badger
Registered User
Delurking to clear some things up, and a long post, so bear with me….
First, the typical career path:
First DIVO tour
24 Months
Qualify as OOD, SWO
Promote to LTJG
Second DIVO tour
18 Months
Qualify as Engineering Officer of the Watch
First shore tour
24-36 Months
Guaranteed master’s degree available
Promote to LT
First DH tour
18 Months
Qualify as Tactical Action Officer
$75k bonus
Second DH tour
18 Months
1st opportunity for Command at Sea
Promote to LCDR – 99% of DHs promote!
Second shore tour
24 Months
Instructor/Subspecialty/Joint Duty
Master’s degree if you don’t already have one
XO/ LCDR CO/XO-SM Tour
18 Months
60% of LCDRs select for XO, 15% go XO-SM
Qualify for Command At Sea
$46k bonus
Third Shore Tour
24-36 Months
Joint/Subspecialty Tour
Promote to CDR – 99% of XO’s, 85% of LCDRs overall
CDR Command Tour
You ‘da Boss!
55% of XO/LCDR CO’s go CO – others go to afloat staffs
$15k/yr bonus for CO's and other qualifying billets
Fourth Shore Tour
Subspecialty/Program Manager/Joint Tour
$15k/yr bonus for qualifying billets
Promote to CAPT – 99% of CO’s, 60% of CDRs overall
Major Command/Staff Tour
You ‘da Boss – again!
$20k/yr bonus for CO's and other qualifying billets
What I like about being a SWO: Opportunity for command at sea; I got responsibility and leadership/management skills fast. My first division had 40 Sailors, my second had 60 Sailors, and my departments had 75-110 Sailors. Now at the Navigator on an LHA I plan the movements for a whole strike group, and I just put on LCDR a year ago. As the OOD underway, you run the ship. As the CDO inport, you run the ship. As a TAO, if the target meets the profile, YOU have the authority to send a weapon downrange without having to consult the Captain. SWOs are in high demand in a wide variety of jobs. I’ve had the opportunity to serve on a CV, LHA and an FFG, and to learn/perform all warfare areas from ASW to strike to amphibious warfare. And, the best SWOs take a great deal of pride in being in a profession that has centuries of tradition and customs behind it, and names like John Paul Jones, Stephen Decatur and Arliegh Burke to claim as ancestors.
What I don’t always like about being a SWO are: bad attitudes – we put ourselves down more than other communities put us down. This is changing, but slowly. Lack of sleep? Yes, but mostly underway. Typical watch rotation leads to 6-8 hours of sleep for one night out of three, then 4-6 hours for the other two nights with an opportunity for nooners most days. Some SWOs take some aspects of the job more seriously than they should, and use their poor priorities to inflict pain on subordinates. Warfighting and watchstanding are deadly serious business, and must be treated that way. Admin should get done, but there’s rarely a reason to pull your subordinates’ fingernails out over it.
Being a SWO is not for everyone. Will you make a good SWO? All of the qualifications above are now earned through apprenticeship, just like in the days of sail. If you have the initiative and motivation to report aboard and grab your PQS and run with it, you’ll be a step ahead of your contemporaries. My experience has been that the SWOs that hate life the most are the ones who expect to have everything handed to them and don’t put enough effort into learning and doing their jobs. The crew of a ship is small relative to the amount of work that needs to be done, and getting smaller, so slackers can expect a heavy ration of pain to get them to carry their load. On the up side, if you work hard to be a good DIVO and get your quals done ahead of schedule, you’ll earn the respect of your shipmates, up and down the chain of command, and they’ll all look out for you when trouble or FITREPs roll around.
First, the typical career path:
First DIVO tour
24 Months
Qualify as OOD, SWO
Promote to LTJG
Second DIVO tour
18 Months
Qualify as Engineering Officer of the Watch
First shore tour
24-36 Months
Guaranteed master’s degree available
Promote to LT
First DH tour
18 Months
Qualify as Tactical Action Officer
$75k bonus
Second DH tour
18 Months
1st opportunity for Command at Sea
Promote to LCDR – 99% of DHs promote!
Second shore tour
24 Months
Instructor/Subspecialty/Joint Duty
Master’s degree if you don’t already have one
XO/ LCDR CO/XO-SM Tour
18 Months
60% of LCDRs select for XO, 15% go XO-SM
Qualify for Command At Sea
$46k bonus
Third Shore Tour
24-36 Months
Joint/Subspecialty Tour
Promote to CDR – 99% of XO’s, 85% of LCDRs overall
CDR Command Tour
You ‘da Boss!
55% of XO/LCDR CO’s go CO – others go to afloat staffs
$15k/yr bonus for CO's and other qualifying billets
Fourth Shore Tour
Subspecialty/Program Manager/Joint Tour
$15k/yr bonus for qualifying billets
Promote to CAPT – 99% of CO’s, 60% of CDRs overall
Major Command/Staff Tour
You ‘da Boss – again!
$20k/yr bonus for CO's and other qualifying billets
What I like about being a SWO: Opportunity for command at sea; I got responsibility and leadership/management skills fast. My first division had 40 Sailors, my second had 60 Sailors, and my departments had 75-110 Sailors. Now at the Navigator on an LHA I plan the movements for a whole strike group, and I just put on LCDR a year ago. As the OOD underway, you run the ship. As the CDO inport, you run the ship. As a TAO, if the target meets the profile, YOU have the authority to send a weapon downrange without having to consult the Captain. SWOs are in high demand in a wide variety of jobs. I’ve had the opportunity to serve on a CV, LHA and an FFG, and to learn/perform all warfare areas from ASW to strike to amphibious warfare. And, the best SWOs take a great deal of pride in being in a profession that has centuries of tradition and customs behind it, and names like John Paul Jones, Stephen Decatur and Arliegh Burke to claim as ancestors.
What I don’t always like about being a SWO are: bad attitudes – we put ourselves down more than other communities put us down. This is changing, but slowly. Lack of sleep? Yes, but mostly underway. Typical watch rotation leads to 6-8 hours of sleep for one night out of three, then 4-6 hours for the other two nights with an opportunity for nooners most days. Some SWOs take some aspects of the job more seriously than they should, and use their poor priorities to inflict pain on subordinates. Warfighting and watchstanding are deadly serious business, and must be treated that way. Admin should get done, but there’s rarely a reason to pull your subordinates’ fingernails out over it.
Being a SWO is not for everyone. Will you make a good SWO? All of the qualifications above are now earned through apprenticeship, just like in the days of sail. If you have the initiative and motivation to report aboard and grab your PQS and run with it, you’ll be a step ahead of your contemporaries. My experience has been that the SWOs that hate life the most are the ones who expect to have everything handed to them and don’t put enough effort into learning and doing their jobs. The crew of a ship is small relative to the amount of work that needs to be done, and getting smaller, so slackers can expect a heavy ration of pain to get them to carry their load. On the up side, if you work hard to be a good DIVO and get your quals done ahead of schedule, you’ll earn the respect of your shipmates, up and down the chain of command, and they’ll all look out for you when trouble or FITREPs roll around.