FOR TRAINING PURPOSES ONLY

Lt. Kimberly King

808-555-1212
kking@dinfos.edu
Release date: Dec. 11, 2020

BACKGROUNDER
SURFACE WARFARE OFFICER PIN
“The Surface Warfare Officer qualification is the crucible of a junior professional Surface
Warfare Officer to develop and master the core competencies necessary to excel as a future
Commanding Officer of a warship.” – Vice Adm. Richard Brown, Commander, Naval Surface
Forces/Commander of Naval Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet
Situation – The summer of 2017 was a turning point for the surface warfare community
following the collisions of the USS FITZGERALD with a Philippine container ship and USS
JOHN S MCCAIN with a Liberian tanker in the 7th Fleet area of operations.
The collisions occurred within months of each other and resulted in multiple deaths and injuries.
Afterward, the Navy began a series of investigations that resulted in leaders being relieved of
their duties and in revisions to the SWO pin instruction.
This backgrounder will provide more information to junior officers striving to obtain their SWO
qualifications under COMNAVSURFLANTINST 1412.1A.
History – The path to earning a surface warfare officer, or SWO pin, is part of long-standing
Navy tradition. Introduced in 1975, the gold rendering of waves breaking at the bow of a ship
crossed with the swords of a commissioned naval officer has come to signify the highly skilled
members of this naval community. Although just a symbol, the SWO pin encompasses, for some,
nearly two years of acquired knowledge.
The new instruction allows for an extended time period to acquire a SWO officer pin rather than
the previous 24-month hardline requirement. The new instruction also changes the standard for
who can earn a SWO pin. Non-SWO designated officers used to have the opportunity to obtain
SWO pins if they completed the requisite qualifications. That standard has been changed to
allow for SWO-designated junior officers to have more time driving ships, and also give senior
SWOs the opportunity to maintain their qualifications.
The process to earn a SWO pin and the career of a SWO following the changes put in place by
the new instruction may look similar, but there are notable changes. Every SWO is now required
to maintain a SWO log book. This book will be an accountability mechanism for all bridge
watch time spent. There are sections to log simulation time as well as watch that was stood
during special events. The log is checked quarterly by the senior watch officer and then approved
by the commanding officer. This log book is to be maintained throughout a SWO’s career, and
there are new requirements laid out in the instruction for the amount of time a SWO should
spend on the bridge of a ship in order to maintain their officer of the deck qualification.

FOR TRAINING PURPOSES ONLY

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Other changes include creating a set standard of requisite qualifications in order to obtain the
SWO pin, limitations on who can obtain a pin, the removal of a time restriction in which a junior
officer is given to obtain a pin, and more.
Implications – Although the knowledge requirements for receiving a SWO pin have not
changed, these alterations to the instruction are being viewed as a first step to an ongoing
evolution of the SWO community and how the SWO pin is viewed throughout the fleet. The goal
of the implementation of these changes is to create stronger, better prepared and more
knowledgeable junior officers that will become the future leaders of the navy’s surface fleet.

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FOR TRAINING PURPOSES ONLY