Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbill
That's not the military. You're a ship driver until you reach LCDR. There's no career path for ship driving, it's something that is expected as part of your career development and you progress up the ranks. Ship driving is a collateral duty in addition to running a division or department. What you're describing is a pro officer of the deck, it's just not practical in the military, it would be a dead end, career-wise.
It's not really proving any point because you can't compare the career path of a naval officer to a merchant marine officer.
As far as an analysis of the current situation and where the Navy is hopefully heading, Commander Salamander slays it as usual.
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/20...ss-review.html |
I gotta agree with Big Bill. Military officers often spend more time outside of their warfare specialty than in it. That certainly was the case for me. In a 21 year career as a Navy pilot... I was also a program analyst, a comptroller, a recruiter and spent time getting a Masters degree. I was behind a desk more often than in the cockpit. This is the reality of being a US military officer. Professional Maritime Officers are going to have more at sea experience than US Navy Surface Warfare Officers. Commercial Airline Pilots are going to have more flight hours and experience than US Military Pilots. The career track of a US military officer is often decided on what you accomplished outside of your warfare specialty. So, leaving your warfare specialty is vital if you want to promote.