FITREP Question

[madhatSWO]

Hello everyone,

I have a question that I can't seem t find an answer on locally. I am a SWO-IW option and am getting my first FITREP. Does or does it not matter what is put in block 41? I do plan on exercising my option at my opportunity, so I am not sure if I should put that or just go with the typical SWO stuff that goes in there.

Thanks

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[Wolfpack]

Yes. You care very much. You want to show leadership and tactical capability. Someday, you may want to apply to NPS or some other program, and you want to show that you were an awesome SWO who is the next Arleigh Burke. While you are a SWO, be the best SWO on that boat. Do NOT take an attitude that you are just punching a ticket until you option to IW - that is a quick way to have a short career. There is a good chance you will work with your shipmates again.

[Schlag]

As long as you're an 11xx, you're career recommendations need to read DH AFLOAT and PG SCHOOL. You might not be able to get DH AFLOAT until after you get your pin (and become a real 1110) so you might just get DIVO AFLOAT or 2ND TOUR DIVO, but you still need to push for 11xx milestones while you're an 11xx.

I say this having been a SWO-IW and echo the sentiment of Wolfpack. Even though I knew that I'd become an IWO one day, I still pushed hard to be the #1 DIVO onboard. I was also an Engineering DIVO and even though it wouldn't help me as an 1810, I still pushed to get my EOOW.

Stuff like that pay dividends from an officer development perspective, but it's also tangible indicators that URL officers (who sit on our promotion boards too) can understand. They might not be able to understand what someone does at a Navy Cyber Unit, but they do know that if one of their peers thought you were worth something if you earned a DH AFLOAT recommendation during your brief SWO stint.

Standing by if you have any additional SWO-IW questions to include lat xfer timing (I have the references handy) - just shoot me a PM.

[madhatSWO]

Thanks for the information guys. I have DH School and NPS per MPA's recommendations but I wasn't sure if it would hurt me down the line as an IW officer. I'm the only option they have had on board so nobody really knows what is alright outside the SWO stuff.

Thanks again!!

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[Schlag]

Understand all, the SWO-IW program is a bit of an enigma for the entire SWO community and we're not necessarily the best about providing some IW oversight in the interim. As such, your SWO part is administered as if you were going to be a career SWO. I take it that you're in Engineering? That's also where I did my time...

Do you have a PCS Afloat 1810 onboard? They can help point you in the right direction as you get closer to actually making the jump to the IW world.

I'm also a former SWO-IW (now on the IW side of the program) so I can provide some rudder as well. Just send me a message if you need anything!

[madhatSWO]

Yeah I'm in engineering. Definitely feel like I have aged about 10 years ahead of schedule from being in this department but I love my division. They are some hard working dudes.

Unfortunately our only IWO is a CW02. Everyone else is on the enlisted side of the house. I've talked to him before about the career but in regards to the option portion for myself, he doesn't know much other than the IW options exist. Most of the officers on my ship are LDOs and aren't familiar with the program.

Thanks for the help again, I'll put you in my digital Rolodex for future questions. I know some will come up down the road.

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[yoshi]

I think you are in a great situation. You have options other folks do not. The option to choose between two communities without having to fit inside a quota system is awesome. With respect to your very SWO, non-IW experiences, I personally believe those serve you better in the long run. The value of PCS afloat tours is the acquired understanding of what your division's efforts mean to every other division on the ship. You know the importance of engineering to operations, and what it takes to make things work for other divisions. With each subsequent tour in different divisions you will acquire more pieces to the operational puzzle. IWs who start as 1810s, while they may have an initially better understanding of what IW is and does, sometimes struggle to understand what it really means and how it should fit into operations. Often, they hit the operational tours, do the time, and look forward to returning to the world with which they are familiar. The power of IW/IDC is in its integration with operations, and there is no better way to learn how things fit together and why they are important than to experience things like EOOW, TAO, etc. Those experiences are foundational because they train the IW to answer the question - how do my IW/IDC efforts fit into the operational mission, and how should they? I think this is tremendously valuable for all IWs, whether they are working cyber at a NIOC or working as a planner on a staff. Admiral Rogers was once a SWO... ...those same experiences seem to have served him pretty well.

[Sum1]

I'm just finishing up my PCS afloat tour (hail and farewell happened last night, next week is my last day onboard), and I can tell you without a doubt that despite a plethora of reservations about going to the surface Navy, the lessons on leadership I've learned will follow me through the rest of my career and even throughout life. Use your SWO time to focus on SWO stuff, and then allow your IW time to get you up to speed on that phase of your career.