Program Description
Public Affairs | Special Operations | Supply, Training, & Logistics | Surface Warfare
U.S. Navy Officers are some of the most well-respected men and women who serve our country. Superior benefits and excellent credentials are just a few enticements for becoming an Officer. If you’re a student or graduate of a four-year college or university who possesses leadership skills and determination, you may be eligible to become an Officer in the Navy.
The Navy offers careers that match the talents and interests of just about everyone. And as long as you’re in the Navy, you’ll get top-notch training, exceptional benefits, and the experience of a lifetime.
Here you can read about the many career fields available as an Officer in the Navy.
Attorneys
Job Description
The Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps allows Officers to litigate cases soon after reporting to duty and requires them to practice in several fields, giving them a wider range of experience than in the civilian sector. Young lawyers looking to expand their opportunities and gain hands-on legal experience can greatly benefit from the Navy. And as Officers, Navy lawyers immediately assume a level of responsibility that is difficult to find in civilian practice.
What will you do?
Navy lawyers are given the chance to practice in many areas of law. They often begin litigating a broad range of cases shortly after starting active duty, which helps develop the leadership, confidence, and experience so highly prized in the legal profession. A variety of educational programs are available to assist Navy lawyers, helping to relieve the financial burden of law school. Other benefits include assistance in paying for Postgraduate study. As a member of the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, some of your responsibilities may include:
- Act as prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, or judge in court cases
- Prepare pretrial advice for clients in court-martial cases
- Preside over court cases and make judgments based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice
- Interpret laws, directives, regulations, and court decisions
- Prepare legal documents, such as wills and powers of attorney
- Help train new lawyers
- Provide legal assistance to Navy personnel and their dependents
- Practice international law
Skills and Training
Candidates for direct appointment into the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and be admitted to practice by either federal court or the highest court of a state. Officers who are directly appointed to the JAG Corps attend a six-week indoctrination course at the Officer Development School in Newport, Rhode Island. Following Officer Development School, Officers in the legal field attend Naval Justice School, a nine-week course which teaches military trial procedures, methods of obtaining evidence, court martial advocacy techniques, and application of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Early While You Learn
As a lawyer, there’s the added benefit of choosing your own assignment after one to two years of service – a great way to get experience in a given field or get introduced to international law. You may also have the opportunity to earn an LLM degree at the approved law school of your choice while earning your normal yearly salary.
Special Pay/Bonuses
Fringe benefits include free and low-cost travel, 30 days paid vacation every year, Officer status, and the use of Military Clubs and recreation facilities.
Career Outlook
Since JAG lawyers often begin litigating a broad range of cases shortly after starting active duty, they quickly accelerate in the legal field. The skills you will acquire in the legal field in the Navy will prepare you to work as a civilian lawyer in private practice or for law firms, government, corporations, and non-profit groups.
Back to Top >>Aviation
Job Description
The Navy offers some of the world’s most advanced and comprehensive training in the field of aviation. Navy pilots, Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) and Aviation Maintenance Duty Officers (AMDOs) are part of this adrenaline-seeking team, which maintains and operates more than 6,000 aircraft. If you’re a physically fit individual who excels academically and possesses leadership qualities and a love of aircraft and flying, join one of our country’s most powerful aviation forces as a Navy Aviation Officer.
What will you do?
Pilot
As a Navy pilot, you’ll fly from land bases and ships, often at a moment’s notice, to perform missions across the globe. Pilots can fly in a number of Navy aircraft, including jet, helicopter, turbo-propeller, and other tactical aircraft. While training as a pilot, you will have the opportunity to request the training pipeline you would like to pursue upon completion of primary flight training. During advanced flight training you will learn skills specific to your aircraft such as air-to-air combat, bombing, search and rescue, aircraft carrier qualifications, over-water navigation, and low-level flying.
Variety is the order of the day as a helicopter pilot. You’ll have the opportunity to fly different missions from the decks of several types of Navy ships with such missions as anti-submarine warfare or tracking potential enemies. Helicopter pilots search for underwater mines, fly vertical replenishment missions, and conduct emergency search and rescue missions.
As a turbo-prop pilot, you may fly a multi-engine E-2C Hawkeye early-warning aircraft on a radar-surveillance warfare mission from either a carrier or shore station. Turbo-prop pilots conduct some of the Navy’s most important missions including tracking submarines, surveillance, and collecting photographic intelligence.
