Navy Medical Officers and Surface Warfare

[WhoNeedsAShrink]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I read something earlier that made me think it was feasible for medical officers to attend surface warfare school or receive that training, badge, and all that? I'm not sure why one would want to, but after reading a bit about that it seemed kind of interesting.

True or false?

 

[backrow]

You can do the Surface Warfare Medical Department Officers Course and go be a GMO on a ship.

 

[WhoNeedsAShrink]

You can do the Surface Warfare Medical Department Officers Course and go be a GMO on a ship.

Ok, thanks for the official title. That gave me something to look up. It was just a fleeting curiosity.

 

[usnavdoc]

Ok, thanks for the official title. That gave me something to look up. It was just a fleeting curiosity.

If you do a GMO tour you generally do a short indoc just after internship prior to reporting to your duty station. For surface ships its called Surface Warfare Medical Department Officers Course. For USMC assignments its Fleet Marine force school. For flight and dive it's more involved generally a 6 month course which results in you getting the DMO badge or medical flight wings. Anyway when you do FMF or surface the badge and course have nothing to do with each other. When you check on board you will ask your Ship XO who administers the SWMO qualification and they will give you a book that you have to read and a schedule of watches you must do to be eligible to sit for the test and oral board. Then you get your pin.

If you are assigned to a USMC unit its through your Navy command not your Marine command. ie... if you are assigned to a 2nd Marine division unit the 2nd Marine division surgeons office will run the FMF program.

If you do flight or dive and are assigned to a USMC unit then you can also do FMF once at your unit. Also If you do DMO and are assigned to a unit that has jump school slots assigned to it you can apply for jump school as well. Bare in mind you will be the last person to get to go but I havent heard of too many dive docs that were in the right billet that wanted to go and didnt get the chance.

 

[WhoNeedsAShrink]

If you do a GMO tour you generally do a short indoc just after internship prior to reporting to your duty station. For surface ships its called Surface Warfare Medical Department Officers Course. For USMC assignments its Fleet Marine force school. For flight and dive it's more involved generally a 6 month course which results in you getting the DMO badge or medical flight wings. Anyway when you do FMF or surface the badge and course have nothing to do with each other. When you check on board you will ask your Ship XO who administers the SWMO qualification and they will give you a book that you have to read and a schedule of watches you must do to be eligible to sit for the test and oral board. Then you get your pin.

If you are assigned to a USMC unit its through your Navy command not your Marine command. ie... if you are assigned to a 2nd Marine division unit the 2nd Marine division surgeons office will run the FMF program.

If you do flight or dive and are assigned to a USMC unit then you can also do FMF once at your unit. Also If you do DMO and are assigned to a unit that has jump school slots assigned to it you can apply for jump school as well. Bare in mind you will be the last person to get to go but I havent heard of too many dive docs that were in the right billet that wanted to go and didnt get the chance.

Good information there. Thanks.

 

[backrow]

Anyway when you do FMF or surface the badge and course have nothing to do with each other.

Don't forget, the SWMDOC course is part of the requirements for earning the SWMO pin.

 

[grotto]

I'm thinking when the time comes I might not even wear my SWO pin and only wear my top 3 ribbons, lest the CO put me on the watch bill as OOD or TAO, or even EOOW for that matter. The scary thing is, I could totally see this happening on some ships.

We had a supply officer that used to be a SWO and when we were short of qualified OOD's... he stood the watch. I can almost guarentee that my CDO qual would come in helpful, ugh back to six section duty.

 

[stiz]

Ok, thanks for the official title. That gave me something to look up. It was just a fleeting curiosity.

a FLEETing curiosity to be sure. 🙂😀

 

[WhoNeedsAShrink]

a FLEETing curiosity to be sure. 🙂😀

Yep 😀 I wondered if someone else would catch onto that. 😉

 

[stud247]

what is life like on a big ship as a doctor? how about a small ship?

 

[bydotte]

no doctors on small ships

 

[ArkansasRanger]

no doctors on small ships

Quantify "small ship."

 

[SirGecko]

Quantify "small ship."

Frigates. Maybe cruisers and destroyers too? (I was on a cruiser and we just had a corpsman)

 

[usnavdoc]

no doctors on small ships

Its all relative. The larger ships Carriers and LHDs have more docs. Therefore, when in port somewhere you get more free time, but you are outranked by alot of people. The smaller ships you have more autonomy but when in port you have less free time b/c you have to stand watch more often since you are splitting it with only an IDC. On the smaller ship you will have more admin as well. Although if you have a good chief this is only a small concern. The ammenities on the larger ship are more plush as well.(bigger gym etc...)

Also on a small ship your Wardroom is smaller so you will know all the officers pretty well. I was greenside but I deployed with a MEU on the Whidbey Island LSD(small ship) Even with the Marine officers there was only 20 or so in the Wardroom. Converse that to the WASP LHD where there were hundreds.

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

I'm thinking when the time comes I might not even wear my SWO pin and only wear my top 3 ribbons, lest the CO put me on the watch bill as OOD or TAO, or even EOOW for that matter. The scary thing is, I could totally see this happening on some ships.

We had a supply officer that used to be a SWO and when we were short of qualified OOD's... he stood the watch. I can almost guarentee that my CDO qual would come in helpful, ugh back to six section duty.

There's an instruction out there that states that medical officers are not allowed to stand OOD.

Oh, and I agree with USNAVDOC about the jobs on ships. When I was on the ship (big ship) I saw A TON of sick call, but my SMO had more of the admin.