Funny little SWCC video i found on youtube. :-"
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SWCC Video "Navy Boating Tips"
- Thread starter Boult
- Start date
"Boats an hoes"
You know that has to be the coolest job in the military ever. You can keep the rucking, low crawling, sleeping in dirt holes, stand-to and IMT stuff. Power boats, guns and free money. The only thing they are missing is rum and surf boards. This is like Jimmy Buffet and Hershel Davis rolled into one. "Teams and Shit"!
Yeap, I'm jealous...
Yeap, I'm jealous...
That comes during the language immersion classes that are after SERE. According to some of the pictures I've seen...
Yep, great job. What they don't tell is that some of the jobs within that field are literally dead ends. Stinger gunner as your rate? SWCC you're shoehorned into a max E-6 position... hence why a friend left the navy and just retired as a 1SG from the army after time in 3/75.
Just putting some truth out there...
Just putting some truth out there...
I've never heard of a "Stinger gunner" rate. SWCC is its own rate now, as is SEAL, EOD, and Diver. There are advanced schools guys go to, but they do not change your rate. How long ago was your friend in? If it was before the change to the NSW guys having their own rate, then that would explain it. Many times it was out of the community's hands. If your rate was Machinist's Mate, and Machinist's Mate was overmanned, it didn't matter if you were the most on-point shooter DEVGRU had ever seen, you wouldn't advance.
Yeah, this was back in 99-ish. Didn't know they got their own SWCC rate. That's a great thing, but it cornholed many people before the change. Aerial Defenseman or some shit was his job.. basically, stinger gunner. Rode a boat, shot at shit, dead ended at E-6. He had all his ducks in a row and was what he was, we really didn't pry since what he was didn't matter, he was a Ranger now and unless his experience specifically could be leveraged he was just a private albeit an E-4, least when he showed up. great guy though.
Ah, yeah, it wasn't until '03 or '04 that all the NSW jobs turned into their own rates. You are exactly right about the dudes before that being screwed. Not only were they subject to being stuck at a certain paygrade based on the Fleet having too many of rate X, but they were never doing anything remotely related to their rate in most cases. When SEAL, SWCC, EOD, and Diver were specialty quals as opposed to rates, guys would be doing whatever it is dudes in those communities do, and then come time to take the advancement test, they're answering a couple hundred questions based solely on Fleet related applications of their rate. So ITs aren't being asked about field radios or MBITRs or anything else like that. They're being tested on SIPR/NIPR administrative tasks on a ship. Gunner's Mates are being asked not about small-unit tactics or sniper rifles, but 5" deck guns and Tomahawks. So their options were to either basically ignore their main skillset for a month or so before the test to try and cram in order to advance, or say "fuck it" and have a much harder time advancing, particularly in rates with low percentages of advancement in a given cycle.
A buddy of mine was the narrator at the annual SEAL demo in Coronado many years ago(1993-94 approx.). I took the family down and attended on the 2nd, 3rd & 4th of July. Met with several old friends, listened to sea stories and drank some beers. Ok more than some... That was the first time I saw these guys and their toys. Allot of old friends are in the teams but I didn't know about this sweet gig. The SWCC kids rolled out in Mark V and numerous other very fast, very cool boats and jet-skis across the bay behind NAB. I was like damn; "I missed this?" Perfect! guns, cool fast boats and great perks. To this day I think that is the coolest job ever in the military. Go Navy!
Now those are bad ass boats!
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