I have read through that thread and really enjoy the stories told. Generally how long does each port of call last? A few days? Enough time to throw back a beer or 10?
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Life on the open water....
- Thread starter Piposterous
- Start date
I have read through that thread and really enjoy the stories told. Generally how long does each port of call last? A few days? Enough time to throw back a beer or 10?
To add to Brett's post, during Mad Dog's time, aviators could earn SWO pins in addition to their wings. To do that (by the book, anyway), you had to earn your JOOD and OOD qual and then go up for your SWO pin. The SWOs eventually complained loud enough that it was fair for aviators to be able to earn two pins but they could only earn one, so it was no longer authorized.
That said, aviators can still get their OOD qual while underway.
A couple of days, usually. And yes, alcohol is usually involved. Unless it isn't. Or it is, but you're in the "sandbox" which means you are 50 yards from the gangway, boxed in by shitty arabian vendors, drinking bud light and eating a schwarma, trying not to watch your sailors grind on each other (more like 5 males grinding on the 1 female, all hoping to get a chance...)
The memories... Liberty in town after 45-ish days underway is awesome though
Ah, the adventures of Naval Service. Yet they don't put that shit in the recruiting commercials.
@Hopeful Hoya, I'm not sure now [I've been off AD since 1992 so it's been a while] but I believe that Brett327 is correct...no SWO pins for aviators. While we were on DET aboard ship, I was under the impression that we were encouraged to work towards SWO qualification [SWO pin] which was most likely incorrect on my part. I do remember ship's company telling us that we could just work on some of the SWO syllabus on that specific DET and then continue to work on the SWO syllabus on a different DET [at a different time, on a different ship]...which I probably thought to mean that we were ultimately working towards SWO [SWO pin].
There's no more SWO pins for non-SWOs. They felt - not without some justification - that their warfare pin shouldn't be extra bling for guys from other communities. I think it's still captain's discretion; I know the junior Chop on my first frigate earned his SWSCO pin, then did the extra legwork and quals to earn a 'proper' SWO pin. But that's an exception.
I think there ought to be some kind of Fleet OOD pin for non-Shoes who earn that qual. If you think about it, it's kind of weird that you can get a pin for driving around an Academy YP or a harbor security boat, but not for qualifying as OOD of an aircraft carrier.
I think there ought to be some kind of Fleet OOD pin for non-Shoes who earn that qual. If you think about it, it's kind of weird that you can get a pin for driving around an Academy YP or a harbor security boat, but not for qualifying as OOD of an aircraft carrier.
Not entirely true, FTS guys in my community can get their SWO pin as well...but we're a different breed of jacked up and no one even knows who we are.
Hm very interesting, thanks for the insight guys.
Even as a NA/NFO I think getting an OOD qual would be a very cool thing and something I would love to pursue.
Even as a NA/NFO I think getting an OOD qual would be a very cool thing and something I would love to pursue.
This came up previously here, apparently there are some Captains who award SWO pins at their own discretion but those aren't always legal. The instruction for the pin delineates what designators can get the pin, anyone who isn't one of those designators listed may get a pin if a Captain wants to but it doesn't make it legal.
It's not something you can just decide to do, usually. It's for guys whose billet requires it or it makes sense. Mini on a big deck Gator, ANAV on a CVN, like that. A JO helo pilot on a destroyer has better things to do, and anyway, you wouldn't be able to fit into the watch bill while you're on the flight sked, so what would be the point?
I withdraw my stupid sounding statement.... "details" are apparently important.
To the OP, the more TVs you can fit in your stateroom, the better. Makes for marathon late-night Call of Duty sessions, which the SWOs next door just LOVE when they have watch at 5 in the morning. A couple of my roommates tended to get really loud and demonstrative when winning/losing. 
JOs have also allegedly been known to sneak their own Ethernet cables through the overhead as required to create their own inter-stateroom mini-LAN. The Man just LOVES this, of course.
A good rule of thumb is to bring a laptop with a huge hard drive. No, not just for THOSE types of movies (NTTAWWT), but real ones as well. Squadrons tend to task the duty officer with providing a "roll 'em" every night in the ready room for all O's. Our rule was that it started after the last event launched. I also recommend a tablet or Kindle with a ton of books. Technique only; I sucked at Call of Duty. Oh, and noise cancelling headphones are your friend, but woe betide the guy who wears them when he's the only one in the room. Miss a man overboard drill as an officer, and . . . yeah. Never seen it happen, but I was wary of it every time I put the Bose headphones on.
