Service communities

USNAhopeful88

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Feb 16, 2015
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Hello all, I'm a 2020 hopeful and now that I'm 3q and nominated I think it's time to think about service selection after college for if I get into USNA. I went to summer sem and some of the squad leaders talked about how some people pick navy air as their first choice and end up getting Swo. However I think that my first choice would be Swo and if I don't do that I would like to do intelligence (is Intel restricted line?) and I was wondering f anybody has heard of any cases where somebody chose Swo and didn't get it and if there was a reason why?

And yes I already know all the nicknames that come with choosing Swo!
 
You got a lot of time to decide buddy, you get a small taste of each service selection during your summers at USNA.
 
You will get briefings on each community, and as noted by previous poster, your summers are opportunities to sample various communities. There are officers from the Navy communities on the Yard with whom you will interact in class, in company and in other aspects of Academy life - you will learn from them. You will watch the upper class go through their decision process, and gradually build your own preferences. Be open to everything and see what feels right, no matter the path you take to commissioning. Your first priority will be how to survive as a mid and stay "sat" in all areas. Not much time to think about anything else the first year.
 
As others have stated you have plenty of time to pick a future career. Go in with an open mind and see what interests you. Nothing is wrong with SWO. Although all Naval Aviators, especially fighter pilots, believe the entire world revolves around them :) ships and SWOs are the backbone of the Navy. I have tons of friends who went SWO and plenty of them are still in Commanding ships and doing other great things. If you want SWO, you will get SWO for the most part. The most part is the unknown Sub draft. This can vary from year to year and goes in waves. Once you get to USNA you will hear about this and learn and understand what it means.
 
I disagree. It is good to start plebe year if you are serious about any of the IDC communities because they are extremely competitive, particularly now that IDC slots will be a recurring option and folks will be gunning for them. There are definitely doors you will close if you do not think carefully about major selection or if you carry a low CQPR into youngster year.

For example, as far as summer training goes, internships relevant to the Intel community will probably be offered only to certain majors and will have CQPR cutoffs. 1/C IDC cruises are limited as well, and usually the summer training office uses OOM to make those selections.

Sure, a MechE major with a 2.9 and no relevant summer training experiences can sit down for an Intel interview. But sixty people will sit for two SWO-Intel slots. Staying SAT is not enough, and picking the wrong major can hurt you.

Maybe not relevant for this particular poster, but I would like to refute the belief that major selection doesn't matter and surviving plebe year is the only thing you have to worry about. Major selection does matter, and you must excel starting from day one if you want certain service assignments.
 
Also keep in mind that the needs of the Navy come first. This year's selection, for example, had more people who wanted to be SWO's than there were available slots, and some got Navy Pilot. You don't have to be first in your class to get the service selection you want, but you definitely need to do well if you want a better shot. The RL communities are much more selective, so, while you may not be the best in your class Plebe year, the best thing you can do is excel in academics, leadership, and the physical mission.

You will have plenty of time to figure it out here. I have a general idea of what I want to do but I'm open to change.
 
That is a good point nuensis as those communities are opening up more to Mids then they were in the past. In past those weren't even close to an option. The only way to get to them was NPQ or lateral moves down the road. For those who did move after being SWOs it was all about performance than anything else.
 
Hey folks... I know I'm preaching to the choir but most high school kids will not understand your "alphabet soup". Hell, I don't! When I wrote technical manuals (which I did for a few years) we always used the full "title" first and showed the acronym parenthetically after that. From then on we used the acronym. The same approach might be helpful here on occasion, provided you remember how to spell the damn thing. :D
 
Agree with nuensis...doing well is normally a good thing (there is the rare occasion where doing too well can also "hurt"), so why not strive to excel and make connections early on? The same argument can be applied to those aspiring for medical school. The Surface Warfare Officer (SWO)-Information Dominance Corps (IDC) options program has been going on for about 8-9 years and I am certain the process used to select those MIDN is waterfalling over to the (now) direct accession billets (it isn't JUST about OOM -- it depends on MAJOR, major QPR, motivation, etc.). The real difference now is that some IDC officers will not have to do 1-2 SWO tours (SWO performance played no role under the SWO-IDC options program, as re-designation was automatic after first/second tour) -- highly doubt the USNA-IDC selection process has drastically changed.
 
Sure, a MechE major with a 2.9 and no relevant summer training experiences can sit down for an Intel interview. But sixty people will sit for two SWO-Intel slots. Staying SAT is not enough, and picking the wrong major can hurt you.
Which majors/minors are best for getting an intel spot?
Why are there so few intel jobs available? Are they not that necessary? And what types of things might an intel officer do? Thanks.
 
How many of you have heard that those at the top of their class are often drafted subs? How true is this?
 
is this the same as the Nuke draft? I'm in NROTC now and the Nuke draft is a real threat!
 
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How many of you have heard that those at the top of their class are often drafted subs? How true is this?

There is "often" and "sometimes." Ideally, X people put nuclear submarines at the top of their service selection lists, are fully qualified AND the needs of the Navy exactly correspond to X AND X includes all commissioning sources, USNA, NUPOC, NROTC, enlisted commissioning paths.

If there are fewer who want subs than the Navy wants, the Navy will go shopping. There is no way to predict from year to year; that driving force of "needs of the Navy" is built on complex manpower algorithms which determine how many new sub officers are needed each year to keep that particular officer pipeline staffed over the years to come, allowing for attrition, retention and available operational platforms.

The best thing to have is an open mind to all the exposure to various communities during ac year and summer training, be high enough in the class to have a shot at your first choice, and never, ever forget the needs of the Navy (any service) come first. That is the price of the service obligation after commissioning. Learning "Semper Gumby" is a good thing. (Wiki Semper Gumby if you need to. The essence is "always flexible.")

I am fond of pointing out a certain line to the sponsor mid family, said by Captain Jack Aubrey, RN, played by Russell Crowe in the film "Master and Commander." He points out a change in plans were driven by "the requirements of His Majesty's service." Needs of the Navy - perpetual.
 
It really depends on the lifestyle you want coupled with physical qualifications and needs of the Navy/USMC. If you want to deploy and start earning ribbons/awards right away and like a constantly busy and hard charging lifestyle, SWO's the way to go. If you want to make a ton of money and be on one of the most dangerous platforms in the world and are a genius, go nuke. I've always had a fascination with aviation and also know that I want to have a family some day, so I chose P-3's since they're land based, and I'd be able to see my family a lot more. Do what you think will make you happy and realize that PROTRAMID will help you figure that out
 
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