.Questions about Navy EOD (Officer specifically)

[Will2001]

Hey! I am very new to this site so please excuse me if I put this in the wrong spot, and if I did please let me know so I can move it to the right spot. But I am a 17 year old student and my main goal is to one day become a Naval EOD Officer. Some more specifics about who I am/what I do etc. can be found here.

To keep it short and simple, I would love to be a Navy EOD Officer specifically because bombs, explosives, and making things go boom have always interested me. I also very much enjoy swimming, diving, and doing things underwater, and from what I have gathered the Navy is the only branch that does this with their EOD teams. Also, the reason I would like to be an Officer is because I have always found myself to be a good manager/overseer, it's just always been a skill I feel I have had.

To achieve this goal I plan to do NROTC, my path to commissioning is pretty planned out, but that isn't what this post is about so I won't stay on that for too long. The main reason I am making this post is because I am 100% aware I have A LOT of growing, maturing, and learning to do before I can consider myself ready to be an EOD Officer in the Navy. I am in good shape, however there is always room for improvement, and I have leadership ability to an extent (Captain of my HS wrestling team), but I would still consider myself far from the level I need to be to take on this challenge.

So, I have a few questions. Are there any Navy (or other service branches) EOD Techs on this website that could tell me what makes a good tech, and maybe even an EOD Officer on here that could tell me what life would be like as an EOD Officer? I am aware as an Officer a good part of my job would be desk work, which I am perfectly okay with, as I would consider being apart of the EOD Community regardless if I am out there getting my hands dirty or not an honor, and my job would still be rewarding and fulfilling. I would just really like to know some of these things just so I have some insight. ALSO, this next question isn't EOD specific but if any EOD Techs on this board can give me EOD specific advice for it, I would love to hear it. What are some things I can do NOW as a 17 year old incoming high school senior to better prepare myself mentally and physically for life in NROTC and life in the military in general?

Thanks for reading!

 

[racing_kitty]

Former enlisted Army EOD here. I’ll write up a response for you later tonight. Obviously, there are some things I won’t be able to attest to, since I’m not a squid and and been out for a little while.

 

[Will2001]

Former enlisted Army EOD here. I’ll write up a response for you later tonight. Obviously, there are some things I won’t be able to attest to, since I’m not a squid and and been out for a little while.

Look forward to hearing it!

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Look forward to hearing it!

Until then it would be worth your while to use the search function and seek out other posts she has made on the topic. There are more than one.

 

[racing_kitty]

My apologies for running a touch late with this post, @Will2001.

It’s a good sign to see that you understand that you’d be stuck at a desk if you go the O route. It’s not as bad as an Ensign or LTj.g., but once you get up to LT, you’re not going to get much, if any, demo time. Past that, the only time you blow anything up is if you have the PBR bubble guts after PT in the morning.

As a Navy EOD officer, you’re going to have more on your plate than the other branches. While we all have the same overall training, you’ve also got to worry about keeping your guys in the water for underwater training. Navy goes to dive school before Eglin so that they can complete underwater ordnance division (a month on the beach, but it’s hard work hauling a torpedo out of the surf). I don’t know if there are any time requirements for divers like there are for Airborne, but dry-land training for underwater demo just doesn’t pass muster.

Then there’s the political stuff you have to deal with. Navy runs the school. Navy also takes point when it comes to dealing with elected officials and other flag officers at funding time. Testify before a committee? That’s Navy. Test out new EOD stuff for DoD procurement? Navy again. Army EOD just got their first 1-star within the last couple of years; Navy EOD has several flag officers that do all the politicking and bartering. At that level, you’re not just looking out for your sailors, you’re making decisions that can affect the entire EOD community across all branches.

As far as life in the military and ROTC? It’s not complicated, just a bit difficult. Concentrate on your studies, be in the right place at the right time in the right uniform, you learn more with open eyes/ears than an open mouth, understand what “servant leadership” is, and you might want to change your personal mantra to “Semper Gumby*.”

Hope this clears things up for you a little.



*Always flexible.

 

[Will2001]

My apologies for running a touch late with this post, @Will2001.

It’s a good sign to see that you understand that you’d be stuck at a desk if you go the O route. It’s not as bad as an Ensign or LTj.g., but once you get up to LT, you’re not going to get much, if any, demo time. Past that, the only time you blow anything up is if you have the PBR bubble guts after PT in the morning.

As a Navy EOD officer, you’re going to have more on your plate than the other branches. While we all have the same overall training, you’ve also got to worry about keeping your guys in the water for underwater training. Navy goes to dive school before Eglin so that they can complete underwater ordnance division (a month on the beach, but it’s hard work hauling a torpedo out of the surf). I don’t know if there are any time requirements for divers like there are for Airborne, but dry-land training for underwater demo just doesn’t pass muster.

Then there’s the political stuff you have to deal with. Navy runs the school. Navy also takes point when it comes to dealing with elected officials and other flag officers at funding time. Testify before a committee? That’s Navy. Test out new EOD stuff for DoD procurement? Navy again. Army EOD just got their first 1-star within the last couple of years; Navy EOD has several flag officers that do all the politicking and bartering. At that level, you’re not just looking out for your sailors, you’re making decisions that can affect the entire EOD community across all branches.

As far as life in the military and ROTC? It’s not complicated, just a bit difficult. Concentrate on your studies, be in the right place at the right time in the right uniform, you learn more with open eyes/ears than an open mouth, understand what “servant leadership” is, and you might want to change your personal mantra to “Semper Gumby*.”

Hope this clears things up for you a little.



*Always flexible.

Hey racing kitty, sorry for the incredibly late reply to this. First of all, thank you so much for all the great information. I looked into servant leadership and it is a great ideology, and I am definitely going to start applying it to my every day life. I also really appreciate the input on how much of an impact I could have as an Officer in EOD. One more question however, while you were serving, what were some of the qualities/characteristics amongst your CO's that made you view them as good Officers? Also vice versa, what were some things that made you view some officers as bad? I'm sure this translates through all career fields in the military, but if there are any EOD specific things an officer in the community should pay extra attention to or really perfect, I would love to know them. Thank you!