Generally, on the Air Wing JO level, there will be a duty officer for each squadron, as well as an assigned Integrity Watch Officer whose job is to oversee the enlisted personnel who roam the flight deck and hangar to ensure that the jets don't spontaneously combust or something. An Air Wing Duty Officer O-4 oversees all the SDOs and IWOs for CAG. Shore patrol, "Ship's Liaison Group," or whatever euphemism they choose to use, is run by a single squadron on a port-by-port rotation. It's headed up by the squadron's XO and pulls officers and Sailors from the whole Air Wing. Its job is to try to stop any incipient buffoonery out in town, and get the involved kids back to the boat before they cause an international incident. They also run any buses and shuttles which have been set up. Size varies based on Force Protection level. Finally if Mom anchors out and doesn't pull into the pier, there has to be a commissioned officer on each liberty boat. They're there to supervise the local contractor running it and also cut down on drunken buffoonery by the passengers.
So kill a half-day to a day out of that for the purposes of duty, which of course you have to show up to sober and (reasonably) not hungover. Good headwork dictates either biting the bullet the first day in or ending your liberty early and standing the last day. But someone still has to stand that shit SDO watch on the third day.
JOs have also allegedly been known to sneak their own Ethernet cables through the overhead as required to create their own inter-stateroom mini-LAN. The Man just LOVES this, of course.A good rule of thumb is to bring a laptop with a huge hard drive. No, not just for THOSE types of movies (NTTAWWT), but real ones as well. Squadrons tend to task the duty officer with providing a "roll 'em" every night in the ready room for all O's. Our rule was that it started after the last event launched. I also recommend a tablet or Kindle with a ton of books. Technique only; I sucked at Call of Duty. Oh, and noise cancelling headphones are your friend, but woe betide the guy who wears them when he's the only one in the room. Miss a man overboard drill as an officer, and . . . yeah. Never seen it happen, but I was wary of it every time I put the Bose headphones on.
Usually 4-5 days. Counting pulling in and pulling back out. Also, keep in mind that on every port, you WILL have duty. How much depends on the port you're going to, the requirements assigned to your squadron Senior Watch Officer by the Air Wing Senior Watch Officer, and the anal-retentiveness of your XO in creating requirements over and above that.
Generally, on the Air Wing JO level, there will be a duty officer for each squadron, as well as an assigned Integrity Watch Officer whose job is to oversee the enlisted personnel who roam the flight deck and hangar to ensure that the jets don't spontaneously combust or something. An Air Wing Duty Officer O-4 oversees all the SDOs and IWOs for CAG. Shore patrol, "Ship's Liaison Group," or whatever euphemism they choose to use, is run by a single squadron on a port-by-port rotation. It's headed up by the squadron's XO and pulls officers and Sailors from the whole Air Wing. Its job is to try to stop any incipient buffoonery out in town, and get the involved kids back to the boat before they cause an international incident. They also run any buses and shuttles which have been set up. Size varies based on Force Protection level. Finally if Mom anchors out and doesn't pull into the pier, there has to be a commissioned officer on each liberty boat. They're there to supervise the local contractor running it and also cut down on drunken buffoonery by the passengers.
So kill a half-day to a day out of that for the purposes of duty, which of course you have to show up to sober and (reasonably) not hungover. Good headwork dictates either biting the bullet the first day in or ending your liberty early and standing the last day. But someone still has to stand that shit SDO watch on the third day.
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Fair point and very true, thank you for the correction.
What he said. I HIGHLY recommend making friends with the SWO (sr watch officer) and controlling your destiny. Volunteer and pick your duties early and rack up your duty counter early because those last 4 months or so of cruise is NOT a time when you want to be doubling up on duty during port calls.
Not true. It happens all the time, even today, and the point is that it looks good on paper for a board. During my HAC cruise, both my OIC and our Det Ops got their letter. At my last unit, one of my pilots had a letter from her Super-JO cruise. I would have loved to get mine (I've grown up on boats), but it wasn't really feasible during my HAC cruise with the other two getting theirs, and I wasn't really sleeping during my OIC cruise, so it just wasn't in the cards.