I understand you may be frustrated by the sense that waivers were not handed out fairly or by merit. If you are close to busting the 36 month deadline for your 3I1 PQS, you can advocate up your chain of command for a 12 month extension.
It should be no factor, however, if you end up doing a 5 week training in Dam Neck instead of an ad hoc 2 week training online. There are a lot worse situations out there in the Navy and the world. If you end up at Dam Neck, do your best, use the time to improve any weak points, and help fellow JOs around you do the same. Consider having a mindset that the goal is not to meet the minimum but rather to get better every day, for the benefit of sailors you’ll lead and operators/ decision makers you’ll support.
I've got two years before I hit the 36 month deadline. I'm not too worried about getting it done. It's what else I have to give up to get it done and how arbitrary decision after decision by NAVIFOR and CNIFR keeps jamming things up for me and others. That being said - I'ver had a few lucky breaks this year too - so it's not all bad. None of them were from NAVIFOR or CNIFR sadly.
I get where you are coming from HW and I appreciate the perspective - I do - I just am not sure you get where I'm coming from on this though you might. I can tell you have some ear towards my point.
I'll complete the program.
I'm not going to try to convince you of my position either - but I will say that waivers exist for a reason. Or at least they used to. If a person has a decade of Navy intel experience, or three letter agency experience, or was a Navy Chief - a phase I NIOBC is reasonable and was very easy to get until recently.
In fact, the waiver change with NIOBC and the DCOIC and ODS changes all happened about the same time changing the game completely for many that were prior service that came to the DCO path expecting something different with this pipeline. And I have to say - while I do make the best of it - there is no way that this stuff was good for morale for those like me that this has continued to impact. It's been a morale killer - it's only that good sailors find a way to stay engaged and sailor on.
I'm about positive as they get - but I don't even pretend to agree with stuff I see as wrong. That doesn't mean I will not make the best of it.
Much of this waiver stuff and the arbitrariness of the recent two week RNIOC is wrong. If you sat were I sat you'd agree but we came into the Navy through different roads. I can see your side. Sill we both went DCO if I recall correctly but got here different ways so you are more willing accept the new status quo that's fine.
