Call for Articles: Should the U.S. Surface Warfare Community Specialize?

Articles Due: December 8, 2025Week Dates: January 5-9, 2026Story Size: 1,5000-3,000 PhrasesUndergo: Content material@cimsec.org

By Dmitry Filipoff

The U.S. Floor Warfare Officer group has operated on a generalist profession path since 1899. SWOs are liable for issues of each operational and materials readiness, whereas the floor fleets of different navies, in addition to another U.S. naval warfare communities, have specialised profession tracks. Whereas SWO Warfare Techniques Instructors focus on particular warfare areas, the overwhelming majority of Floor Warfare Officers don’t have any distinct specialization.

U.S. SWO profession paths in comparison with different naval warfare communities and floor fleets. (Supply: GAO examine, “Actions Wanted to Consider and Enhance Floor Warfare Officer Profession Path,” June 2021.)

The profession path of a group holds main implications for that group’s capacity to boost its warfighting requirements, and units the boundaries of what information and ability will be fairly anticipated of its officers. A 2021 GAO examine surveyed SWOs on the subject, and located that 65 p.c consider specialised profession paths would finest put together them for his or her duties, whereas 16 p.c believed the present generalist mannequin is finest. That very same 12 months, the Floor Warfare Officer Management Enhancement Act was proposed by members of Congress and included specialised profession tracks.

Arguments in favor of the generalist profession path typically declare it facilitates cross-functional experience that higher prepares SWOs for larger ranges of accountability. Arguments for specialization typically declare that technical and tactical issues have reached a stage of complexity that outstrips the power of generalists to successfully maintain tempo with, leading to officers who’re too stretched skinny to attain larger readiness throughout a number of areas.

Ought to the U.S. Floor Warfare Officer group specialize? Is the generalist profession observe successfully pacing the menace surroundings and the rising complexity of floor platforms? How does the generalist observe evaluate towards the specialised tracks of different warfare communities and floor navies? Authors are invited to think about these questions and extra as they weigh in on the SWO specialization debate.

Ship all submissions to Content material@cimsec.org.

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of On-line Content material. Contact him at Content material@cimsec.org.

Featured Picture: PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 12, 2017) The guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90), proper, leads USS Stethem (DDG 63), the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) and USS Sampson (DDG 102) whereas transiting in formation. (U.S. Navy photograph by Mass Communication Specialist third Class Cole Schroeder)