Hello everyone, I am an officer candidate looking to become an NFO. However, NFO is shut down for the year from what my recruiter told me. He has told me that I should try for SWO and while at officer training put in a request for lateral transfer to NFO. I was hoping some of you could give me some proper insight on what I should do. I have seen online that some have been able to laterally convert at officer training and have also heard that you must earn your SWO pin before they allow you to which takes about 2 years. I don’t want to get stuck as an SWO but am open to the possibility if this is my best bet. Cheers.
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SWO to NFO Lateral Conversion
- Thread starter Wgregzy
- Start date
If you want to be an NFO then you should apply or re-apply as an NFO. Even if you have to wait till next cycle, it will be a much shorter wait that going SWO, spending at least 2 years earning you pin, the applying for redesignation - which is NOT guaranteed.
The nice thing about OCS is that you can contract for what you want to do, and not get stuck doing something you don't want.
Also, be VERY wary of recruiter promises. I was in your shoes many years ago, I had orders to AOCS, wanted Pilot but there were no spots available. The recruiter told me "you have great eyesight, just take NFO orders, and when you get to Pensacola you can switch" (!!) As you can see, I ended up an NFO, which was great, but wasn't my first choice going it.
Do some people get lucky and switch while at OCS? Probably? Maybe? Should you count on it? Definitely not
best of luck to you!
The nice thing about OCS is that you can contract for what you want to do, and not get stuck doing something you don't want.
Also, be VERY wary of recruiter promises. I was in your shoes many years ago, I had orders to AOCS, wanted Pilot but there were no spots available. The recruiter told me "you have great eyesight, just take NFO orders, and when you get to Pensacola you can switch" (!!) As you can see, I ended up an NFO, which was great, but wasn't my first choice going it.
Do some people get lucky and switch while at OCS? Probably? Maybe? Should you count on it? Definitely not
best of luck to you!
allegroreyees
Student Naval Aviator
If you want to be an NFO, find a civilian job for a year and reapply next year. The only people who redesignated at OCS while I was there were people who were disqualified medically from aviation or subs or had issues with their security prescreen and were unlikely to get a TS clearance.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
Step 1: Find a new recruiter.
Step 2: Forget everything the first recruiter told you.
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
This is asked and answered regularly here. If you don’t want to be a SWO, just wait.
Don’t try to join/pursue another program in hopes of jumping to another.
Your recruiter gave you terrible advice. I'm sure it has happened, but re-designating while still in the training pipeline is not something I would count on. Officer training and accessions numbers are planned out well in advance...they got algorithms and everything. Once the Navy has you, your hopes and dreams are a very distant second to the needs of the service. If NFO is closed out, and you do not want to be a SWO, wait until the next cycle. Or explore other options, like becoming a WSO in the AF.