Post Acceptance into NUPOC Questions (SWO)

[Michael_Frojd]

I am a mechanical engineering major and manufacturing engineering major at the University of Kansas City- Missouri. This past March I was accepted. All in all, the interview process was great and an awesome experience to go through. The position I interviewed for is SWO.

Questions:

1.) After graduation of OCS what does the first sea tour look like on a conventional ship (is there a break between graduation and the first DIVO tour etc.)?

2.) Much like the dream sheet that you fill out after Power/Prototype, is a O1 (after graduation) able to fill one out for the conventional sea tour? (I understand that I am the ultimate "Needs of the Navy")

[BrianScott87]

It may vary from person to person, but here's a general answer:

1.  You will get a bit of a gap between OCS and reporting to a ship, but I would only plan for a couple of weeks before having to report and then be pleasantly surprised if you get anything more.  It will depend on the schedule of the ship you're going to, etc. 

2.  I was a Submariner and did not go to OCS (USNA instead), but it is my understanding that you get to put in your preferences for which ship type, location, and individual unit you'll go to when you're at OCS.  Hopefully someone can confirm that for you, but that would check with how SWON's do ship selection at USNA and I don't know why it would work any differently. 

[ComradeRed1308]

When I went through OCS, they gave the SWOs in a class a list of ships and their locations and left them to decide among themselves who goes where.  Everyone pretty much got what they wanted except for one guy who got stuck on a minesweeper in Bahrain.  It was pretty contentious and they were arguing about it for awhile.  If they still do it they way, don't be the guy who bites the bullet and takes the crappy job.  Its going to be about 2 years of your life, don't back down.

[spekkio]

When I went through OCS, they gave the SWOs in a class a list of ships and their locations and left them to decide among themselves who goes where.  Everyone pretty much got what they wanted except for one guy who got stuck on a minesweeper in Bahrain.  It was pretty contentious and they were arguing about it for awhile.  If they still do it they way, don't be the guy who bites the bullet and takes the crappy job.  Its going to be about 2 years of your life, don't back down.

This.

In the event people can't agree on billets, preference will be given to the guy with a higher class rank.