Naval Flight Officer
Imagine the skills and concentration needed to track a submarine while flying just 200 feet above stormy seas. Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) are the key to successful mission accomplishment. A select group of individuals have the combination of talent and dedication it takes to be an NFO. NFOs receive specialized training on the advanced tactical systems and complex communications systems found in Navy aircraft. You’ll study aerodynamics, aircraft engine systems, meteorology, navigation, flight planning, and aircraft safety. NFOs train and specialize in specific aircraft including:
- Strike: EA-6B Prowler electronic countermeasures aircraft
- Strike Fighter: F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet jet fighters
- Advanced Radar Navigation and Airborne Early Warning System: E-2C Hawkeye early warning and control aircraft
- Advanced Navigation: P-3C Orion antisubmarine aircraft
Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer
Aviation Maintenance Duty Officers (AMDOs) play a vital role as the managers of the Navy’s aviation fleet. As an AMDO, you are responsible for ensuring that all aircraft maintenance is executed correctly so that the crew is provided with a safe and operation-capable aircraft on each and every mission. AMDOs also manage all material and manpower needed to support flight operations. In this aviation profession, you will receive formal technical and managerial training, which you will use to provide support to your squadron’s personnel and aircraft.
Earn While You Learn
Aviation Officers receive some of the most rigorous and prestigious training the Navy has to offer. The Aviation Officer Program has earned a reputation as one of the finest in the world. Following your initial flying tour, attending the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, is one possibility that allows you to earn a master’s or doctoral degree while being paid full-time as an Officer in the Navy.
Special Pay/Bonuses
Naval Aviation Officers (Pilots and NFOs) receive aviation career incentive pay in addition to their regular salary. Student Aviation Officers receive $125 per month flight pay during flight training. As an Aviation Officer, your monthly flight pay depends on your time in service and increases by hundreds of dollars within a few years to the current maximum of $840 per month. In addition, you may be eligible for continuation bonuses at the end of your initial commitment.
Skills and Training
The U.S. Navy offers the world’s most advanced and comprehensive aviation training to individuals who demonstrate academic and physical aptitude and a potential for leadership and responsibility.
Aviation Officer candidates must have a bachelor’s degree before attending Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island. OCS prepares you for the roles and responsibilities expected of, and afforded to, U.S. Naval Officers through academic and military courses and physical fitness training. All Officers entering aviation programs also complete a six-week air indoctrination course at Naval Aviation Schools Command, also in Pensacola. Prospective pilots and NFOs then attend primary flight training.
Upon completion of primary flight training, pilots and NFOs request an aircraft pipeline and enter the intermediate phase of flight training, which builds upon the prerequisites of basic flight and navigation training. Advanced naval flight training is tailored for mission specifics and upon completion, both pilots and NFOs are awarded their wings of gold and report to their respective Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS) for training in their specific aircraft.
AMDOs attend Aviation Maintenance School in Pensacola, Florida to learn leadership, logistics, and operational support of the Naval aviation fleet.
Career Outlook
Navy pilots fly the most sophisticated combat and transport aircraft in the world. The flight hours, precision, and flight expertise you will gain as an Aviation Officer will undoubtedly afford you a prestigious career in the Navy or in the civilian sector working for a major airline, as a private aircraft operator or as a pilot or aircraft maintainer for corporations or government agencies.
Back to Top >>Chaplain
Job Description
Navy chaplain employment involves helping sea-service personnel negotiate the crucial moments in their lives. Members of the clergy provide moral support for young people away from home for the first time, lend advice to individuals facing personal or emotional difficulties, and provide spiritual assistance to people from all walks of life.
What Will You Do?
Navy Chaplains serve on ships and at foreign and domestic bases throughout various Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard commands. Responsibilities associated with Navy Chaplain jobs may include:
- Conduct worship services in a variety of settings
- Perform religious rites and ceremonies such as weddings and funeral services
- Counsel individuals who seek guidance
- Oversee religious education programs, such as Sunday school and youth groups
- Visit and provide spiritual guidance and care to hospitalized personnel and/or their family members
- Train lay leaders who conduct religious education programs
- Promote attendance at religious services, retreats, and conferences
Earn While You Learn
Opportunities abound for continuing education and training throughout the course of your Navy Chaplain employment. Many continue their education by attending one of the military service colleges to study military strategies, tactics, and joint operations with other branches of the armed forces. As an Officer, the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California is also an attractive tour of duty option that allows you to earn a master’s or doctoral degree while being paid full-time as a Naval Officer. Other opportunities offered through a Navy Chaplain career include supervision in clinical pastoral education and tuition assistance for numerous off-duty educational programs.
Special Pay/Bonuses
Fringe benefits include free and low-cost travel, 30 days paid vacation every year, Officer status, and the use of Officers’ Clubs and recreation facilities. The Navy also offers Chaplains a generous retirement program and full family benefits as well as tax-free on-base shopping privileges.
