SWO or SUBs?

Question

I am thinking about either becoming a SWO or a Submarine officer in the Navy. Could you give me an idea of how both are in regards to:

How long the Deployments or at sea you are
Promotion
Quality of life
Levels of responsibility

Also anything else that anyone who has had experience in either of these two fields I would be very appreciative of your insight. Another thing is do Submarines ever go into port, I have seen pictures of them in foreign ports but it seems to me to defeat the purpose of a sub (well unless if there acting as a nucleur detterent).

Answer 1

Bubbleheads will tell you riding on a target sucks. Ship drivers will tell you riding a Boomer or Fast Attack sucks.

SWOs have a wider variety of platforms to choose from.. from small boy DDGs to CVNs, and you don't have to suffer through the agony of Nuke school to have a successful SWO Career.

SWOS will do back to back sea tours at the very least spending their first 2 years getting Qual'd on every aspect of the ship.

deployments are about the same for both communities, although of course opportunities for port visits and regular communication back home is far more abundant in the Surface Fleet. the Silent Service comes by it's name honestly. same with QOL..

as for responsibility: if you go to a Small boy, you will have more responsibility sooner than you would if you got shunted to a big impersonal Carrier.

Each Community has its drawbacks and its appeal. I suggest you find a better source though, than yahoo answers. try. Military.com's forums. Plenty of SWOs and Bubbleheads there will be willing to extol the virtues of their own community while ribbing on the other's.

Answer 2

What choice you make depends on what kind of career you want. To be an officer on board a submarine, you have to be nuclear qualified unless you're the supply officer. SWO doesn't require that. Deployments on submarines can last from 1 day to over a year (rarely). Promotion wise, doesn't make much difference. Quality of life on board a submarine is much better than the surface fleet. Food is better on boats compared to targets (surface ships). On a submarine, even young officers are given a high level of responsibility and you need to grow up fast.
Submarines make quite a few port calls just for the R & R aspect. Bubbleheads need to get out a play once in a while or life submerged can get very hectic.
If you notice in my "source" spot, I put my rate and rank along with my designations in there. I rode both targets and submarines in my US Naval career so I have a grasp on both worlds in the Navy. "SS" means submarine qualified, "SW" means surface warfare qualified and "DV" means SCUBA diver.

Answer 3

Well, I was in the Navy before joining the Army. And a standard deployment on a ship or a sub is usually six months. Now during wartime it might be a little different. Promotion is how well you know your job, and QOL I just hope your not claustrophobic. Tight spaces. Also hope your not too tall. Good luck.