Survey reveals why surface warfare officers want to leave the fleet
20 June 2023 2024-05-18 14:46Survey reveals why surface warfare officers want to leave the fleet
Let’s cut to the chase about lack of merit:
“About 83 percent of surveyed junior officers “do not believe that top talent remains to serve as department heads,” while 71 percent don’t believe the promotion system is based on actual performance.”
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From Military Times:
Fewer than half of the Navy’s surface warfare officers want to go on to command, and most believe the surface fleet is failing to retain “top talent,” according to the results of a 2022 survey released earlier this month by Naval Surface Forces, or SURFOR.
“The majority of officers had ‘little interest’ or were ‘unsure’ if they were interested in serving as a CO,” according to a report on the survey’s findings.
The survey — which included 2,550 participants from the ranks of ensign to captain, a 33 percent response rate — sought to identify the reasons why surface warfare officers, or SWOs, leave the Navy, as well as what they like and dislike about their work. . . .
. . . . It found that 44 percent of junior officers, and 65 percent of senior officers, are interested in one day serving as a commanding officer.
“The top factors dissuading junior officers from pursuing command were too many requirements, lack of control, time away from home, high stress and toxic culture within the SWO community,” the report states.
Lieutenants junior grade were the most likely rank to want to leave the Navy and the least likely to want a command.
The survey found that more of the male SWOs surveyed wanted command, 47 percent, compared to 34 percent for female SWOs.
It also found that the contrast in command desire was smaller between white and non-white officers, 45 percent to 41 percent, respectively.
Most junior officers who took the survey reported being satisfied with their salary, health insurance, retirement pay and housing allowance, but were less happy with their bonuses, graduate school options, family support services and the blended retirement system, according to the report.
About 83 percent of surveyed junior officers “do not believe that top talent remains to serve as department heads,” while 71 percent don’t believe the promotion system is based on actual performance.
This latest survey found that “women expressed a strong overall desire to separate from the service, with the ability to start a family as the leading reason why they plan to leave the Navy,” the report states. . . . . (read more on Military Times)
On Surface Warfare: Summary of 2022 Officer Surveys (pdf)
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