Skills and Training
Navy chaplain jobs draw clergy from over 100 denominations and faith groups. Qualified applicants must be U.S. citizens at least 21 years of age; meet certain medical and physical fitness standards; hold a BA or BS degree, with not less than 120 semester hours from a qualified educational institution; and hold a post-baccalaureate graduate degree, which includes 72 semester hours of graduate-level course work in theological or related studies. At least one-half (i.e., 36) of these hours must include topics in general religion, theology, religious philosophy, ethics, and/or the foundational writings from one’s religious tradition. Accredited distance-education graduate programs are acceptable.
Chaplains then attend the Navy Chaplain School in Newport, Rhode Island for a basic orientation course.
Aspiring chaplain careers: The Navy also has a “Chaplain Candidate Program Officer” (CCPO) Program for seminary students who might be interested in obtaining a commission before completing their graduate studies. The CCPO program offers significant pay advantages once a Chaplain enters active duty. The program also includes on-the-job training under the direct supervision of an active duty Chaplain.
Career Outlook
The Chaplain Corps is a high-profile community where you’ll have the opportunity to practice a full scope of religious ministry. In addition to the excellent training and preparation in religious and administrative positions that chaplain employment provides, you will also have the chance to see many places and meet many people you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
Back to Top >>Civil Engineering
Job Description
The Navy counts on civil engineering Officers to make these projects successful. If you have a degree in civil, mechanical, or electrical engineering or architecture, or are intending to get one, accelerate your life as a Navy Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) Officer. You will quickly be put in charge of vital Navy projects, overseeing construction, managing workers, arranging budgets and schedules, and approving completed work.
What Will You Do?
Each year the Navy completes hundreds of construction, renovation, maintenance, and building projects all over the world. You may find yourself piecing together satellite images to form large image maps of a foreign town destroyed by an earthquake or flood or providing important information for rescue and rebuilding efforts. As a Civil Engineer Corps Officer, you may work in any or all of the following areas:
- Contract Management: Be the primary contact between the Navy and contractors. Solicit and manage bids. Supervise construction and troubleshoot issues.
- Public Works: Supervise and maintain utilities at shore facilities. Oversee construction and repair. Manage budgets and approve public works plans.
- Construction Battalions: The legendary ‘Seabees’ support Navy and Marine activities in the field overseas. Command 400 to 600 enlisted workers in building airfields, bridges, ports, or buildings.
Earn While You Learn
The Navy also encourages and challenges its civil engineers to develop and enhance their skills through postgraduate work and advanced Navy training. This training can involve advanced engineering training or financial management. As a Civil Engineer Corps Officer, you’ll have many opportunities to develop your professional skills through courses offered by the Civil Engineer Corps School and Naval Facilities Contract Training Center.
Special Pay/Bonuses
Fringe benefits include free and low-cost travel, 30 days paid vacation every year, Officer status, and the use of Officers’ clubs and recreation facilities.
Skills and Training
The Navy also has programs to help pay for college and hone your skills.
- Civil Engineer Collegiate Program: Earn up to $103,000 during your junior and senior years while pursuing your engineering degree. Also enjoy many of the benefits of regular Navy personnel. Earn your commission after graduation.
- Civil Engineer Corps Officer School: After commissioning, get specialized training needed for Navy projects, including management, administration, contract management, public works, and specialized military roles such as construction battalions.
Career Outlook
Construction is one of the economy’s largest industries and has a very large percentage of self-employed individuals working in high paying jobs. So, whether it’s a promotion in the Navy or taking your skills into the civilian world, the fundamentals of civil engineering and management you’ll learn as a Navy Officer will be instrumental in the advancement of your career and your life.
Back to Top >>Information Warfare
Job Description
Information Warfare Officers are directly involved in every aspect of Naval operations, deploying globally to support Navy and joint war-fighting requirements. They provide vital information to tactical-, theater-, and national-level decision makers. Serve within sea, air and shore commands around the globe. And lead cryptology technicians in related activities — afloat and ashore.
The responsibility of the Information Warfare community is to deliver overwhelming information superiority that successfully supports command objectives. This is achieved through the application of Information Operations (IO) and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) expertise. The work involves attacking, defending and exploiting networks to capitalize on vulnerabilities in the information environment and ultimately providing war-fighters, planners and policy makers with real-time warning, offensive opportunities and an ongoing operational advantage.
What Will You Do?
