The Navy small craft community

[nickarino]

I am thinking about joining the service, and I have recently become interested in the Navy small boat community. I have always loved boats and the ocean, but I want some excitement and I don't want to be stuck in the bowels of a huge ship never to see the light of day. The cream of the crop for these guys seems to be the Special Warfare Combatant Crewman (SWCC). I will be finishing my masters degree in December, so if I were to go in I would probably doing so as an officer. Do they accept junior officers in this field and could I make a career in the small craft Navy. Are there any other small craft coastal/riverine jobs that might be of interest as well?

[fermi]

I am thinking about joining the service, and I have recently become interested in the Navy small boat community. I have always loved boats and the ocean, but I want some excitement and I don't want to be stuck in the bowels of a huge ship never to see the light of day. The cream of the crop for these guys seems to be the Special Warfare Combatant Crewman (SWCC). I will be finishing my masters degree in December, so if I were to go in I would probably doing so as an officer. Do they accept junior officers in this field and could I make a career in the small craft Navy. Are there any other small craft coastal/riverine jobs that might be of interest as well?

Yes, they do have junior officers in that field, if and how you get in that billet depends on your ranking in your A school and how many slots happen to be open when your class graduates (at least for enlisted, I don't know for sure about officers).

You likely would not make a career in that comunity, you would move around every 2-3 years to different commands and areas (unless you really specialize (like seal, medical, something else). You would spend your career in the surface comunity if you go that route (vs aviation or subs).

Another option you may enjoy is a ACU-4 or 5 (LCAC's (hovercraft), the other ACU's (landing craft) or a BMU (beach master unit).

All of those options have the likelyhood of "being stuck in the bowels of a ship". Your best chance to avoid that horrid fate (sarcasm) is to go sea-bee, but even then you have a good chance of going on a float.

The navy may not be the best place for you if you wish to avoid ships. Going to sea isn't that bad though, and you might like it and some of the ports of call are a blast. Some of best memories are from my westpacs. Good luck.

[nickarino]

Yes, they do have junior officers in that field, if and how you get in that billet depends on your ranking in your A school and how many slots happen to be open when your class graduates (at least for enlisted, I don't know for sure about officers).

You likely would not make a career in that comunity, you would move around every 2-3 years to different commands and areas (unless you really specialize (like seal, medical, something else). You would spend your career in the surface comunity if you go that route (vs aviation or subs).

Another option you may enjoy is a ACU-4 or 5 (LCAC's (hovercraft), the other ACU's (landing craft) or a BMU (beach master unit).

All of those options have the likelyhood of "being stuck in the bowels of a ship". Your best chance to avoid that horrid fate (sarcasm) is to go sea-bee, but even then you have a good chance of going on a float.

The navy may not be the best place for you if you wish to avoid ships. Going to sea isn't that bad though, and you might like it and some of the ports of call are a blast. Some of best memories are from my westpacs. Good luck.

Thanks for the input! After doing some more online research, the only officers that I found in SWCC were SEAL officers or warrant officers, not fully commissioned ones, is that accurate? I guess wouldn't really mind being on a big ship, there is just something enticing about going fast, crashing through the surf and getting some sea spray on my face I was just trying to find something where I could spend some time on the water and maybe get my boots on the ground from time to time. Aside from SWCC, it seems like the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command or Coastal Warfare Command with their inshore boat units and expedionary security forces have the most opportunity for that kind of thing. Getting some specialized training, additional weapons qualification, going on boarding teams, and things of this sort are very appealing to me. I am also strongly considering the Reserves because I'm not sure I want to give up on the civilian career (education) that I have invested a lot of time into training for. I live in orange county, so I'm guessing there are reserve units at least in San Diego (not that far away) that I could potentially serve in this capacity. Since I always have summers off, feel like it would be a good fit for extended training during that time of year.

[fermi]

Thanks for the input! After doing some more online research, the only officers that I found in SWCC were SEAL officers or warrant officers, not fully commissioned ones, is that accurate? I guess wouldn't really mind being on a big ship, there is just something enticing about going fast, crashing through the surf and getting some sea spray on my face I was just trying to find something where I could spend some time on the water and maybe get my boots on the ground from time to time. Aside from SWCC, it seems like the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command or Coastal Warfare Command with their inshore boat units and expedionary security forces have the most opportunity for that kind of thing. Getting some specialized training, additional weapons qualification, going on boarding teams, and things of this sort are very appealing to me. I am also strongly considering the Reserves because I'm not sure I want to give up on the civilian career (education) that I have invested a lot of time into training for. I live in orange county, so I'm guessing there are reserve units at least in San Diego (not that far away) that I could potentially serve in this capacity. Since I always have summers off, feel like it would be a good fit for extended training during that time of year.

You might have a tough time getting a slot as an officer in the navy reserve without being prior service as an officer. Navy reserve officer billets seemed few and far between. The is a reserve inshore boat unit in Coronado and ACU-5 in camp pendelton has a reserve unit as well. If you join the reserve unit at ACU-5 you will spend allot of your weekends fixing the black underskirt under the hovercraft. I was active at that unit and interacted with the reserve guys each month if you have any questions about that.


From my experience with SWCC, officers are more like division officers and don't actually go out that much, and none of them were SEALs. They have a little mini course to go into SWCC that didn't sound too bad.
Don't forget to consider the coast guard as well. The Army also has a bunch of maritime stuff that most people don't know about and I imagine they may have some reserve units as well.