It's simple. When you are old and senile and bouncing your grandson on your knee and he asks you "what did you do during the great war on terror." You won't have to say, well I checked the specs and made sure all the widgets were up to standards for my corporate overlords. You could say you put warheads on foreheads, projected power in the Far East, flew an ILS to minimums to deliver humanitarian aid or similar but less cool SWOey shit. I'm about to hit 20 years, started as an enlisted submariner ended as a Naval Aviator. You never know where this road leads. It was not time wasted.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
How different is a military career than a corporate job?
- Thread starter treb
- Start date
I almost guarantee there was no other duck on the board with 4 years IRR and a late designator switch which decided to pick this duck for promotion.
I get that there's limited shot to make LCDR, but the other side of that is an old CO of mine just picked up CAPT after 10 years TIG as a CDR.
And whilst getting rid of up-or-out sounds like it could be a good move, I think of the CEOs of the banks I've worked at that have occupied their chairs for 10 years and other execs for 15-20, all who have had no reservations about clogging up opportunities for those at lower levels whilst being on their equivalent of "retired on active duty."
Oh for sure, I figured as much. Same feelings I had as well. When I was FNG me, I had a very smart DH, who I still consider to be one of the smartest and most informed people I have ever met in this business (hell, he carried the "football" for Pres. Obama a few years later in his career). He told us, one day in the boat ready room BS pit something to the effect of "I don't judge those who get out, but if you get out without a plan, you are an idiot". Those words terrified me when I signed my DD-214 with like 1/4-1/2 of a plan. Turns out it worked out. Guys don't know what they don't know on active duty. We are more valuable than we think, as long as we don't act like entitled DB's in the hiring process.
Last edited:
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
I sometimes feel that there are people who don't understand the USN can't have everyone stay, I remember when the nuke detailers came to our CVN and the DH was trying to make sure each DIVO that was eligible for orders stayed and took follow on orders, my LT came back from meeting with the detailer and I asked how it went and he said it was kind of humbling, he went in there after talking to the DH thinking HE was the one they were going to try to keep, instead the detailer told him what he had and that if it wasn't what he wanted it might be time for him to go as for SWO-N in his YG they had more than enough staying.
Dude give me a break, your bio says you were a SWO on a PC and FFG; do those even have CICs?
The notion that the coolest things you do as a SWO are as a DIVO just isn't necessarily true.
If you get senior enough you get to be one of the duck pickers through fitreps you write, jobs assigned, and on boards. Sneak in there and subvert the hierarchy.
One small nudge for sailor-kind.
Timeless Tips for 'Simple Sabotage' — Central Intelligence Agency
Since World War II, US intelligence agencies have devised innovative ways to defeat their adversaries. In 1944, CIA’s precursor, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), created the Simple Sabotage Field Manual.
www.cia.gov
Why are you so angry all the time?
It’s a balance . . .
When I hear SWO’s argue...
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
I disagree with this statement. If I made a pie chart on how I spent my time, admin / paperwork would be like 25%. It certainly can consume you if you allow it to, at which point you're probably missing something more important.
But YMMV.
What a cool SWO guy you are. Here's your award for winning this argument on the internet:
Probably. But the way I understand what @treb is concerned with is that he absolutely cannot deal with doing paperwork and sitting through meetings. If that's true, he's going to spend at least 25% of his time doing those things and then doing spot checks, Division in the Spotlight, and other admin drills that are unique to the Navy. If he can't adapt to a strict corporate or organizational culture, he's going to have a hard time no matter where he is unless he's in a position like junior enlisted where he doesn't have many administrative duties.
That being said, I highly doubt he's actually allergic to a desk job and admin paperwork but rather is just looking for something a little less boring. It's all about perspective and helping a young lad looking for his Stephen Decatur moment to find his place.
Is this a rhetorical question? SWOs are always angry. It's part of the qualification process.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
And you responded with saying that the coolest non-administration related stuff is done as a Divo and that an officer's job is largely an administrative role. I simply don't find that to be true.
Please. Point is, you're a failed SWO and have no credibility in that world anymore. Thanks for your service and have fun servicing my 2Ks for the rest of your career.