Following graduation from the eleven-week Navy Information Warfare Officer Basic Course in Pensacola, Florida, you will report to your first duty assignment. Many Information Warfare Officers serve at the National Security Agency, at the Pentagon, at Regional Cryptology Centers throughout the country, and aboard ships, submarines and aircraft. Duties typically include:
- Leading Information Operations personnel, as well as advising Commanding Officers
- Coordinating information warfare measures in exercises and operations
- Assuming responsibility for collection, processing, analysis and reporting of real-time signal intelligence
- Conducting Computer Network Operations (CNO)
- Developing and acquiring cutting-edge exploitation and defense systems
Earn While You Learn
Naval Postgraduate School
You may have the opportunity to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, to earn an advanced degree. The school offers advanced degrees (master's or doctoral) in many programs and, as an Information Warfare Officer, you may have the opportunity to pursue electrical engineering, information warfare, systems engineering, computer science and regional studies.
Junior Officer Career Cryptologic Program
This competitive three-year program will broaden your education and experience and includes an intensive internship at the National Security Agency that focuses on the fundamentals of cryptology skills and leadership. Though not funded as a part of this program, you could also be encouraged to earn a master's degree in information systems and technology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, or at other educational institutions nearby.
Special Pay
You may earn special pay such as sea pay and hazardous duty incentive pay for the performance of certain duties. You may also earn Foreign Language Proficiency Pay for proficiency in select foreign languages.
Skills and Training
Most prospective Information Warfare Officers attend Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 12-week Navy orientation school in Newport, Rhode Island. The demanding course and curriculum here will give you a working knowledge of the Navy and will prepare you to assume the responsibilities of a being a Navy Officer — morally, mentally and physically. You'll be challenged to live up to the highest moral standards and to uphold the Navy's core values of honor, courage and commitment. Mental training will involve memorization of military knowledge, academic courses and military inspections. Physical training will consist of running, calisthenics and aquatic programs.
After completing OCS, you will attend the eleven-week Navy Information Warfare Officer Basic Course in Pensacola, Florida. This course teaches the fundamentals of Information Warfare and includes:
- Information Operations
- U.S. Cryptology System
- Electromagnetic Theory
- RADAR
- Satellite Fundamentals
- Military Communications
- Signals Collection Operations
- Tactical Cryptology
- Collection Management
- Traffic Analysis
- Signals Intelligence Reporting
- National Security Strategy
- Computer Networks
- Introduction to Security
Upon graduation, your initial assignment will be to one of the four National Cryptology Centers in either San Antonio, Texas; Kunia, Hawaii; Augusta, Georgia; or Fort Meade, Maryland. There, you'll gain additional leadership and management experience.
Career Outlook
Being a Navy Information Warfare Officer offers a rewarding career with a corps of Enlisted and Officer professionals. You will serve at the forefront of Naval operations worldwide and be on the cutting edge of information warfare technologies. Your potential for advancement and continuing education opportunities are the same as or better than in other Navy Officer communities. Career Officers often enjoy increased responsibility and challenges that can include command, Fleet Commander Staff duty, major staff duty and duty as Information Warfare Commander. The specialized knowledge and expertise you gain as an Information Warfare Officer, coupled with your security clearance, may prepare you for future employment with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or National Security Agency (NSA) should you decide to return to the civilian sector when your obligated service is finished.
Back to Top >>Intelligence
Job Description
Naval intelligence is a dynamic and demanding field at the forefront of today’s challenges to national security. Intelligence – the knowledge based on the collection and analysis of an adversary’s strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and intentions – is an elite community within the Navy. Subsequently, the community expects the highest level of performance and dedication from its Officers. As a Navy Intelligence Officer, you will reap the rewards of serving your country and work with professionals who steadfastly protect our nation.
What Will You Do?
After graduating from basic intelligence training, you will go on to a 30-month operational fleet tour. The typical assignment is with an aviation squadron or air wing staff or aboard an aircraft carrier or amphibious command ship. Future positions will depend on your interests, background, and performance. You will have opportunities to serve in a variety of sea and shore assignments worldwide. While most career paths are varied, our Officers typically serve three sea duty assignments within a 20-year career. Promotion opportunities are comparable to those in other Navy warfare communities. As part of this occupational specialty, you might be called upon to:
- Direct operational intelligence support to Navy or joint Commanders
- Identify enemy assets for subsequent prosecution by U.S. or coalition forces
- Develop plans for intelligence operations and manage intelligence programs
- Serve as the Intelligence Officer for Naval or joint special warfare forces or staffs
- Manage and prioritize collection requirements and resources
- Analyze the technical strengths and weaknesses of foreign weapons systems
- Become a Foreign Area Officer or serve abroad as a Defense or Naval Attaché
- Lead the planning, development, testing, and deployment of information systems crucial to the intelligence process
- Monitor and analyze maritime activities that pose a threat to national security
Earn While You Learn
Opportunities abound for continuing education and training throughout a Navy Officer’s career. Navy Officers can continue their education by attending one of the military service colleges to study military strategies, tactics and joint operations with other branches of the armed forces. The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California is also an attractive option that allows you to earn a master’s or doctoral degree while being paid full-time as a Navy Officer.
