PERS-41 Corner

[Steve Shedd]

PERS-41 Online and thanks to Information Warriors for the invitation to post in the Surface Warfare forum on this site. We are establishing this minor presence for the benefit of anyone seeking Surface Warfare Officer career information. As mentioned in one thread I've read already, some Officers who lateral out of Surface sometimes decide to come back - RDML Venlet is a prime example. Popular SWO links are listed below and we are happy to answer any general questions in this thread.

All the best –

[webmaster]

Welcome Aboard

[cpdesormier]

Hi Steve,

I am a potential SWO with a lot of questions. My main concern is the my non-technical background (B.S. in finance) will inhibit my progression through the career pipeline. Can an individual be successful (ideally eventual XO/CO) without a technical background?

Thanks,

Casey

[Steve Shedd]

Originally Posted by cpdesormier

Hi Steve,

I am a potential SWO with a lot of questions. My main concern is the my non-technical background (B.S. in finance) will inhibit my progression through the career pipeline. Can an individual be successful (ideally eventual XO/CO) without a technical background?

Thanks,

Casey

Casey,

You can absolutely succeed with a non-technical background and there are many, many Commanding Officers with non-techincal degrees. Debate seems to always exist about technical vs. non-technical degress. In the end, to be a good SWO you need to be a good leader and a good manager. Additionally, you need to be comfortable in technical environments as well as non-technical. The environment aboard ship is inherently technical, but you don't need an engineering degree to understand how all the "black boxes" work together. When you take your car to a mechanic do you get the gist of what he/she is telling you? Do you understand that if your engine oil is old or low your engine temp will run high and potentially damage your engine. As a SWO, you are an operator and maintainer of technical systems, not the engineer who designed them. Conversely, many technical Officers find themselves in budgeteering or pol-mil flavored staff jobs at some point in their career.

There are excellent non-technical masters degree programs funded by the Navy. If you decide to stay in for your DH tours, you could go to the Naval Postgraduate School for an MBA or a degree in National Security Affairs or choose to something a bit more technical.

Going Nuke SWO is entirely different. It is difficult, but not impossible, for non-technical Officers to get through Nuke Power School. In general, those with technical degrees will do much better as Nuke SWOs.

It's not an issue at all. Let us know if you have any other questions!

Cheers,
Steve

[cpdesormier]

Steve,

Thanks for your help! I have another quick question for you:

When reading about FITREPS, I've come across the terms soft and hard break outs; could you please expalin what constitutes a break out?

Again, thanks for your help!

Casey

[Steve Shedd]

Originally Posted by cpdesormier

Steve,

Thanks for your help! I have another quick question for you:

When reading about FITREPS, I've come across the terms soft and hard break outs; could you please expalin what constitutes a break out?

Again, thanks for your help!

Casey

Casey,

A breakout on a FITREP is when you are ranked at or near the top of your competitive group on a FITREP. There are two ways for your reporting senior (normally your Commanding Officer) to accomplish this:

1) Hard Breakout: Using block 42 and 43 on the FITREP to show you numerically at the top of the group. Block 42 is the promotion recommendation block and block 43 is the summary group block (showing the number of each promotion recommendation given in that competitive group).

Example:

prom rec: SP / PR / P / MP / EP
Block 42 - / - / - / - / X
Block 43 0 / 0 / 8 / 8 / 4

A little tough to see in this font, but the Officer receiving this FITREP earned an EP promotion recommendation out of 20 Officer competitive group. This is a hard break.

2) Soft Breakout: When an Officer receives a 1 of 1 EP FITREP, breakout language in the Block 41 narrative is critical. Also, all O-1 and O-2 Officers receive 1 of 1 P FITREPs per the instruction and the soft breakout is also very important. The opening line of the FITREP should read something like -

*** Number 1 of 20 Officers across all designators ***

That's an example of a soft break. In contrast, opening a 1 of 1 EP FITREP with, "One of my best Officers," or, "Great Potential," does not send a strong signal to a board.

FITREPs are important to understand, but don't sweat the nuances during your first tour.

Cheers,
Steve

[cpdesormier]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for the FITREP description. I have a question regarding GWOT assignments: are there opportunities for officers, and if so, how does that fit into the SWO career pipeline?

Again, thank you for all of your help.

Best,

Casey

[Steve Shedd]

Casey,

Many opportunities for GSA. There are two main windows for GSA. First, immediately following the your division officer tour and second, following your DH tour. There are also opportunities as O-5 and O-6. Contact your detialer for specific availability.

Cheers,
Steve

[cpdesormier]

Hi Steve,

Do you know how the recent selection rates for SWO to OCS are looking?

Happy Holidays,

Casey

[Steve Shedd]

Originally Posted by cpdesormier

Hi Steve,

Do you know how the recent selection rates for SWO to OCS are looking?

Happy Holidays,

Casey

Casey - I don't know. New accessions are handled through Navy Recruiting Command. We take over when the Officer Candidates are up for initial orders.

Cheers,
Steve