# Question regarding USAF Academy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 16, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643 "2009-03-16T18:39:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bluffcityguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bluffcityguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluffcityguy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/21 "2009-03-18T11:04:07Z")
> [@robby](#): > > For submarine officers, starting from commissioning (following graduation from college): > > [ul] > [li]6 months at Nuclear Power School (classroom instruction)[/li][li]6 months at Nuclear Power Prototype Unit (qualification on land-based nuclear power plant)[/li][li]3 months at Submarine Officer Basic Course (SOBC)[/li][/ul] > > This all takes about 18 months from commissioning, due to gaps between schools and moving from base to base. (I went from Orlando, FL to upstate NY to Groton, CT). > > Once I got to a submarine, I had to qualify as EOOW (Engineering Officer of the Watch), DOOW (Diving Officer of the Watch), followed by Officer of the Deck (OOD) both surfaced and submerged. All of these qualifications were combined with actually standing watch and doing my job. (I was the Electrical Officer.) > > It took nearly a year after reporting to my submarine before I finally stood watch as the OOD and had the Conn by myself (i.e. not “under instruction”). At that point I was the most junior OOD on board. > > You don’t have to worry about Command-at-Sea quals until you return to sea as a Department Head (second sea tour). I was forgetting that y’all had to do Nuke Power school, too, but I’m a former JAG; they didn’t tell us all about the details of what schooling people do after commissioning. I’m going by what I’ve picked up talking to people. IIRC, since aircraft carrier command usually goes to pilots, somewhere along the line pilots who aspire to carrier command have to get qualified to stand bridge watches. I never saw it (the times I was sent to a carrier to do legal work I either didn’t have time to go to the bridge and watch operations there, or (more likely) I was too interested in watching flight ops from PriFly), but I’m told it’s rather amusing to see a Lieutenant Commander (pilot or NFO) standing OOD watches underway under instruction supervised by a Lieutenant OOD. My recollection was that there was (at least in the surface warfare community) another period at Surface Warfare Officer’s School–Department Head course–before one returned for a Department Head tour, and of course one had to do an Executive Officer (XO) tour before becoming a CO. Right after Naval Justice School we JAGs had to do two weeks on a ship, and while I was on mine (the USS _O’Brien_ (DD-975)) the XO completed his Command at Sea quals. The CO made a big deal about it and awarded it to the XO at a ceremony at which (IIRC) the whole crew was in attendance. Quite impressive for someone who hadn’t had much exposure to “the real Navy” yet. Cheers, bcg ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/22 "2009-03-18T12:38:31Z")
> [@Bluffcityguy](#): > > …IIRC, since aircraft carrier command usually goes to pilots, somewhere along the line pilots who aspire to carrier command have to get qualified to stand bridge watches. > > …I’m told it’s rather amusing to see a Lieutenant Commander (pilot or NFO) standing OOD watches underway under instruction supervised by a Lieutenant OOD. Believe it or not, Commanding Officers (COs) of nuclear-powered aircraft carrriers (CVNs) also have to be nuclear-power trained. I believe that they do this before their XO (Executive Officer) tour. So a prospective CVN XO, who is a full Commander (O-5) gets sent to Nuclear Power School and Nuclear Power Prototype with a bunch of Ensigns (O-1) fresh out of college. Yes, they get special treatment–including personal tutoring from the instructors, most of whom are Lieutenants (O-3). They also try to jam them through the schools as fast as possible, which is a neat trick, because the schools are already incredibly fast-paced. The Navy apparently thinks it is very important for the CO of any nuclear-powered ship to be intimately familiar with the workings of the power plant. Maybe it’s so he understands what the Reactor Officer is telling him. ---
**Author:** ![AFDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@AFDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AFDad)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/23 "2009-03-18T12:45:56Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > An Academy graduate told me that you are required to “get your wings”. For instance, that can be done through glider training or jump training. He said when he graduated he wasn’t qualified to fly anything but did get his wings. His major contribution was playing on the basketball team. > > I understand that at the Naval Academy you have to “learn to sail”. However, that could mean learning how to maneuver a small sail boat. It doesn’t mean that graduates are qualified to captain a destroyer or an aircraft carrier. You are not required to get either jump or glider wings. Those cadet training programs have no bearing on your career after you