SWO life questions

[Origin1776]

You're worrying about the wrong things here. Ultimately, you have very little control of where you go once you get to OCS. You need to make peace with that and stop trying to work the system right now. In fact, you will likely have little control over where you go for the next 8 years of your career until you make your bones as a department head and start getting slotted into the OPS, WEPS/CSO, CHENG pipeline. This is because you are a prospective JO and haven't gotten enough experience to break you apart from the thousands of other junior SWOs. That won't happen until you're a department head, at which point the powers that be will start racking and stacking the senior O3s and O4s to get them ready for command.

But don't worry too much, your class officer and/or staff officers at OTCN will likely have the inside skinny on where the ships on the available list are and what their schedules look like. Worry about that when the time comes. Also understand that the ships that are available now, likely won't be available when you get to OCS. My class didn't have a single ship available in Norfolk, and I didn't even get to choose since I was up for orders at the same time that the Academy kids were doing ship selection. You could very well end up in that same position so there is no way to plan right now.



It's not exactly random. I could have gone and become a submariner, but I have/had no desire to ever become a Nuke. Also, due to funding, resources, manpower, etc. it is not practical to give every single recruit a full form flight physical, hence you get a basic DODMERB at MEPS and then get the full work up once you get to OCS. Really, you have to make your peace with the fact that many of your career decisions will be at the mercy of the Needs of the Navy™ from now until you walk across the brow for the final time.

I’d rather ask questions and have a strategic plan to be more prepared than my classmates rather than get caught off guard. But I appreciate your help.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Copy that. So they pretty much threw you into a random job when you got NAMI’d? It seems like medical fitness should be determined before you sign the dotted line but i guess that’s the nature of the beast.

If people get NAMI'd they can also go home if they don't want to apply to be accepted into another designator.

 

[Gatordev]

@Origin1776 I'm not really sure what you're asking, but to summarize what I think you're asking, there several major Homeports for the surface Navy. Norfolk, Mayport, San Diego, Pearl, Rota, and [somewhere in] Washington state (I think it's Bremerton, but I'm not super-familiar).

Typically, the major combatants (DDG, CG, CVN) are in Norfolk, Mayport, SD, Pearl (with limited availability and no CVN), and Bremerton. Other vessels like LHA/LHD ships are in Norfolk, Mayport, and SD. You can find threads here to help breakdown what that means to a new, baby-SWO, but bottom line, go to a CG/DDG if you can.

Billets on any of these ships are a crap shoot. So don't worry about what you can't control.

 

[Origin1776]

@Origin1776 I'm not really sure what you're asking, but to summarize what I think you're asking, there several major Homeports for the surface Navy. Norfolk, Mayport, San Diego, Pearl, Rota, and [somewhere in] Washington state (I think it's Bremerton, but I'm not super-familiar).

Typically, the major combatants (DDG, CG, CVN) are in Norfolk, Mayport, SD, Pearl (with limited availability and no CVN), and Bremerton. Other vessels like LHA/LHD ships are in Norfolk, Mayport, and SD. You can find threads here to help breakdown what that means to a new, baby-SWO, but bottom line, go to a CG/DDG if you can.

Billets on any of these ships are a crap shoot. So don't worry about what you can't control.

As much information as there is regarding quotas the Navy is filling for these designations, I was hoping to cross reference or find info on Navy’s current openings for SWO billets. But hey I appreciate the response. And I really don’t mind not knowing where I’ll end up, it makes for the surprise to be a little sweeter. Until then i will just focus on getting my shit pushed in and smashing OCS

 

[Gatordev]

I was hoping to cross reference or find info on Navy’s current openings for SWO billets

You're just not going to find that information unless you work at PERS. It doesn't matter the commission source, available billets will be a "last minute" thing for the commissionee.

 

[cfam]

[somewhere in] Washington state (I think it's Bremerton, but I'm not super-familiar).

All of the DDGs stationed up in WA are at Naval Station Everett, and there aren’t any CGs currently stationed there. I’m pretty sure that Bremerton is a CVN-only homeport at this point (there may be some attack subs there as well).

 

[exNavyOffRec]

All of the DDGs stationed up in WA are at Naval Station Everett, and there aren’t any CGs currently stationed there. I’m pretty sure that Bremerton is a CVN-only homeport at this point (there may be some attack subs there as well).

yep, and Bremerton has been CVN-only for quite a while, sometimes you have a SSN in drydock but nothing long term.

 

[Gatordev]

Gotcha. I knew I was forgetting another name (Everett). My only experience in the area was flying through SEATAC to get to Fallon from San Diego. I think the trip would have been faster if the airline flew west.

