SWO DivO Guide + SWOS in a Box

[SSN_Seawolf]

Is there anyway we can get our hands on this before OCS, so I can start reading it? I believe it would be useful down the road. Also, I imagine there is a reading material as a DivO, unless this is sensitive information, can we get a hold of this?

What exactly is expected to know at SWO qualification boards at 18 months? What kind of questions do they ask? Are they platform specific? Division Specific? Are they about ship's capabilities? Tactical stuff? Is there anyway we can get a hold of this information before OCS, given it is non-sensitive?

Is EOOW earned before SWO pin or after? I believe OOD in port is the first qual we need to complete when we report to our ship and OOD underway is the last?

Is there a list of all the quals we must complete? All the watches we must stand? Both topside and in the plant?

Regular SWO's usually get assigned to an engineering division for one of their 2 tours, is the CVN tour considered the engineering tour for Nukes? Is CHENG billet recommended as a DH? (May be for a different plant... Steam (LSD) vs. a Gas Turbine?)

EOOW letter (The most important) is almost required for a larger variety of second tour slates for SWO's... Do Nukes must earn this on their first tour? It may be possible on a small boy (FFG) but with the Gator Navy, given the size of the crew, this may not happen.... What then?

SWO's tend to be generalists and do a little of everything, so speaking of this... Can we cross-train or cross qualify? Say I get assigned as a Communications Officer, can I learn what the PAO or TAO does?

Is there a chance that SWO(N) will be assigned to a CVN while she is in refueling stage or we usually will do an operational tour?

Are there books/official Navy gouge on SWO DivO/rules of the road/general mariner books recommended that may help SWO's when they get to their first ship? Besides wikipedia, there seems to be nothing available on our fleet, I would like to get ahead on the readings as I am patiently awaiting OCS. Thanks.

Seawolf

[bugsmasher]

First tour DIVO here, OOD(underway) qual'd on an FDNF LSD. Haven't been through my SWO board yet but several friends of mine have, so I may be able to shed some light on your questions.

What exactly is expected to know at SWO qualification boards at 18 months? What kind of questions do they ask? Are they platform specific? Division Specific? Are they about ship's capabilities? Tactical stuff? Is there anyway we can get a hold of this information before OCS, given it is non-sensitive?

Everything. If you are on a gator, expect to know AEGIS and BMD well. Tactics in all warfare areas is big. Equipment and capabilities/limitations of all Navy and MSC platforms is a core part of it. Know how the supply system works. Know administration, how the enlisted and officer manning is set. You should know the advantages and disadvantages of propulsion systems and what platforms use what (and why). Know the command and control structure. Along those lines, know what kind of messages get sent out, by whom, what they contain, and how they are used. When I give a broad overview like this, it seems simple, but there is a mountain of material to know. You can be asked essentially anything involving the military, there really are no "bounds" to the SWO board.

Is EOOW earned before SWO pin or after? I believe OOD in port is the first qual we need to complete when we report to our ship and OOD underway is the last?

As a SWO(N) you will not get EOOW qualified on your first ship. You will need to know the plant just well enough to qualify OOD(underway).
The qual list:
Basic Damage Control (DC)
Advanced DC
3M
OOD-Inport
Small Boat Officer
SWO Engineering (scrapes the surface, mostly for observing evolutions)
CIC Watch Officer
OOD-Underway
SWO

Underway, you will stand watch on the bridge as OOD under-instruction, and/or Conning Officer (giving orders to the helmsman to drive the ship). When you are qualified you may stand CICWO, but that is ship dependent (CIC is tiny on an LSD so JOs usually spend more time on the bridge). Inport, you will stand OOD-Inport when you get qualified.

I thought I could squeeze EOOW in when I first arrived, but its a struggle for many just to get OOD and SWO qualified in time to get to nuke school. Focus on your topside quals; if you get ahead, life is much easier than if you are constantly being hounded by the XO for progress.

If your first ship runs anything like mine, each JO will have a least 2 jobs in their tour at some point. I started in deck and moved over to weapons after about 6 months. Most of my fellow JOs have changed jobs along the way as well. You should (read: should) not get assigned to engineering as a nuke, but it happens.

What I know of future tours, your non-nuke tours will not be in engineering. You are expected to be a well-rounded SWO even as a nuke, so that you can one day take command of a conventionally powered ship. I would expect topside billets when you are in a conventional SWO role.

As for books, Rules of the Road is extremely dry legalese...but its freely available if you want to review the rules. The Division Officer's Guide and Watch Officer's Guide are both useful for preparing for your tour but don't expect them to give much beyond the general ideas.

[bugsmasher]

My main advice is to enjoy your time before OCS and don't sweat your SWO quals now. You will have plenty of time to learn what you need to when you get to your ship as long as you put *some* effort into getting qualified. The people that struggle are the ones that watch movies in their staterooms every night and never spend extra time in CIC or show up to observe special evolutions when they are not on the watchbill. That stuff is SO much easier to learn on the ship, when you are in the mix, as opposed to on your couch at home. As my last captain said, 90% of life is just showing up, and for a new JO, that's pretty much true.

[spekkio]

Seawolf, it's great that you're so motivated, but really you shouldn't be concerned about your SWO quals until you report to your ship. When you report, be ready to put your nose to the grindstone and get through your quals. Until then, enjoy yourself as a civilian. Workout a lot and memorize the big 4 to prepare for OCS.

[bme2nuke]

Seawolf, it's great that you're so motivated, but really you shouldn't be concerned about your SWO quals until you report to your ship. When you report, be ready to put your nose to the grindstone and get through your quals. Until then, enjoy yourself as a civilian. Workout a lot and memorize the big 4 to prepare for OCS.

Spekkio meet Seawolf...
Seawolf meet Spekkio...

[SSN_Seawolf]

Seawolf, it's great that you're so motivated, but really you shouldn't be concerned about your SWO quals until you report to your ship. When you report, be ready to put your nose to the grindstone and get through your quals. Until then, enjoy yourself as a civilian. Workout a lot and memorize the big 4 to prepare for OCS.

Spekkio meet Seawolf...
Seawolf meet Spekkio...

We have met before. Spekkio has given me a lot of insight, about everything. Hope Miami is fun dude!