seal/wings

[mdsu]

To answer the original question, a former enlisted special warfare petty officer has graduated from the Naval Academy and became a commissioned officer. A decorated Marine involved in the Beirut bombings has graduated from the Naval Academy and became a commissioned officer. In addition enlisted personnel from a multitude of backgrounds have entered the Naval Academy and have become commissioned officers.

As for the discussion for the upperclassmen and leaving plebes alone...ok? Not sure where this comes from. Upperclassmen have stared in the eyes of combat veterans and high school kids alike expecting the same out of both. They don't leave either plebe alone. As a newly commissioned Ensign I did not "leave my CPO alone" even though he was a Viet Nam brown water navy veteran who could kick my a$$ on any given Sunday. The salty bastard did not wear his Purple Hearts because he said it told the world "he screwed up!!!"

Finally, if detailers had an unofficial policy how could there have been numerous occasions with nasty results?

Hmmm, stay out of Ho Chi Minh trail, Kornhead may get you.

as a newly commisioned ensign, you told your chiefs off? did they ever tell you "listen here ensign ..." ?

 

[jbrown]

He didn't say he told them off. He said he "didn't leave them alone" to use the words of one of the original posters who said that they Upperclassmen left certain plebes alone.

By not leaving his CPO alone, what he meant, as I'm sure he'll respond is that he still held him accountable, gave him orders, saw to his training and development and for lack of a better word at the moment, managed him.

This is common, not unlike a 2nd Lt. going to the FMF, he's going to have Platoon Sgts and Sqd Leaders with more experience, but he is still their leader. He is trained to lead from a different perspective, from a bigger picture so to speak. And the NCO's, SNCO's and Non Rates know this.

We used to have a joke, that the only difference between a 2nd Lt and a PFC is that the PFC has already been promoted once. But, that was a joke, and was not reality.

A 2nd Lt. has had 4 years of education, 4 years of leadership training, 4 years of fine tuning, etc. etc. etc. and he is commissioned because he is ready to fill a vital role. The CPO has a vital role also, and he understands the officer may be newly commissioned, but he will "NOT" say, listen here Ensign.

In private he may have conversations where they discuss issues, but the CPO will not correct or smart off to the Lt. or Ens.

JB

 

[NorthernCalMother]

OCS is another route to a commision and i believe Basic is for enlisted recruits. Once you graduate USNA you will automatically go straight into the Fleet as a Marine Corps or Navy officer.

No, USNA grad's commissioned as USMC 2nd Lts go to TBS -- The Basic School.

 

[peskemom]

this is slightly off topic, but since the subject does involve SEALS and USNA let me say that last friday I was privilieged to watch SEAL Class 270 graduate here in Coronado, CA. 29 total, 9 officers, In an unusual juxtaposition of circumstances, all 9 Officers were USNA Grads. We knew several of them since they were the Firsties of our girl's Plebe year.

Hoo-yah USNA SEAL's of 270!!