship and thereby sacrifice the opportunity to command a larger ship down the road?
The bigger cutters have O-5 and O-6 captains. Sectors are also commanded by an O-6. On the other end, some cutters - inland bouy tenders, for example - are commanded by warrant officers.
You are only 'in command' if it's a commissioned ship (i.e., USS/USCGC). Otherwise you're an Officer in Charge. It is a bigger difference than it might seem.
The Coasties have 'Medium' and 'High-Endurance' cutters, that are roughly similar to frigates and destroyers, along with a few other large vessels commanded by CDR's and CAPT's.
Yes, but we don't have those anymore.
So that begs the q: what is the difference, please? Thanks.
A shit ton more responsibility with a Cruiser that has a 61 Cell VLS, the most sophisticated radar on the planet, the ability to kill a dude 700 miles inland with surgical precision or ET coming down in his spaceship while leading a 350 man crew vs. a small boat with a few crew served weapons.
You do have the option around the end of your LTJG/beginning of your LT time to screen for early command if you want to try the minesweeper track. Generally along those lines, you'll do a tour as a XO of a boat, then some point after pick up as commanding a sweeper. It's not exactly career move. I have friends that I originally commissioned with that are trying to go this way, and honestly if you don't plan on doing 20 in the Navy, I'd say commanding a sweeper while still young would be pretty sweet.
You do have the option around the end of your LTJG/beginning of your LT time to screen for early command if you want to try the minesweeper track. Generally along those lines, you'll do a tour as a XO of a boat, then some point after pick up as commanding a sweeper. It's not exactly career move. I have friends that I originally commissioned with that are trying to go this way, and honestly if you don't plan on doing 20 in the Navy, I'd say commanding a sweeper while still young would be pretty sweet.
Until you park your sweep on a reef in the PI (and then go on to be a DCA...).
Hey, DCA is a good job for a CRUDES guy. At least you can walk into the job saying you have experience 
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Hey, DCA is a good job for a CRUDES guy. At least you can walk into the job saying you have experience
It's not if you're going from CO of anything to DCA on a big deck.
Thanks. So, if one wants to make O-6 and possibly command a cruiser someday, trying to command a smaller ship at a more junior rank is not the way to go? It's better to be department head and then XO of a larger vessel?
Apologies, what is DCA?Hey, DCA is a good job for a CRUDES guy. At least you can walk into the job saying you have experience
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