NROTC and Seabees Scholarships

J

jmrabe246

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May 23, 2024
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Currently, I am on the NROTC scholarship but I have until September 1, 2024 to decide if they Navy Officer route is for me. Since joining, I learned about the Seabees program with Navy Civil Engineer officers. For context: I want to major in Civil Engineering. I have set my mind on joining the Seabees for my resume and future job experience. The Seabees also has a well paying scholarship and similar contract to the NROTC.

Should I:
1. Keep my NROTC scholarship, commission to a SWO (hopefully), then lateral transfer to Seabees
2. Drop the current scholarship in hopes of picking up the Seabees scholarship

What is more competitive? What are the chances and odds of each option? Would the NROTC and SWO experience be worthwhile prior to transferring to Seabees?
 
jmrabe246 said:
Currently, I am on the NROTC scholarship but I have until September 1, 2024 to decide if they Navy Officer route is for me. Since joining, I learned about the Seabees program with Navy Civil Engineer officers. For context: I want to major in Civil Engineering. I have set my mind on joining the Seabees for my resume and future job experience. The Seabees also has a well paying scholarship and similar contract to the NROTC.

Should I:
1. Keep my NROTC scholarship, commission to a SWO (hopefully), then lateral transfer to Seabees
2. Drop the current scholarship in hopes of picking up the Seabees scholarship

What is more competitive? What are the chances and odds of each option? Would the NROTC and SWO experience be worthwhile prior to transferring to Seabees?
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I’ll address a few of your points.

You do not just “transfer to the SeaBees.” You must professionally qualify in your original community and apply for lateral transfer and redesignation in a highly competitive process. Only a small handful of officers are chosen to enter the various unrestricted line, restricted line and staff corps (CEC is one) at each transfer board. The candidate has to be a top performer with strong endorsement of the current commanding officer. The needs of the Navy drive everything. If the CEC community is overmanned in your year group (your commissioning year cohort), they may not take anyone from that year group at that board. Officer endstrength is mandated by law. There are no guaranteed transfers.

The CEC gets the majority of its officers from civilian colleges and universities. They come into the Navy via the direct commissioning program which sends them to an officer training course and other appropriate courses, and then on to their CEC careers.

Do not go SWO if you don’t, in your heart, want it. You would not be fair to yourself and to those whom you would lead.

My opinion - if you want CEC, go directly after it. Clearly, you have the kind of record that earned you the NROTC scholarship. I assume you have scoured this resource for info:

Be sure and thoroughly research all the pages relating to the CEC community. It’s not just “the “SeaBees,” which typically refers to members of a construction battalion deployable to a combat zone. There are other professional concentration areas and types of duty within CEC. They are a well-respected community with a great history.




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Paging @GWU PNS (emeritus) for better NROTC insight.
 
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My son is in the Construction Battalion out of USNA - so I sent him a text to discuss what you are saying.

First, read every word of Capt MJ. I look forward to GWU PNS response.

He called me and said pretty much what Capt MJ said but said he wasn’t familiar with NROTC. He is the only USNA CEC at his location … mostly civilian there. He said he would ask an NROTC officer tomorrow to see if he can get any insight for you.
 
I hoped @A1Janitor would join in, given his son is a CEC officer.

For those reading who are thinking “ooh, cool, I didn’t know you could go into CEC from USNA.” A small number of USNA mids are allowed to go into other communities each year because they have been found NPQ for unrestricted line warfare communities, broadly put.
 
Agree with all of the above.

We had less than 5 CEC slots in my USNA class and they were limited to engineering majors who were NPQ for line commissions.

NROTC scholarship cannot be used to commission into CEC unless there’s an NPQ found during a pre-commissioning physical. This path is beyond super unicorn!
 
A1Janitor said:
My son is in the Construction Battalion out of USNA - so I sent him a text to discuss what you are saying.

First, read every word of Capt MJ. I look forward to GWU PNS response.

He called me and said pretty much what Capt MJ said but said he wasn’t familiar with NROTC. He is the only USNA CEC at his location … mostly civilian there. He said he would ask an NROTC officer tomorrow to see if he can get any insight for you.
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Thank you for going out of your way to contact your son. I appreciate the feedback.
 
Capt MJ said:
I’ll address a few of your points.

You do not just “transfer to the SeaBees.” You must professionally qualify in your original community and apply for lateral transfer and redesignation in a highly competitive process. Only a small handful of officers are chosen to enter the various unrestricted line, restricted line and staff corps (CEC is one) at each transfer board. The candidate has to be a top performer with strong endorsement of the current commanding officer. The needs of the Navy drive everything. If the CEC community is overmanned in your year group (your commissioning year cohort), they may not take anyone from that year group at that board. Officer endstrength is mandated by law. There are no guaranteed transfers.

The CEC gets the majority of its officers from civilian colleges and universities. They come into the Navy via the direct commissioning program which sends them to an officer training course and other appropriate courses, and then on to their CEC careers.

Do not go SWO if you don’t, in your heart, want it. You would not be fair to yourself and to those whom you would lead.

My opinion - if you want CEC, go directly after it. Clearly, you have the kind of record that earned you the NROTC scholarship. I assume you have scoured this resource for info:

Be sure and thoroughly research all the pages relating to the CEC community. It’s not just “the “SeaBees,” which typically refers to members of a construction battalion deployable to a combat zone. There are other professional concentration areas and types of duty within CEC. They are a well-respected community with a great history.




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Paging @GWU PNS (emeritus) for better NROTC insight.
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Sir, thank you for your feedback. I appreciate what you said about being a SWO in my heart - I am going to CORTRAMID this summer to help determine this feeling. As for the lateral transfer, it sounds really competitive so I'll take that into consideration when making this decision. Again, thank you.
 
jmrabe246 said:
Sir, thank you for your feedback. I appreciate what you said about being a SWO in my heart - I am going to CORTRAMID this summer to help determine this feeling. As for the lateral transfer, it sounds really competitive so I'll take that into consideration when making this decision. Again, thank you.
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Ma’am! No man could be as wonderful and knowledgeable as much as Capt MJ. :)
 
The CEC community may very well be the most selective community (read this as very difficult to get into) second only to Specwar.

For me, since you have a full scholarship for college, I would enjoy CORTRAMID and see which community appeals to you (other than CEC).

You can attempt a lateral conversion, but your initial community has to agree to release you. Meaning, for example, if you went SWO , that community manager has to offer you for lateral conversion. SWOs are hurting for people, and right now, CEC is not. The odds are NOT in your favor.

My advice is to not drop the NROTC scholarship.
 
A bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush. Really focus on CORTRAMID to see many options available to you through NROTC. Yes working with the CEC as a Civil Engineer major would be ideal, but going with another community and performing well can open the same doors after you get out of the Navy. Yes you can get out of NROTC and try for CEC through OCS, but your chances may not be that much better to get into the CEC. If you don't get it, then you will be back to where you are now.
 
CORTRAMID will open your eyes to many things (wink, aviation). Don’t feel like you’re alone in not knowing what you wanna do! Super common. Lots don’t really know till 2/c year… it happens! You’re being exposed to many new things. Have an open mind and enjoy CORTRAMID! At the end of the day, nothing is guaranteed except your college is paid for with the NROTC and you will commission as long as you stay out of trouble. Applying to become an officer any other route, is a massive financial and career risk. The one person I know who did drop ROTC, never was able to apply for OCS even though in college he was convinced he would be able to successfully, he just never got picked up for it.
 
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