Special Pay/Bonuses
As a Navy Officer, you’re not only rewarded with an excellent salary for your hard work, but you’ll also receive generous bonuses. Officers can earn additional pay for sea duty or special pay for serving on a submarine.
Skills and Training
After Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, Intelligence candidates attend a five-month basic course of instruction at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center at Dam Neck, Virginia. There, they receive training in electronic, anti-submarine, anti-surface, anti-air, amphibious, and strike warfare; counterintelligence; strategic intelligence; air defense analysis; and combat mission planning.
After graduating from basic intelligence training, graduates then go on a 30-month operational fleet tour. Typically, these on-the-job training assignments allow them to lead Sailors and supervise the collection, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence critical to their command’s mission.
Career Outlook
Upon completion of an operational fleet tour, new Officers will have opportunities to serve in a variety of sea and shore assignments worldwide.
Intelligence Officers provide a variety of support services to other defense missions out in the field, both tactical and strategic, for air, sea, and land operations. These support services can include analysis of potential long- or short-term threats to national or international security, managing intelligence data and providing information deciphered from documents or monitoring enemy movements throughout a region.
Back to Top >>Oceanography/Meteorology
Job Description
Regardless of storms or sea-state, the Navy’s ships and submarines must perform missions across the oceans to protect our national security. It’s up to Officers in the oceanography/meteorology field to recommend a course for each ship and steer the crew clear of adverse weather or ocean conditions. Officers in the oceanography/meteorology community make recommendations based on weather forecasts and ocean conditions. If you are a master of math and science and have an analytical mind, explore new frontiers through research and analysis as an Oceanography/Meteorology Officer in the Navy.
What Will You Do?
As a meteorologist or oceanographer, you may find yourself advising a rescue team about the ocean tides and currents during a search-and-rescue mission. Some additional responsibilities may include:
- Observing weather conditions from airplanes
- Interpreting weather data received from satellites and weather balloons
- Relaying forecast updates and violent weather warnings to military and civilian authorities
- Directing personnel who gather oceanographic and weather data
- Directing the preparation of ocean, sea, and waterway charts and maps
- Collecting information on ice conditions in ocean shipping lanes
- Collecting information about ocean currents for military operational planning
Earn While You Learn
The oceanography/meteorology field in the Navy puts a heavy emphasis on research and education. As an Officer in this field, you’ll be able to take advantage of the Navy’s elite educational institutions and the programs they offer. Meteorology/Oceanography Officers can often attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California to complete a master’s degree in meteorology and physical oceanography. You may also be eligible to earn a doctoral degree while being paid full-time as a Navy Officer.
Special Pay/Bonuses
Because of its level of specialization, Officers in this field are not only awarded with an excellent salary, they also receive generous bonuses and unique benefits not widely available anywhere else. A few fringe benefits include, free and low-cost travel, 30 days’ paid vacation every year, Officer status, and the use of Officers’ Clubs and recreation facilities.
Skills and Training
There are a few ways to become a Navy Officer. Enrolling in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) or the U.S. Naval Academy are two paths toward gaining a commission. Other prospective Officers attend Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 12-week Navy orientation school in Newport, Rhode Island. OCS prepares you for the roles and responsibilities expected of and afforded to U.S. Navy Officers through academic and military courses and physical fitness training. Course subjects include Naval operations, orientation and administration, Navy history, strategic deterrence and sea control, shipboard management, combat systems, ship control, and surface ship fundamentals.
Officers in the oceanography field attend Basic Oceanography Accession Training (BOAT) prior to their first duty station. As a Meteorology Officer, you will receive specialized training prior to your first assignment. Some of your advanced training may include methods of analyzing weather conditions, identification of common weather patterns, and techniques and procedures of forecasting.
Career Outlook
The Navy is known throughout the world for its exacting standards in fields of oceanography/meteorology, which makes it ideal as a launch pad for careers in both the Navy and civilian sector. The skills you will acquire as an Oceanography/Meteorology Officer will prepare you to work for federal government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the U.S. Weather Service or functioning as a meteorologist for a commercial airline.
