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US Navy Surface Warfare (SWO) School
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.
Where are SWOs Stationed?
From Norfolk, Virginia, to Yokosuka, Japan, the Navy has many homeports
for its surface fleet, and will try to give you as much choice as
possible as to where you will be stationed and what kind of ship you
will serve on, should you become a SWO.
The surface fleet consists of many different types of ships, each
contributing in their own unique ways to the success of the Navy as a
whole. The abbreviation for each subtype of ship within each main type
is in parentheses.
• Cruisers (CG) protect the fleet from airborne threats by using their
advanced AEGIS radars and anti-air missile systems, and also have the
capability of striking targets ashore with their deck guns and
long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.
• Destroyers (DD/DDG) - protect the fleet from surface and submarine
threats; many also have AEGIS, as well as the capability to use their
deck guns and Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike targets ashore.
• Frigates (FFG) - small, tough convoy escort ships that provide
anti-air and anti-submarine protection.
• Aircraft Carriers (CV/CVN) - home to over seventy aircraft, ranging
from F/A-18 strike fighters and F-14 interceptors, to S-3B sub-hunters,
EA-6B radar-jammers, and E-2C early-warning/command and control
aircraft.
• Amphibious Ships (LHA/LHD/LPD/LSD) - carry up to 2,000 Marines, and
their equipment, vehicles, and supplies. The Amphibious Assault subtype,
or LHA's and LHD's, double as small aircraft carriers that are home to
various kinds of helicopters and the Harrier vertical take-off and
landing jet fighter. The LHA's, LHD's, and LSD's all carry modern,
high-speed Landing Craft, Air-Cushion (LCAC) to ferry Marines and their
gear ashore.
• Minesweepers (MCM/MHC/MCS) - detect and clear naval mines from areas
in which other ships soon will be operating.
• Patrol Craft (PC) - small, speedy ships that patrol coastlines as well
as insert and support SEAL special operations forces ashore.
• Auxiliary Ships (AE/AO/AOE/AS/ARS) - keep the fleet supplied with
fuel, ammunition, food, and other crucial stores needed on long-term
forward deployments.
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.
Surface Warfare Officer School
After learning the basics of shipboard life and attaining your "Officer
of the Deck" qualification, you will complete a month-long training
course at the Surface Warfare Officers School Command(SWOSCOM) Newport,
Rhode Island. There you will be assigned a "wardroom" of other junior
officers with diverse ship and billet assignments. By participating in
seminars, exercises, and simulators you will learn from each other's
experiences and broaden your SWO knowledge. Upon returning to your ship,
you will be ready to complete your SWO qualifications and earn your
Surface Warfare Officer Pin.
Surface Warfare officers are assigned 45 months of initial sea duty to
an afloat command split into a 27 month and an 18 month tour. During the
spring semester of their senior year, Midshipmen will have the
opportunity to select one ship throughout the fleet for their initial
division officer tour. Upon completion of his or her first tour, a
Surface Warfare qualified officer will then choose and transfer to
another ship for their second tour.
 Twenty-First
Century Warships
Climb aboard the world's most technologically advanced surface warriors.
Vivid color photographs feature cruisers, destroyers and frigates tasked
with combat operations against hostile submarines, surface ships and
aircraft, missiles and targets ashore. Take a land-lubber's look at the
U.S Navy's awesome vessels – Ticonderoga class guided missile cruisers,
Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers, Spruance class
destroyers, and Oliver Hazard Perry frigates. High-seas adventure from
cover to cover!
 It's
Your Ship
Other than the sobering fact that real lives are regularly at stake,
running a navy ship is a lot like running a business: leaders of both
must get the most out of their crews to operate at peak efficiency and
complete the tasks at hand. As commander of the highly acclaimed USS
Benfold, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff irrefutably demonstrated how
progressive management can succeed at sea; in It's Your Ship, he
translates his methods into an approach that can also be applied by
land-bound captains of commerce and industry. Describing "the ideas and
techniques that I used to win my sailors' trust and, eventually, their
enthusiastic commitment to our joint goal of making our ship the best in
the fleet," Abrashoff cites embarrassing failures along with subsequent
triumphs to illuminate the keys to his accomplished 20-month tenure
aboard the guided missile destroyer. His suggestions: lead by example;
listen aggressively; communicate purpose and meaning; create a climate
of trust; look for results, not salutes; take calculated risks; go
beyond standard procedure; build up your people; generate unity; and
improve your people's quality of life. While hardly original on the
surface, Abrashoff's course should provide practical direction and
inspiration for any leader hoping for similarly positive results in
similarly rigid organizations. |
