400 BAD REQUEST

I'm with you 100%. As a 1305, I was not "allowed" to board for the pin...or even re-designate into the 1100 community. I was however allowed to complete the PQS and qual as CICWO, HCO, FPO, OOD, and even u/i for TAO and stand all of those watches for a few years...often signing off the new 1100 guys working on their pins. The CO once offered to do it "unofficially", but even he couldn't get me orders to SWOS...so there I am, two back to back sea tours, a year downrange, a decade in and O-4...but no pin. Still, my guys always said my "warfare community" was pirate...so I got that going for me :)

LCDR (Join to see) - I was going to respond earlier to this post but had a string of chores that I needed to get done. I have been very much disturbed by how the Navy treated such an officer as yourself! I fully understand what it takes to knock out the PQS books for each of those watch stations and stand all those watches! Some you listed are new to me. It took me 2 years to complete mine. There were three major milestones in my career. 1. Making CPO on the Enterprise in 1979 (Old school initiation...do you know how many CPO's are in the Chiefs mess on the Big E? 2. Getting selected/commissioned as Chief Warrant Officer 2 in 83 (my presidential commission is one of my greatest certificates on my Den wall). 3. Getting my SWO Pin! (We were at sea and I was told to lay to the wardroom and the CO entered right behind me and left everyone at attention, He walked over to me and put the SWO pin on my Khaki shirt!

I could feel your "Burn" and I can only imagine how betrayed you must have felt after turning-to and giving the Navy your all! The Navy should be very ashamed of themselves. I am happy your CO recognized all you did to earn that pin and made the offer he did. And even more important, was your men also recognized that you really are a Surface Warfare officer by saying your "Warfare Community" is Pirate! I looked for a designation for PWO and this was the best I could come up with.

Grown men aren't supposed to cry, so I'll just say my wife needs to warn me before cutting onions...thank you for your kind sentiments. The truth is that I've no one to blame but myself-and perhaps the inexperience of youth. At 20-21, I took a lot of gouge for fact, and were I in that situation all over again...I'd have taken leave, put on my SDWs, and camped outside of the CNO's hootch until I got an audience, got on my knees and BEGGED for re-desingation. Instead, I assumed that eventually, certainly, hopefully, it would all work out. I even had it in my head that they might just have left me on the SHREVEPORT as a permanent O-3...the silly things JO's come up with ,right? The night I found out, I had just come of the Mid, and the Skipper called me into his stateroom...handed me a glass of something, and gave me the bad news. He fought for me...the one-star fought for me...others fought for me...I'm grateful.

The second time around, I was more savvy, and in that case, I simply felt I had done all I could do to become "legitimate", and just accepted the answer was always going to be "no". Going to the 'Stan was about proving to myself, as much as anyone else, I may have not had the "right stuff", but I wasn't a coward or a NOLO. I found out a lot there that I'm still trying to reconcile...one of these days, I'm going to write a book called, "Fallen Angel" or something :)

Hopefully, I'm using what the Navy taught me to be a better husband, father and businessman...the mission changes, the values don't.

LCDR (Join to see) - You are a hell of a man, and would have been a great CO I salute you and send you this, if there was ever a signal that needed to be sent to you, this is it!