Back to Top >>Public Affairs
Job Description
Managing the flow of news and information for the Navy, the media, and the public is the responsibility of a group of elite Officers who specialize in the Navy’s public relations. Public Affairs Officers are the eyes and ears of the fleet and often the rest of the world. Effective delivery of information is an intricate part of the Navy – in the form of visual, audio, and written communications, both internally and to the public.
What Will You Do?
Utilizing your planning and communications skills while working with a combat photography unit, you may find yourself directing the development of a training video for an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. Or perhaps you’ll help arrange a presidential visit to the Norfolk Naval Base, where you’ll have the opportunity to meet the President. Whether you’re coordinating a video webcast for the Navy’s website, issuing a press release, or helping an admiral prepare an important speech, your creativity, communication skills, and people savvy will be employed daily. Regardless of which parts of the world you’ll travel and on which missions, a career in public affairs in the Navy is never short on excitement. As a Public Affairs Officer, you may also:
- Supervise the writing and delivery of press releases and reports for the public and military
- Brief military personnel before they meet with the public and news media
- Provide information to newspapers, TV and radio stations, and civic organizations
- Schedule and conduct interviews and news conferences
- Oversee the content and production of radio and television programs
- Advise the operational commander on decision-making and communication with three main audiences: media, internal Navy, and the public
- Direct the preparation of layouts and content for papers, magazines, and websites
Skills and Training
There are a few ways to become a Naval Officer. Most prospective Public Affairs Officers attend Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 12-week Navy orientation school in Newport, Rhode Island. OCS prepares you for the roles and responsibilities expected of and afforded to U.S. Navy Officers through academic and military courses and physical fitness training. Course subjects include Naval operations, orientation and administration, Navy history, strategic deterrence and sea control, shipboard management, combat systems, ship control, and surface ship fundamentals. Public Affairs Officers attend the Defense Information School at Ft. Meade, Maryland prior to their first duty station. This 10-week advanced training course includes principles of public information and community relations and Department of Defense policies.
Earn While You Learn
Opportunities abound for continuing education and training throughout a Navy Officer’s career. Public Affairs Officers can gain a master’s degree in communications through a program offered at San Diego State University while being paid full-time as a Navy Officer.
Special Pay/Bonuses
Fringe benefits include free and low-cost travel, 30 days paid vacation every year, Officer status, and the use of Officers’ Clubs and recreation facilities. Public Affairs Officers can qualify for Sea Pay based on assignment.
Career Outlook
The skills you will acquire as a Public Affairs Officer are essential to large corporations, government agencies, and colleges and universities worldwide. With media exposure, management skills, and public relations experience, you’ll have the skill set to dive into virtually any media or public affairs position. The opportunity to document news almost anywhere in the world is a reality in the Navy, giving Officers in this field a wide range of real-world experience and an unmatched portfolio.
Back to Top >>Special Operations
Job Description
To some people, comfort is a warm spot under the covers. To Special Warfare and Special Operations Officers, it’s parachuting 500 feet into the frigid ocean, overseeing the disposal of an ocean-borne mine, traveling silently underwater in a SEAL Delivery Vehicle, or scurrying through a dense jungle in a combat situation. Only the most physically fit, strategically thinking team players qualify to orchestrate operations among this elite community. SEAL and Special Operations Officers are the experts and leaders in unconventional warfare. They quietly and efficiently destroy enemy targets, recover and dispose of explosives, and collect information on enemy operations.
What Will You Do?
As an Officer in the SEAL or Special Operations community, you may be called upon at a moment’s notice to perform covert reconnaissance missions, conduct antiterrorist missions, clear land mines in the far corners of the globe, or even train dolphins to utilize their sonar capabilities. SEAL and Special Operations Officers may be trained to jump from airplanes with high-altitude parachutes or operate stealthy watercraft, inflatable boats, or scuba gear. As an Officer in Special Warfare or Special Operations, you might:
- Perform underwater location and identification of foreign and domestic ordnance, as well as rending safe, disposing of, or recovering ordnance
- Assist the United States Secret Service in protecting dignitaries
- Direct and perform parachute/helicopter insertions
- Collect information about enemy military installations in coastal areas
- Conduct reconnaissance and demolition of natural or man-made underwater obstacles prior to amphibious landings
- Conduct and carry out demolition and other direct-action raids against military targets
Earn While You Learn
You might learn the fundamentals of explosive ordnance disposal through formal Navy schooling. Or you may learn about chemical/biological warfare, military tactics, deep-sea diving, or a number of other tactical military procedures.
The courses in this field are demanding, but individuals who accept these challenges are rewarded with extra pay and extraordinary duty assignments.
