Joshua Baker
New Member
Thank you! I knew some of those, but not all. Hoping for Everret because we already live in the area (sub base Bangor).
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Really stupid questions about life as a SWO and anything else not aviation related [mod dog wuz hərə]
- Thread starter Wiley
- Start date
Thank you! I knew some of those, but not all. Hoping for Everret because we already live in the area (sub base Bangor).
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
If he plans on commuting plan for long days the guys that I knew often left 2 hours before muster time and arrived home 2 hours after work was over.
Joshua Baker
New Member
Yeah commuting is going to be a total bummer, however we bought a house before the housing bubble burst, so yeah, staying in our house is our best option. We are however located only 5 minutes from the closest ferry, so as long as he doesn't get stuck in traffic, the commute isn't all that horrible, just expensive.
I edited the list -you were very close. Guam isn't an option, but Rota is. Keep in mind the number of ships assigned to each port (it's public info) to give you a better idea for your actual chances. Norfolk has more ships than half of the rest of that list combined.
A lot of 'it depends' dude. But this is very generic...
In port: Officer's call at 7am. This is where the XO and department head (your boss) put out what the priorities for the day are, you deconflict issues with your fellow Divos in the department, and then meet with your Chief to figure out what your division is going to do that day. Then at 7:30 you go down and hold quarters with your division. You'll probably have a few meetings to discuss this or that (upcoming inspection, contractor maintenance work, ship's schedule, intelligence brief). Lunch/PT is probably from 11-12. In the afternoon you find the time to walk around your spaces, check in with Chief to see how that day's plan is coming together, BS with your guys while they're doing maintenance or cleaning up. Go talk to your dept head, let him know what's going on, what your division got done, what they're doing tomorrow, any issues he can help you resolve. You can expect to be walking off the ship at around 3-5pm (this is highly dependent on where you ship is in its life cycle, who your boss is, how efficient you are). At some point, hopefully you've found the time to study for one of your qualifications.
At sea: See above, but you're standing watch 5 hours on, 15 hours off - again this varies a lot, but 5/15 is a good entering argument. I spent 4 months of a 6 month deployment not standing any watch at all. I've also been stuck standing 5 hrs on, 5 hrs off for a one week underway - ouch!
Again, this is very generic. Not really a typical "day in the life" for most military careers I suppose.
I would throw in in-port duty days and the "quest for the pin", too. Major standard of life upgrade once you get the pin.
Good point. In-port Duty... Expect to be in 6 section, that means you have duty every six days. Again, could be more or less, depends on how big your ship is, your CO, etc.
Yep, but don't take your foot off the gas, there's always EOOW, CDO, SUWC, AAWC, TAO.
Geez, when do you guyz get to fly? ...oh wait, er.. sorry, never mind!
BzB
BzB
If you can get SWO, EOOW, and CDO qual'd during your first tour, you're doing pretty good.
And let's not forget about the inevitable collateral duties you'll be assigned.
As a junior SWO, you will have several series of watches and pieces of equipment to learn about throughout your career. To do this, you will be assigned qualification sheets called PQS with signatures verifying that a member of your command gave you proper instruction on the line items. You will have MANY of these to do at your own pace and your own time, but your initial qual will be "SWO" (those gold pins). Some watches and qualifications require an oral board to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject or a written test, while others need only signatures.
Everything I just said is highly subjective and your mileage shall vary by many many factors (platform, CO, DH, Division, your work ethic, ship's schedule etc).
A few things to elaborate on...
1. Everyone (not just SWOs or even junior SWOs) has PQS they have to complete.
2. To get a PQS line item signature, you are actually suppose to demonstrate a certain level of knowledge on that particular topic...not have someone give you instruction. But that's another conversation for another day. The SWO community is notorious for not doing PQS correctly.
3. "At your own pace and your own time" is a bit misleading. There are both formal and informal timelines that quals are expected to be earned.
4. The initial "qual" will probably be something like Basic Firefighting followed by something like Boat Officer or OOD (Inport) and then maybe CICWO (Combat Information Center Watch Officer) and then OOD (U/W) being the most important before sitting for your SWO board. These are all dependent qualifications for qualifying as a SWO.
Just trying to keep it simple. Everything you hit on is gone over at length when you arrive at your command.