 

[AllAmerican75]

@Origin1776 I'm not really sure what you're asking, but to summarize what I think you're asking, there several major Homeports for the surface Navy. Norfolk, Mayport, San Diego, Pearl, Rota, and [somewhere in] Washington state (I think it's Bremerton, but I'm not super-familiar).

Typically, the major combatants (DDG, CG, CVN) are in Norfolk, Mayport, SD, Pearl (with limited availability and no CVN), and Bremerton. Other vessels like LHA/LHD ships are in Norfolk, Mayport, and SD. You can find threads here to help breakdown what that means to a new, baby-SWO, but bottom line, go to a CG/DDG if you can.

Billets on any of these ships are a crap shoot. So don't worry about what you can't control.

To build upon this, there are only so many hulls that can take new ensigns. At present, I believe only DDGs, CGs, LPDs, LSDs, LHDs/LHAs, and LCSs are open for ensigns, so you won't be going to a PC, a carrier, or a sweep right off the bat. When you get to any of these ships (except for the LCS) you will be assigned a job at random. This really doesn't matter very much as ensign jobs are designed to teach you the ropes, give you experience throughout the whole operation of the ship, and get you qualified. You can expect to change divisions once or twice during your time on board and be moved from Engineering to Ops or Ops to Engineering or Engineering to Combat Systems. You will likely be stuck in Engineering first.

 

[number9]

To build upon this, there are only so many hulls that can take new ensigns. At present, I believe only DDGs, CGs, LPDs, LSDs, LHDs/LHAs, and LCSs are open for ensigns, so you won't be going to a PC, a carrier, or a sweep right off the bat.

Out of curiosity, why can't carriers take new Ensigns?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Out of curiosity, why can't carriers take new Ensigns?

You won't get what you need to learn on a carrier, and it just isn't a good place for a junior SWO.

 

[Atlasaur]

hence you get a basic DODMERB at MEPS and then get the full work up once you get to OCS.

How much different is the medical at OCS than at MEPS? I thought I was done with medical evals after that whole day at MEPS!

 

[AllAmerican75]

How much different is the medical at OCS than at MEPS? I thought I was done with medical evals after that whole day at MEPS!

Depends upon your designator. If you are going into Aviation then you will receive a full flight physical. If you are going into EOD, SEAL, or submarines then you will receive a dive physical (Not sure on the differences between the submariner and the EOD/SEAL dive physicals). Otherwise you will receive a full Navy physical and if you have received any waivers from BUMED, they will do some tests to document those conditions and ensure you are still good to go. Thankfully, they won't make you do the duck walk again or hang around with 20 strangers in your underwear while you wait for the doc to come get you.

Out of curiosity, why can't carriers take new Ensigns?

You won't learn what you need to as an ensign in order to qualify as a SWO. For instance, you will be competing with JAGs, airdales, docs, SUPPOs, IPs, IWs, and various LDOs/CWOs to get your Officer of the Deck (OOD) Underway qualification. You also won't get to learn much about the engineering power plant and hotel systems (power, water, lighting) because it runs off of a nuclear power plant and only Nukes are allowed down there. If it were me, I'd go to either an LSD/LPD or a DDG. You're more likely to get what you need and see more of the regular Navy on one. Aviation and Naval Air Systems Command (Who owns the carriers) do things a little differently than the rest of the surface and submarine Navy (Owned by Naval Sea Systems Command).

 

[number9]

You won't learn what you need to as an ensign in order to qualify as a SWO. For instance, you will be competing with JAGs, airdales, docs, SUPPOs, IPs, IWs, and various LDOs/CWOs to get your Officer of the Deck (OOD) Underway qualification. You also won't get to learn much about the engineering power plant and hotel systems (power, water, lighting) because it runs off of a nuclear power plant and only Nukes are allowed down there. If it were me, I'd go to either an LSD/LPD or a DDG. You're more likely to get what you need and see more of the regular Navy on one. Aviation and Naval Air Systems Command (Who owns the carriers) do things a little differently than the rest of the surface and submarine Navy (Owned by Naval Sea Systems Command).

Thank you for the thorough explanation! I'm an INTEL reservist, so the opposite of a SWO, but I was curious nonetheless. Now I know!

 

[jmj689]

Speaking of grad packets, are they still handing out dog tags in them? Ensign AA75 thought that was pretty damn cool.

Don't think anyone responded to this, so: can confirm, they do NOT pass out dog tags anymore.