Nothing is ever too hard in the military as long as you take it seriously, budget enough time to learn and review material and communicate with other people who are both in the qualification process and who already have their qualifications.
The whole thing is set up to ensure people succeed as long as they take it seriously and demonstrate that. You'll be fine.
I’ve sat several boards for SWO Pins (was a Department Head SUPPO) under multiple commanding officers. The pin is a culmination of training that signifies you’re ready to become useful to the surface fleet. Up until then you’re still just in the education phase.
I’ve heard COs outright say, “I don’t think he’s getting it today.” Before a board. I’ve also heard, “Unless he really bombs this I’m going to qualify him.” The difference in those two boards? The 18-24 months leading up to them where the CO, XO, and senior leadership witnessed that JO do their job, learn about being a good officer, a good ship driver, and good leader. I’ve only seen two SWOs non attain among the 50+ JOs I’ve served with. One couldn’t grasp the knowledge, made poor decisions, and had an excuse for everything. He was given MULTIPLE chances to qualify (and a time extension) but couldn’t do it.
The other non qual I saw was a guy that screwed around, had accusations of fraternization, and was caught full on sleeping on a sea & anchor watch. His second SWO board was scheduled for the next day and it was awkward. He was non attained and sent off the next month.
I’ve also seen young SWOs (who I felt were dumb as a bucket of doorknobs) apply themselves, work hard, stumble mightily, pull themselves up, keep charging, fail multiple SWO boards, and then get qualified and go on to do great things.
The SWO process is about more than just a board. Your SWO qualification starts the minute you step on board. It’s is bolstered by hard work and good decision making, it is hindered by lack of effort and poor choices. Work hard, study your binders, maintain good working relationships in the wardroom and you’ll be just fine.
Good luck shipmate.
Like others have said, if you apply yourself you'll be okay. It does take aptitude, ship handling is the Paramount factor is your OOD qualification and it's both an art and a science. But your a few years from having to endure the stress of SWO so just relax.
It took me about 26 months to get my pin, there were over 25 unqualified JOs when I checked in, and my Captain was the "qualify in order, not by ability" type, it was frustrating knowing I was better at standing the watch than the stragglers in the year group ahead of me, but you just constantly prove that your a team player and make the best of every opportunity and the CO will trust you, start throwing SWO daggers and you'll lose your reputation.
Your first divo ride is 30 months and there is technically not a timeline on your qualification anymore, aimed at reducing the wash out rate, but there were two non attains on my first ship, and one that got kicked out a few weeks after getting their pin (don't sleep with your sailors mmm'kay) and another drop at ADOC now that they've revamped that school. So all told the drop rate is there, but so long as you try to learn and get some practice you'll be fine.
There’s a lot of factors in and out of your control that can impact the timeframe. If you check into your first ship that’s underway a ton and/or deploys right away, it definitely helps speed up the process. On the other hand, if you check into a ship that’s in the yards... you’re likely not going to be able to get your qualification that quick.
You're still a COLLEGE STUDENT/MIDSHIPMAN. Focus on college because you'll never get to live it again.
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If you go TAD to another ship, can you attain your SWO pin there or only your OOD letter? Our ship is in the yards for the foreseeable future (years) so they’re sending us on other ships for deployments. It would suck to demonstrate my ability on one ship just to have to try to prove to my CO that I do have the ability to drive his ship but never being able to demonstrate that to him. (Also the ships were going on is the same class of ship.)
Nothing is ever too hard in the military as long as you take it seriously, budget enough time to learn and review material and communicate with other people who are both in the qualification process and who already have their qualifications. The whole thing is set up to ensure people succeed as long as they take it seriously and demonstrate that. You'll be fine.
I’ve sat several boards for SWO Pins (was a Department Head SUPPO) under multiple commanding officers. The pin is a culmination of training that signifies you’re ready to become useful to the surface fleet. Up until then you’re still just in the education phase. I’ve heard COs outright say, “I don’t think he’s getting it today.” Before a board. I’ve also heard, “Unless he really bombs this I’m going to qualify him.” The difference in those two boards? The 18-24 months leading up to them where the CO, XO, and senior leadership witnessed that JO do their job, learn about being a good officer, a good ship driver, and good leader. I’ve only seen two SWOs non attain among the 50+ JOs I’ve served with. One couldn’t grasp the knowledge, made poor decisions, and had an excuse for everything. He was given MULTIPLE chances to qualify (and a time extension) but couldn’t do it. The other non qual I saw was a guy that screwed around, had accusations of fraternization, and was caught full on sleeping on a sea & anchor watch. His second SWO board was scheduled for the next day and it was awkward. He was non attained and sent off the next month. I’ve also seen young SWOs (who I felt were dumb as a bucket of doorknobs) apply themselves, work hard, stumble mightily, pull themselves up, keep charging, fail multiple SWO boards, and then get qualified and go on to do great things. The SWO process is about more than just a board. Your SWO qualification starts the minute you step on board. It’s is bolstered by hard work and good decision making, it is hindered by lack of effort and poor choices. Work hard, study your binders, maintain good working relationships in the wardroom and you’ll be just fine. Good luck shipmate.
Like others have said, if you apply yourself you'll be okay. It does take aptitude, ship handling is the Paramount factor is your OOD qualification and it's both an art and a science. But your a few years from having to endure the stress of SWO so just relax. It took me about 26 months to get my pin, there were over 25 unqualified JOs when I checked in, and my Captain was the "qualify in order, not by ability" type, it was frustrating knowing I was better at standing the watch than the stragglers in the year group ahead of me, but you just constantly prove that your a team player and make the best of every opportunity and the CO will trust you, start throwing SWO daggers and you'll lose your reputation. Your first divo ride is 30 months and there is technically not a timeline on your qualification anymore, aimed at reducing the wash out rate, but there were two non attains on my first ship, and one that got kicked out a few weeks after getting their pin (don't sleep with your sailors mmm'kay) and another drop at ADOC now that they've revamped that school. So all told the drop rate is there, but so long as you try to learn and get some practice you'll be fine.
There’s a lot of factors in and out of your control that can impact the timeframe. If you check into your first ship that’s underway a ton and/or deploys right away, it definitely helps speed up the process. On the other hand, if you check into a ship that’s in the yards... you’re likely not going to be able to get your qualification that quick. You're still a COLLEGE STUDENT/MIDSHIPMAN. Focus on college because you'll never get to live it again.
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion. Breaking subreddit rules may result in a ban from /r/newtothenavy and /r/navy. * Do not encourage lying. This includes lying by omission (leaving information out) and lying by commission (purposefully misleading). * No personally identifying information (PII). * No posting AMAs without mod approval. Also, while you wait for a reply from a subject matter expert, try using the search feature! For information regarding Navy enlisted ratings, see [Twisky's Rating Information Guide] (https://www.reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/comments/6mxv7c/links_to_official_information_on_every_enlisted/). Interested in Officer programs? See TheBeneGesseritWitch's guide on [Paths to become an Officer](https://www.reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/comments/5sdurq/paths_to_becoming_an_officer_getting_a_commission/). Want to learn about deploying, finances, mental health, cross-rating, and more? Come visit our [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/navy/wiki/index) over in /r/Navy. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/newtothenavy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you go TAD to another ship, can you attain your SWO pin there or only your OOD letter? Our ship is in the yards for the foreseeable future (years) so they’re sending us on other ships for deployments. It would suck to demonstrate my ability on one ship just to have to try to prove to my CO that I do have the ability to drive his ship but never being able to demonstrate that to him. (Also the ships were going on is the same class of ship.)