Surface Warfare Officer - Nuclear Trained

The primary purpose of the SWO(N) community is to maintain a cadre of Surface Warfare Officers with a sub-specialty in nuclear power.  These officers serve alternate tours in conventional surface ships (as Division Officers, Department Heads, Executive Officers, and Commanding Officers) and in nuclear-powered aircraft carriers where they lead Sailors in operating and maintaining the nuclear propulsion plants.

This career path produces officers competitive for Major Command and Flag rank.  Along the way, SWO(N)s enjoy rewarding tours in a variety of afloat and ashore billets.  Their skills and importance to the nation's maritime strategy are well-respected and well-compensated by the Navy.

SWO(N) Community Brief​​ (Updated 24 Jun 2022)

SWO(N) Community Management Team
The SWO(N) Community Management Team consists of Detailers, Placement Officers, and the Community Manager in Millington, TN as well as the Program Manager in Washington, D.C.  This team of SWO(N)s works to balance the sides of the detailing triad to ensure continued SWO(N) health at the individual and at the community levels.

Con​tact Us

Career Flexibility
Promotion Deferment: This policy allows in-zone and above-zone officers that are eligible for promotion to O-4, O-5, or O-6 to defer promotion consideration by a promotion selection board. Officers who have completed a career-broadening assignment, advanced education, or an assignment of significant value to the Department of Navy, or who have had a career progression requirement delayed by such an assignment or education may apply for deferment. Those selected will be rolled back a year group and have their lineal number adjusted accordingly.
Information on Promotion Deferment can be found here: NAVADMIN 132/22
 

Career Intermission Program (CIP): CIP offers additional career flexibility to pursue personal and professional endeavors during a successful Naval career. Participants spend 1 – 3 years in the IRR, retain TRICARE coverage (including dependents), and receive a stipend (1/15^th of base pay).  Your year group (YG) and lineal number will be adjusted based on the duration of participation in CIP. Participants incur a service obligation of two months for every month of participation.  The quantity of participants per year group (YG) is dependent upon YG SWO(N) inventory, so contact your detailer early if you’re interested.
Information on CIP can be found at the Navy’s CIP Webpage: MyNavyHR CIP Webpage

SWO(N) Pay and Compensation
The Nuclear Officer Bonus & Incentive Pay Program (NOBIP) instruction, OPNAVINST 7220.11H (accessible only via DON issuances website (link) / Directives & Manuals / All Instructions), governs the Annual Incentive Pay (AIP) and Continuation Bonus (COBO). SWO(N)s are compensated for two skills sets and are eligible for both NOBIP and the full spectrum of Surface Warfare Officer bonuses (DHRB and SWO LRB) which are described on the PERS-41 Pay and Incentives pages.

NAVADMIN 241/20 was recently released and outlines new tiered COBO contract rates.  In FY 21, officers authorized to receive COBO may renegotiate their existing contracts on either their contract or commissioning anniversary.  Junior officers desiring to submit initial COBO contracts may receive the higher COBO rate if they sign initial 6- or 7-year contracts that obligate them to a Department Head and Principal Assistant tour.  Contract templates and a renegotiation guide may be found below:
 
*NEW* COBO Contract Templates
*NEW* COBO Renegotiation Guide
 
Please contact the SWO(N) Community Manager before applying for any bonus or incentive pay. There are usually some timing concerns with current or future Nuclear COBO contracts that you need to be aware of before making any decisions.
 
Surface Nuclear Officer Screen Board
The annual Surface Nuclear Officer Screen board is held each spring. During this screen board, the community selects officers to serve as Assistant Reactor Officer (ARO) and Principal Assistant (PA). Additionally, the board also considers Nuclear Engineering Duty Officers (EDO(N)) for continued service in the EDO(N) community and selects EDO(N)s to serve as Reactor Officers (RO). The links below are the results of the two most-recent screen boards.
(New) FY23 Screen Board
FY22 Screen Board
FY21 Screen Board​

SWO(N) Grams
Sign up for email delivery of each SWO(N) Gram by sending your email address to the Surface Nuclear Officer Detailer at the address provided in the "Contact Us" link provided above.  If your email address changes, please be sure to provide your new email address to ensure you receive every SWO(N) Gram.
 
Most Recent SWO(N) Gram:
(New) 13 May 2022

Previous SWO(N) Grams:
25 Feb 2022
20 Dec 2021
01 Nov 2021
18 Aug 2021
30 Jul 2021
29 Apr 2021
02 Mar 2021
18 Dec 2020
2 Nov 2020
3 Sep 2020
17 Jul 2020
19 Jun 2020 COVID Update
18 Jun 2020
 

SWO(N) Lifecycle:
This reference contains valuable career management guidance for various stages of your career to include information on subspecialty codes, pays/benefits, tour lengths, shore duty, joint tours, options for graduate education, and strategies for communicating with your detailer.
SWO(N) Lifecycle: PA to RO - The first edition of SWO(N) Lifecycle focuses on the period of the SWO(N) career path from the PA through RO tour. In addition to the valuable career management information, this document contains testimonials from RO-served SWO(N)s who offer us their perspective about the RO tour.

Annual Newsletters
The 2019-2020 SWO(N) Newsletter has been mailed!  If you have not received your copy, please reach out to the SWO(N) Community Manager so we can send your copy!
An electronic version of the newsletter can be found here: SWO(N) Newsletter (Uploaded Jul 2021)

Ready References.
Use the following ready references to assist you with managing your record, writing FITREPs, and researching graduate education opportunities:
#1 - Board Prep (June 2021)
#2 - Graduate Education (June 2021)​
#3 - FITREP (May 2021)
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