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The surface warfare insignia is a military badge of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
which is issued to U.S. Navy personnel who are trained and qualified to perform duties aboard United States surface warships. There are presently four classes of the surface warfare pin, being that of line, staff, special operations, and enlisted. The line and enlisted surface warfare badges may be earned by
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
personnel assigned to Navy commands. The various badge types are as follows:


Surface warfare officer

The surface warfare officer insignia is the first milestone qualification an eligible
commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
may receive in
surface warfare Modern naval warfare is divided into four operational areas: surface warfare, air warfare, submarine warfare, and information warfare. Each area comprises specialized platforms and strategies used to exploit tactical advantages unique and inhe ...
. This device is commonly called the "SWO pin" in the U.S. Navy. Those receiving the pin must qualify as officer of the deck (both underway and in port), small boat officer,
combat information center A combat information center (CIC) or action information centre (AIC) is a room in a warship or AWACS aircraft that functions as a tactical center and provides processed information for command and control of the near battlespace or area of op ...
watch officer, and must be trained in shipboard engineering, naval history, and damage control. For further, enterprise-level training, officers will attend Surface Warfare Officers' School (SWOS) in
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
between all sea tours. The surface warfare officer badge is typically a prerequisite for
tactical action officer Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tacti ...
(TAO) training. Junior officers, typically Ensigns, assigned to the surface warfare community are known as "unqualified" or "non-quals" until they receive qualification as a Surface Warfare Officer and receive the SWO pin. Surface line personnel who are not yet qualified have the 1160 officer designator: once qualified they receive the 1110 designator for Regular Navy Officers and 1115 for Navy Reserve Officers. Prior to 2018, junior officers were granted 24 months to qualify as Surface Warfare Officers; failing to do within the time period so meant either separation from the service or applying to transfer to another warfare community. The collisions involving the USS ''John S. McCain'' (DDG-56) and the USS ''Fitzgerald'' (DDG-62) brought about a change in qualification standards. Unqualified junior officers now have no time limit to qualify within the two and a half years of their first tour, and now must qualify solely before they transfer to their next command. Failing to qualify prevents the officer from transferring. Officers who are separated from the SWO community are known as "SWO non-attains" and this designation is entered into the officer's permanent military record. The Surface Warfare Officer pin was designed to depict the traditional and typical elements of naval service: waves breaking before the bow of a ship overlaid on crossed U.S. Navy commissioned officer's swords, rendered in gold. The insignia was introduced in 1975.


Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS)

On 1 December 1978, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral T.B. Hayward approved the enlisted surface warfare specialist (ESWS) qualification program. This approval followed immediately by the promulgation of OPNAV Instruction 1412.4, which provided the specific details of the program. Since the introduction of the surface warfare officer (SWO) qualification program in 1975, a strong advocacy for a similar program for surface enlisted was started. The program was initiated in 1977 when the surface warfare commanders (DCNO Surface Warfare, COMNAVSURFLANT and COMNAVSURFPAC) gave their conceptual approval to the development of a surface enlisted qualification program. Initial guidelines for the program at that time were: 1. It was to reflect a level of qualification above and beyond the normal level of professional and performance criteria necessary for advancement. 2. The qualification was applicable to and reasonably attainable by all "surface" ratings. 3. Qualification was an attainable goal for dedicated enlisted serving on ships and afloat staffs. 4. Management of the program would not become an administrative burden on the ship. 5. Qualification criteria would be well defined and specific. 6. Participation was voluntary, and there was neither a financial reward nor hazardous duty associated with the qualification. The silver cutlass was available for the first time in April 1979. Specifically the criteria in 1979 to qualify was as follows: 1. Be a petty officer 2. Have 24 months on a surface ship 3. Have a performance mark and leadership marks of top 30% for CPO's and 3.4 for petty officers. 4. Complete the PQS for damage control, damage control petty officer, repair party leader, and work center supervisor. 5. Qualify in all watch stations for rating and pay grade. 6. Perform an oral board held by the commanding officer, executive officer or lieutenant commander. 7. Be recommended by the chain of command, and approved by the commanding officer. OPNAVINST 1414.9 is the Navy instruction that governs the enlisted warfare qualification programs. This instruction also cancels OPNAVINST 1414.2A. The ESWS pin is authorized for wear by any enlisted member of the United States Navy who is permanently stationed aboard a navy afloat command and completes the enlisted surface warfare qualification program and personal qualification standards (PQS). The ESWS badge can be obtained at any time after reporting to a ship. If in the paygrade of E-5 (petty officer 2nd class), it is a requirement for advancement to E-6 (petty officer 1st class). It is not uncommon for sailors in paygrades E-1 to E-4 to earn their ESWS pin after completing the requisite qualifications (provided they are also up-to-date on their PQS). Sailors for whom ESWS is their secondary community (mostly those in the
air warfare Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control o ...
community) are not required to re-qualify. An enlisted person who has qualified for his or her ESWS pin places the designator SW after his or her rate and rating; for example, Senior Chief Yeoman Martinez, having qualified for her ESWS pin, is identified as YNCS(SW) Martinez. For those enlisted personnel who are subsequently commissioned as officers and are shipboard SWO's, the ESWS badge is replaced, but only after they have fully completed their Surface Warfare Officer qualifications. Unlike other warfare pins available to both enlisted and officers, the ESWS and SWO pins differ by more than just color (gold for officers and silver for enlisted is a common theme in U.S. Navy uniforms). The blade weapons behind the hull on the SWO pin are
sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
s. The blade weapons on the enlisted pin are
cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...
es. This can clearly be seen in the curvature of the blades and the shape of the handguards. This derives from the sword being a symbol of naval officers and their authority, while cutlasses were traditionally issued for battle to enlisted sailors during the age of sail. The ESWS is tall and wide.


