FYI: What is a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO)? What is Their Role and Their Assignments?

[Sherry James]

What is Surface Warfare?

Surface Warfare is the community within the Navy that involves the use of the surface fleet's ships for the missions of forward naval presence, sea control, and projection of power ashore. Surface Warfare Officers (SWO's) are the men and women who, as junior officers only a year out of college, lead the sailors within the many specialized divisions of a ship's crew. Many of these young officers aspire to someday command their own ship.


What Will Be My Role as a SWO?

As a junior SWO, you will command a division of sailors aboard one of the above types of ships. This division is responsible for a certain component of your ship, such a specific electronic, weapon, or engineering system. Immediately after graduating from NROTC, you will report to your first ship as a division officer. You will also learn how to "drive" your ship as a "Conning Officer" and later as an "Officer of the Deck," control your ship's engineering plant as the "Engineering Officer of the Watch," and then to "fight" your ship as the "Combat Information Center Watch Officer" or "Tactical Action Officer." You will have two division officer tours of 27 months and 18 months, respectively.

SWOAssignments:

SWOs do shore tours, usually lasting no more than two years, in-between their sea tours. For example, after your division officer tours you might have a staff job at the Pentagon or a Navy command, or serve as an instructor at SWOS, the Naval Academy, or a NROTC unit. If you perform well in your shore tours, you can expect to be promoted in your following sea tours and command a ship's department. In other words, you will command all of the divisions that fall under a particular category, such as engineering, combat systems, or operations. This tour lasts thirty-six months. Later, after another shore tour on a command's staff or at a military postgraduate school, you will serve as a ship's Executive Officer for three years. After the following shore tour and corresponding performance-based promotion, you will achieve the goal of all career SWOs: captain of your own ship!

Credit: from NROTC.Navy.Mil website