graduate. ---
**Author:** ![Bluffcityguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bluffcityguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluffcityguy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/24 "2009-03-18T12:57:00Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The Navy apparently thinks it is very important for the CO of any nuclear-powered ship to be intimately familiar with the workings of the power plant. Maybe it’s so he understands what the Reactor Officer is telling him. Considering that, if the Reactor Officer or his subordinates screw up _really_ badly, it is the CO who’ll bear responsibility at the resulting general court martial, and pay the penalty (including the possiblility of being dismissed from the service)… Yeah, I can see where it’d be important for the CO to understand how the power plant works, along with everythng else. Cheers, bcg ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/25 "2009-03-18T16:39:26Z")
> [@Bluffcityguy](#): > > Considering that, if the Reactor Officer or his subordinates screw up _really_ badly, it is the CO who’ll bear responsibility at the resulting general court martial, and pay the penalty (including the possiblility of being dismissed from the service)… Yeah, I can see where it’d be important for the CO to understand how the power plant works, along with everythng else. > > Cheers, > > bcg Yes. Years of training, hard work, dedication, family seperation. And it can all be ruined in a few short minutes: > [@chicagotribune](#): > > Smoking appears to have sparked a fire that caused $70 million in damage to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, Naval officials said Wednesday. > > The announcement by the Navy came as Adm. Robert F. Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, ordered that the carrier’s commanding officer, Capt. David C. Dykhoff, and the executive officer of duty, Capt. David M. Dober, be relieved of duty. [http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/jul/31/nation/chi-uss-george-washington-fire-080731-ht](http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/jul/31/nation/chi-uss-george-washington-fire-080731-ht) ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/26 "2009-03-18T16:58:08Z")
I was offered a slot in OTS for the Airforce about 25 years ago (after college). You had to enter school in one of three programs: Pilot, Helicopter Pilot, or Navigator. These options were based on results from many tests. I easily qualified for all three, but because I got the maximum on all portions that they considered to be important for Navigator, that’s what they offered me. Even after I have an interview with a Major or something and I explained I wanted to be a pilot. Oh well, glad I found out how they think when I did. I subsequently went and took flying lessons on my own and found it to be beyond boring. Then again, I was in a little Cesna. And I was looking for the speed rush I got from motorcycles. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/27 "2009-03-18T18:50:36Z")
> [@Bluffcityguy](#): > > Considering that, if the Reactor Officer or his subordinates screw up _really_ badly, it is the CO who’ll bear responsibility at the resulting general court martial, and pay the penalty (including the possiblility of being dismissed from the service)… Yeah, I can see where it’d be important for the CO to understand how the power plant works, along with everythng else. > > Cheers, > > bcg Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/28 "2009-03-18T18:54:40Z")
> [@Bluffcityguy](#): > > Considering that, if the Reactor Officer or his subordinates screw up _really_ badly, it is the CO who’ll bear responsibility at the resulting general court martial, and pay the penalty (including the possiblility of being dismissed from the service)… Yeah, I can see where it’d be important for the CO to understand how the power plant works, along with everythng else. > > Cheers, > > bcg How to swab the deck? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643/29 "2009-03-18T19:09:07Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > How to swab the deck? 😃 I know that you’re being funny, but yes. U.S. Naval Academy and NROTC midshipmen (equivalent to USAF Academy cadets) spend college summer breaks on ships at sea. The purpose of the first summer cruise as a Midshipman 3/C (third class) is for midshipmen to experience life as an enlisted sailor. Midshipmen wear dungarees and “dixie cup” headgear just like enlisted sailors (but with a blue stripe around the top). Once at sea, you wear a ship-specific ball cap, so midshipmen look just like any other junior enlisted sailor. During my third class cruise, aboard less than a day, I was assigned to clean a head (restroom). During inspection, the XO started chewing me out because something was painted incorrectly (which I had nothing to do with, obviously). He asked me my name (to write me up, I guess), and I replied “Midshipman 3/C [robby].” This led to some quick throat-clearing and stammering, since he knew that I was a trainee who had just arrived on board, and was a “guest,” more or less. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-usaf-academy/489643.md?page=1)