Updated ESWS requirements as of November 2020

The new instruction will do away with the requirement for all first-tour Sailors to walk away from their first sea-duty command with their ESWS qualification. Sailors will not be required to enroll in a command’s ESWS program until they reach a journeyman or master-level (E-5 - E-9). These Sailors will be enrolled in their ESWS program after 12 months onboard, or at the commanding officer’s discretion, and from there will have 18 months to qualify in ESWS. In attempts to improve damage control and ship survivability, the updated program will add more prerequisite PQS, including the following: * Damage Control 301-312. * Damage Control Watches 301, Sounding and Security. * Ship’s Maintenance and Material Management (3-M) Systems 301-30


Medical corps officer

Surface warfare Navy Medical Corps, medical corps insignia: A gold metal pin, with a spread oak leaf surcharged with a silver acorn on two crossed swords, on a background of ocean swells.


Nurse corps officer

Surface warfare
nurse corps Most professional militaries employ specialised military nurses. They are often organised as a distinct nursing corps. Florence Nightingale formed the first nucleus of a recognised Nursing Service for the British Army during the Crimean War in 1854 ...
insignia: A gold metal pin, with a spread oak leaf on two crossed swords, on a background of ocean swells.


Dental corps officer

Surface warfare
dental corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medi ...
insignia: A gold metal pin, with a spread oak leaf, a silver acorn on each side of the stem on two crossed swords, on a background of ocean swells.


Medical service corps officer

Surface warfare medical service corps insignia: A gold metal pin, with a spread oak leaf, attached to a slanting twig on two crossed swords, on a background of ocean swells.


Supply corps officer

The surface warfare supply corps insignia is granted to those members of the
Navy Supply Corps The Navy Supply Corps is the United States Navy staff corps concerned with supply, logistics, combat support, readiness, contracting, and fiscal matters. Duties Commissioned officers in the Supply Corps practice a variety of disciplines, includi ...
who qualify as surface warfare supply officers. Such officers are trained in shipboard supply systems, food service, housing and welfare service, disbursing operations, damage control, and receive a limited amount of training as an officer of the deck (underway)
ome ship commanding officers require supply officers to become fully OOD Underway qualified Ome may refer to: Places * Ome (Bora Bora), a public island in the lagoon of Bora Bora * Ome, Lombardy, Italy, a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia * Ōme, Tokyo, a city in the Prefecture of Tokyo * Ome (crater), a crater on Mars T ...
Depending on the ship type they may receive training in shipboard flight operations as the Helicopter Control Officer. For advancement in the surface supply community, the surface warfare supply pin must be obtained by junior supply officers within 18 months from reporting on board a naval vessel. Those failing to qualify as a surface supply officer are transferred to permanent ground assignment as shore supply officers. Other versions of the supply corps pin include the
Naval Aviation Supply Corps insignia The Naval Aviation Supply Corps insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which is awarded to Naval Aviation Supply Officers (NASOs) of the Navy Supply Corps who have qualified for duties as a Supply Officer in support of naval aviatio ...
, the
Submarine Supply Corps insignia Insignias and badges of the United States Navy are military badges issued by the United States Department of the Navy to naval service members who achieve certain qualifications and accomplishments while serving on both active and reserve duty ...
and the Navy Expeditionary Supply Corps insignia.


Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard does not issue the surface warfare pin. Coast Guard personnel who are permanently cross assigned to afloat Navy commands may qualify for the surface warfare badge through the standard Navy qualification system. Coast Guard personnel serving on Coast Guard cutters are eligible to receive either the officer or enlisted version of the comparable Coast Guard insignia, the
cutterman insignia The cutterman insignia is a device awarded by the United States Coast Guard to represent service aboard a Coast Guard cutter. The pin is awarded on a temporary basis after six months of sea time, qualification in required watch stations, successful ...
.


NOAA Commissioned Corps

The
NOAA Commissioned Corps The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administ ...
deck officer pin is a gold-colored pin displaying breaking waves, with a central device consisting of a fouled anchor surcharged with a NOAA Corps device. NOAA Corps officers certified as senior watch officer may wear the NOAA deck officer insignia after authorization by the Director of the NOAA Corps.


See also

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Badges of the United States Navy Insignias and badges of the United States Navy are military badges issued by the United States Department of the Navy to naval service members who achieve certain qualifications and accomplishments while serving on both active and reserve duty ...
*
Badges of the United States Coast Guard Badges of the United States Coast Guard are issued by the Department of Homeland Security to members of the United States Coast Guard to denote certain qualifications, achievements, and postings to certain assignments. Prior to 2002, the issuanc ...
*
Military badges of the United States Military badges of the United States are awards authorized by the United States Armed Forces that signify rating, qualification, or accomplishment in several career fields, and also serve as identification devices for personnel occupying certain a ...
*
Obsolete badges of the United States military Obsolete badges of the United States military are a number of U.S. military insignia which were issued in the 20th and 21st centuries. After World War II many badges were phased out of the United States Armed Forces in favor of more modern milit ...


References


External links


OPNAV Instruction 1412.2H
Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) Qualification and Designation {{DEFAULTSORT:Surface Warfare Insignia United States military badges