Respect toward other naval communities on this site really is waning. It is hard for people who decide to go SWO to feel truly welcome. I have seen the negativity blossom toward myself and to several other folks before me.
There are a few things you need to understand though. First, the military is historically male dominated, and this site is reflective of that fact. Men interact with other men much differently than women interact with women. It's not good or bad. It just is. With that said, much of what you probably see as disrespectful toward others or being negative to a certain community is just men being men. We give each other shit....pretty much all the time. And when we do this to each other over the interwebs, it can seem disrespectful at times, even to other men. I have a very sarcastic personality, so folks who are unfamiliar with my sense of humor or lack thereof, have a hard time knowing I'm being serious or really rude. This is especially true here on this board. Second, it is likely you will never feel completely welcome here. What I said above certainly holds true in that this site has thrived on various mix of individuals that contribute and interact. However, it is still primarily an aviation website. I've been here the longest and I am still an outsider.
When I'm treated like a family member by the SWOs aboard USS Boat, then I'll stop making fun of their SWOters and predilection for fratricide. Designator friction is a fact of life in the fleet and donning rose colored glasses doesn't tend to make one's life any easier.
SWOters are gay. That said, having spent time with several helo dets on a cruiser and then countless aviators on the carrier, I never had any problem getting along with the vast majority them. The ones that rubbed my the wrong way were simply tools, and every community has their fair share of tools.
There is a very vocal faction of this community that is fervently anti-marriage.
I would hardly call Brett a faction.
As for SWO-tweaking here, it is actually quite rare and relatively mild compared to ~4 years ago
At first, I thought you said SWO-
twerking....
I assure you, the standard community back and forth has not changed one bit in over 10 years.
Yep, pretty much.
This is airwarriors not sailorbob... If you want encouragement about a career as a SWO what brought you to an aviation website?That makes as much sense as going to sailorbob to find out how to become a Naval Aviator...
Maybe it was that other sub-forum under Other U.S. Navy Communities and Specialities called Surface Warfare Officer (SWO). SailorBob has very little accessions info regarding the various communities in the Navy like Airwarriors does. That is why she came here and not SailorBob.
If it was for ASTB and OCS resources than use the site for that. Any further lurking that causes you to see negativity being voiced about the SWO community is your own fault.
So she did something wrong?
And that negativity is probably a good thing as it provides an opposing argument to websites that would have you believe that life as a SWO is all sunshine and rainbows where you see the world and "immediately gain leadership experience."
And what websites would those be that portray SWO life as sunshine and rainbows?
SWO life is different then life in aviation, one can't escape the truth of that. Many aviators on this website have had the unfortunate experience of being pulled away from their communities and tossed into traditional SWO jobs on a ship (TAO, OOD, OPS /ADMIN, ANAV to name a few). Why is it unfortunate? Because it's not the job they've trained to do... It'd be like taking a SWO and sending them on a tour with the Army- Sure, basic officership its the same but realistically the day to day experience is not going to transfer over to the duties you traditionally perform in your designator (Ship driving is not a skill that applies to life flying an airplane or playing in the dirt, unless you run aground of course). Many others have the opportunity to deploy side by side with SWOs as part of the helo det, and even as part of the Airwing.
One of my pet peeves on this site is when folks tell others what it's like to be in other communities outside of their own based only on what they see and hear. The fact of the matter is you really don't know. Just because we get to observe other communities in their element doesn't mean we have a clue what it's like to be in those communities day in and day out, year after year, as a career. We simply know what it's like to be in OUR community. Anything else and you're just passing along observations or second hand information. TAO and OOD isn't a SWO job, they're watches people stand. And yes they are traditionally stood by SWOs, yet I've seen supply types, aviatiors, chiefs, and even METOCs stand them. For that matter, standing TAO on a carrier isn't nearly as involved or complex as it is on something such as a CG or DDG, whereas standing OOD on the carrier compared to other ships certainly is more involved. Generally speaking, career oriented officers are going to get pulled away from their community and have to serve in some other area outside their general area of expertise at some point in their career.
Does that mean I'd try to dissuade someone who wants to be a SWO from pursuing their dream? No, not at all. Does that mean I'm going to try to steer someone I know away from another community so they can follow in my footsteps? Absolutely, just like any SWO who has any sense of pride in their job and community would do the same.
Why the need to steer anyone away from anything? Because you think you know what's best for them?
You don't have to respond to every post. Taking advice doesn't always require one, especially where you are going.
What he said.