Aa a Dept Head and Division Officer, I sat on officer program interview panels for all kinds of enlisted commissioning programs, including SA applications. As a CO and XO, I interviewed candidates 1:1.
I still remember the confident Petty Officer who told me his motivation for applying for a commissioning program was “officers make more money.” He had not done his homework about the nature of that career path (except, perhaps, to study the DFAS pay tables), and could not articulate why we should recommend him.
At its heart, it’s a job interview process.
I took my role in the command endorsement process very seriously. After all, I was signing my name to a document attesting Seaman Finarkle was a worthy candidate to become a leader of Sailors, take them in harm’s way, be accountable for the mission and his/her people’s actions and accept greater responsibility for people and things.
And, I cannot tell you how pleased and honored I felt over the years when a junior officer would walk up to me and say, “ma’am, you were my XO and put me through my paces at Command X before sending me to the CO and recommending a strong endorsement of my officer package. I just got orders to Y.” Or when they have contacted me via FB or LinkedIn to tell me how they were doing. Just the best feeling. That’s what makes it ok to eventually retire - knowing there are the following generations of fine officers and enlisted personnel coming right along.
DS looks up to them!