Special Pay/Bonuses
SEAL Officers receive normal pay and allowances, plus incentive pay for special skills and assignments, such as $175/month dive pay, $300/month SDV pay, $225/month HALO (jump) pay, $110/month special duty assignment pay, and $50–100 a month for second-language proficiency. Special Operations Officers assigned to diving duty are eligible to receive dive pay. Demolition Duty Pay is payable to Officers working with explosives and demolitions during training.
Training Commissioning
To become a Special Warfare (SEAL) Officer, a candidate must meet the physical prerequisites, volunteer for hazardous duty, and report to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training after gaining a commission as a Navy Officer. BUD/S Training is a seven-month course that is specifically designed to provide the necessary basic physical, mental, and technical skills needed by a Special Warfare operator and its requirements are demanding enough that only those who are highly motivated will complete the course.
BUD/S Phases
- Indoctrination: Gives students an introduction to required BUD/S techniques and performances
- First Phase (Basic Conditioning): Includes continuous physical conditioning. Students also study small boat seamanship and hydrographic surveys and charts
- Second Phase (Diving): Covers SCUBA skills. Students learn open- and closed-circuit combat diving and how to complete long-distance underwater transit dives
- Third Phase (Land Warfare): Includes land navigation, small-unit tactics, rappelling, military land and underwater explosives, and weapons training
- Post-BUD/S Training: BUD/S graduates attend several more courses before they are assigned to a team:
- Basic parachute training at Army Airborne School
- Special Operations Technicians training at the Naval Special Warfare Center
- Diving medicine and medical skills training in the Special Operations Medical Sergeant Course (for those with a medical rating)
Once all courses are completed, graduates are assigned to a SEALS or Special Delivery Vehicle (SDV) Team for six to 12 months of on-the-job training. Successful candidates are awarded a SEAL designation and the SEAL Trident.
Advanced Seal Training
Training, physical conditioning, and drills are part of the SEAL lifestyle. Once you’ve received SEAL classification, you can go even further with advanced training that could include sniper school, dive supervisor, language training, SEAL tactical communications, and more.
Special Operations Officer Training
The Special Operations Officer training pipeline is determined by whether the officer is being assigned to Diving Operations or the Explosive Ordnance Disposal.
Career Outlook
Although the Officer careers in Special Warfare and Special Operations have few civilian counterparts outside of medical emergency and law enforcement, the leadership, tenacity, and combat strategy skills you will acquire are highly respected by any employer.
Back to Top >>Supply, Transportation, Logistics
Job Description
Officers in this field provide the inventory, organization, and careful transport of the materials and resources needed by the Navy’s Sailors, ships, squadrons, submarines, and shore stations across the globe. This worldwide effort requires individuals with strong leadership, organization, and strategic planning skills. As a natural leader, if you are also proficient in math and enjoy planning and troubleshooting, a career as a Supply, Transportation, and Logistics Officer may prove ideal for you.
What Will You Do?
Your job is to ensure that materials needed by ships, squadrons, submarines, and shore facilities are available and in good order. As the Navy’s true business managers, Officers in this field are either part of the Navy Supply Corps or are transportation and logistics managers. These Officers perform executive-level duties in inventory control, financial management, physical distribution systems, petroleum management, personnel transportation, and other related areas. Your office may be on an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea or on the flight line of an air cargo terminal in Japan. Your knowledge of logistics might save hours of time getting critical supplies to Sailors in the field. As a Supply, Transportation, and Logistics Officer you may also:
- Analyze the demand for supplies and forecast future needs
- Manage the inspection, shipping, handling, and packaging of supplies and equipment
- Direct personnel who receive inventory and issue supplies and equipment
- Evaluate bids and proposals submitted by potential suppliers
- Study ways to use space and distribute supplies efficiently
- Determine the fastest, most economic way to transport cargo or personnel
- Oversee the handling of special items, such as medicine and explosives
Earn While You Learn
Opportunities abound for continuing education and training throughout a Navy Officer’s career. Navy Officers can continue their education by attending one of the military service colleges to study military strategies, tactics, and joint operations with other branches of the armed forces. As an Officer, the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California is also an attractive tour-of-duty option that allows you to earn a master’s or doctoral degree while being paid full-time as Navy Officer.
Special Pay/Bonuses
As a Navy Officer, your hard work is not only rewarded with an excellent salary, you’ll also receive generous bonuses. Officers can earn additional pay for sea duty or special pay for serving on a submarine.
