New Dant Announced

OldRetSWO said:
Most from the 70's/80's went on to stars.
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There was a streak between that time and the 15-20 year change where I think they nearly retired. Company Officer used to be a career killer as well and no longer is (community dependent). As we all know, things ebb and flow.
 
NavyHoops said:
Company Officer used to be a career killer as well and no longer is (community dependent). As we all know, things ebb and flow.
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FWIW, my 2 company officers that I had from Plebe thru 2/C yr did not go far in the Navy, I think one got out as an Lt, the other was an LCDR when we had him but never heard of anyone who saw him later in the fleet.
Our 1/C yr Company Officer made it to 3 stars. My company classmates and I have stayed close to him and his wife and we just had a meetup with them a few weeks ago in Jax. The same year, our sister company had LCDR Mike Mullen who did OK for himself and who I worked for when he was a one star.
 
Again, I may not know what I'm talking about but I feel like the Naval Academy is a "last rotation" kind of thing. Not to diminish serving there in the least. I just think that most people who serve there in leadership are at the tail-end of their careers and (if they were a prior MIDN) have looked forward to coming back in the end, to pay it forward a bit.
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Absolutely true for the Superintendent. It was written into the law after the EE cheating scandal in the 1990s that the Supes (at least of the "big 3 and maybe USCGA as well) must retire at the end of that job unless s/he obtains specific authorization from Congress. I believe that a USMA Supe went on to another job maybe a decade ago and also believe this is the only time it has happened.

Just to be clear: it's not that the Supe "wants" to retire or is being told by the Navy to retire or is sent to USNA as being put out to pasture. These are absolutely terrific officers with incredibly distringuished careers. It's that Congress wants the Supe to focus on being Supe and not on getting his/her next job because there is no next job.

For USNA at least, the Dant is a highly coveted and sought after position given only to the best of the best. They are on track for promotion to flag and almost all of them have been promoted "at least" to RADM (I can think of only one in the last 40 years who didn't promote). My first Dant, (then Captain Edney) went on to earn 4 stars (retired as ADM Edney).

It's really hard to discuss your view in terms of other officers because many of them are on different tracks. For example, the military heads of departments often go on to greater things. One of my classmates was head of a department and went on to flag rank. Permanent Military Professors are career officers given extra education and who agree to finish their careers at USNA as professors. They being the breadth and depth of their military experience along with a Phd. Battalion officers are also extremely talented officers, and a decent number go on to flag rank. For example, (then) CAPT Al Koznetzni went on to become VADM Koznetzni.

Junior officers run the gamut of those who are getting out, those who plan on a career, and everything in between. Today, company officers are more likely to stay in than in my day. Lots of JOs teaching things like leadership or sea/nav may be headed out the door. Truly a mixed bag.
 
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As said earlier, longevity for Company Officers depends mostly on community. For pilots and NFOs, Company Officer at USNA is absolutely a career killer. SWO, subs, etc. not so much.
 
THParent said:
I am curious, because I know nothing about it. I think you can be a Naval Special Warfare Officer and not be a SEAL, right?
I don't see anything in this 'dant's bio that unequivocally refers to him as a SEAL. Does he wear a trident? I haven't seen a photo of him in uniform, which I must say is pretty cool. I like this guy's OpSec. :cool:
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There was a Special Operations Warfare officer community prior to the establishment of the EOD Officer community; they are now EOD officers. SWO on my ship bought the wrong pin for a dining in one time and we gave him crap for days. SDVTs and SBTs are still led by SEAL officers.

IIRC CAPT Clark was the most recent commandant to not promote.
 
Skipper07 said:
1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, etc., are sister companies. They do plebe summer together and then live one deck apart.
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ok, that makes sense. During AC do they do anything together, or is it mainly a plebe summer and just being more familiar with folks passing near each other?
 
justme said:
ok, that makes sense. During AC do they do anything together, or is it mainly a plebe summer and just being more familiar with folks passing near each other?
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Since my class never shotgunned/shuffled, we were alongside our sister company from I Day until graduation. In our case, we were two decks apart but we were pretty familiar with one another after getting to know each other during plebe summer
 
justme said:
ok, that makes sense. During AC do they do anything together, or is it mainly a plebe summer and just being more familiar with folks passing near each other?
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At least nowadays, not outside Plebe Summer. For example, 5 and 6 are in two different battalions. As with any two navy units, how they operate and the culture in the unit is largely based on the BattO. The emphasis is very much placed on individual companies.
 
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