Skills and Training
There are a few ways to become a Navy Officer. Some prospective Officers attend Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 12-week Navy orientation school in Newport, Rhode Island. OCS prepares you for the roles and responsibilities expected of and afforded to U.S. Navy Officers through academic and military courses and physical fitness training. Course subjects include Navy operations, orientation and administration, Navy history, strategic deterrence and sea control, shipboard management, combat systems, ship control, and surface ship fundamentals.
As a Supply Corps Officer, you will further attend the Navy Supply School in Athens, Georgia, for a 27-week Basic Qualification Course. This course emphasizes problem-solving in real shipboard situations and provides training in inventory management, food and retail operations, leadership, and management.
You may also receive specialized training in transportation management, freight classifications, methods of working with civilian and other service carriers, and special handling of medicine and explosives.
Career Outlook
The skills you will acquire as a Supply, Transportation, and Logistics Officer are essential to businesses and industries in every sector. The leadership, organization, and strategic planning experience you stand to gain will provide you with invaluable experience for both Navy and civilian careers. Training in this field will prepare you for management positions in hospitals, schools, government agencies, airlines, shipping firms, and any number of other private sector positions.
Back to Top >>Surface Warfare
Job Description
While the U.S. Navy has the most technically and tactically advanced defense and war-fighting capabilities on land, in the air, and under the sea, the mainstay of the force is the vast fleet of aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, dock landing ships, and other surface vessels. These ships and their crews are commanded and managed by an elite group of ship drivers and ship fighters – the Navy’s Surface Warfare Officers. If you’re up for the challenge of inspiring a ship’s crew and being at the helm of million-dollar high-tech equipment, accelerate your life as a Surface Warfare Officer.
What Will You Do?
Surface Warfare Officers are involved in virtually every aspect of Navy missions. Anti-submarine warfare, anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, land attack, theatre air missile defense, support for Marine Corps and Navy Special Warfare (SEAL) missions, communications, damage control, and shipboard management all rely on the knowledge and expertise of Officers in the Surface Warfare community. During a sea tour, Surface Warfare Officers may be in charge of any number of shipboard operations and activities and may work with or within the following forces:
- Aircraft Carrier Forces: Provide and coordinate air defense from conventional and nuclear-powered carriers
- Cruiser-Destroyer Forces: Provide ship attack and defense measures with a wide array of missile and fire power capabilities providing anti-air, submarine, and surface warfare support
- Amphibious Forces: Embark and transport vehicles, cargo, and troops for amphibious assault operations
- Combat-Logistics Forces: Provide combatant ships with fuel, ammunition, food and supplies, and provide repair, maintenance, and rescue capabilities through fleet support ships
- Mine Warfare Forces: Detect, identify, and neutralize threats to maritime forces from hostile use of mines
Shore duty may involve a tour-of-duty at the Pentagon, a student assignment at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, or command and management positions at shore bases and stations across the globe.
Earn While You Learn
As a Navy Officer, education and training is an integral and ongoing part of your career. You will likely have the opportunity to earn advanced degrees. You can also take advantage of the Navy’s Tuition Assistance Program, which pays a percentage of accredited college courses and programs. If you become a Surface Warfare Officer, the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California is also an attractive tour-of-duty option, which allows you to earn a master’s or doctorate degree.
Special Pay/Bonuses
Following three years of duty at sea, Surface Warfare Officers earn additional sea pay. Upon selection to department head, Surface Warfare Officers can earn up to $50,000 in bonuses for signing on an additional five-year-split (two different ships) sea tour as a department head.
Skills and Training
There are a few ways to become a Navy Officer. Enrolling in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) or the U.S. Naval Academy are two paths toward gaining a commission. Other prospective Officers attend Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 12-week Navy orientation school in Newport, Rhode Island. OCS prepares you for the roles and responsibilities expected of and afforded to U.S. Navy Officers through academic and military courses and physical fitness training. Course subjects include Navy operations, orientation, and administration, Navy history, strategic deterrence and sea control, shipboard management, combat systems, ship control, and surface ship fundamentals.
Your initial sea tour lasts a total of 24 months, including time at sea and in port. The ship will have an organized Surface Warfare Officer training program that helps you complete Personnel Qualifications Standards (PQSs) and qualify as a Surface Warfare Officer. Your initial duty will most likely be as a Division Officer in operations, engineering, combat systems, or deck departments.
Career Outlook
Training as a Surface Warfare Officer directly transfers to civilian careers in executive-level management as well as many technology and high-tech specialty systems. Each year, a select few candidates for the Surface Warfare program are offered a chance to specialize in Information Technology (IT), Oceanography, or Engineering Duty Officer (EDO). If you have skills or interest in these fields, you may qualify for these exciting careers.
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