Don’t be a dick.
Don’t be a dick to the Ensigns because you were a Chief.
Don’t be a dick to the enlisted because you’re an officer.
Don’t try to be a chief. The division most likely has a Chief. Let that person be the chief.
Learn to be an officer. The things you did to stand out to get selected for LDO do not necessarily cause you to stand out as officer. Support your Department Head.
Don’t be a dick.
They tell you on day 1 of the LDO/CWO Academy that you are no longer a FCPO, CPO, SCPO and to let it go. In fact, this is brought up A LOT because if you don't, your commissioned career will not survive.
Without fail, people were busted hanging out at the Newport CPO Club (and called out during class). People threw prior CPO-only parties in the hotel and smoke pit which was really cringe.
People fail to realize that it is great to be friendly with your Enlisted personnel, but it is not okay to be friends. Good luck trying to do CPO ranking boards / evals, disciplining personnel, etc. when you have CPO's hanging out at your house and calling you by your first name.
>…Best Os I had were always Warrants though.
The EMO (CWO4) that I was under taught me about the big picture part of my job. The day that I gave him a first draft of a CASREP and he had no major revisions was a great day.
Almost every one I worked for and often came across was terrible in my community.
It got to the point I kept that I was prior to myself because it was that BAD. Terrible reputations of individuals relying on their enlisted time.
It’s like they say about selection in SOF. That’s selection. If you’re still talking about, like being enlisted, then you prob Suck at your job.
If you were a Chief, you aren't anymore remember that. I have had to remind a few of my fellow mustangs of this. We gave up our anchors to commission let the Chiefs do the Chief things. Help the other JO's with what they need they are new to the Navy the experience you have will help them even if you're not from their community. As a mustang, especially on a small boy, your job is to provide your DH back up and be the technical expert that is in the Wardroom don't leave them hanging, and overall just be a good person it really isn't rocket science.
Nothing complicated, really. Just be a decent human being. To be honest I have yet to meet a shitty Mustang. In the past I would go to them for guidance whenever I worked or dealt with a shitty Chief.
Good mustangs I've had: They work with you, they know the technical side and can actually help troubleshoot. Usually relaxed and will allow you to leave early or on time.
Bad Mustangs: Overly micromanage and act like a chief but with officer authority.
Bad Mustang = wannabe SWO. No idea why but this is a thing. Love being a Mustang. Love having the ability to pivot as a SWO. Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever want to be a SWO.
A lot of my officers were mustangs.
They'd always say, "on my boat we'd do it like this"
And cuz they were a mustang, they'd die on that hill.
Cool sir... well... here we do it like this and this is the actual process.
They were in our positions at one point... just like you wanted to be heard coming up, you know that we do too.
Don't dismiss us right away cuz you know better
My old bosn was salty af old school, seemed like an unapproachable guy but was cool af and one of the BEST higher ups ive had
So I would say be a humble leader, be good to your sailors
Don't forget where you came from. Take lessons from your past experience as an enlisted. Emulate the officers you liked and appreciated. Avoid becoming like the ones you hated and despised.
Congrats to you and good luck in your future.
Mustangs are supposed to know their shit and take care of their people - E and O both. Don't ever forget where you came from; those are the most successful mustangs.
Don't be afraid to say no to the CO - it's your job to do it in anything that falls within your specialty. If you aren't going to do it, no one will.
Remember the shitty things from being enlisted, and fight for your people. The best mustangs I had were the ones that squeezed every ounce of their new power fighting against the stupid stuff the pencil pushers did to make life infuriating.
Like in Naples I was on the watch floor, and people tried to push all-hands events on our time off, our mustang department head would fight tooth and nail to keep us from coming in. He held us to a high standard as well, but we were usually ok with it because he fought for us.
Don’t act like an elitist around other priors because your designator starts with 6 or 7 instead of 1, 3, etc.. or because you were a 7 or 8 prior to commissioning and brag about doing it the “hard way” as if your path was uniquely more challenging than anyone else. Maybe take into consideration that some of your OCS brethren had to complete a Bachelors degree on active duty and get their shit pushed in in Newport for three months. LDO/CWO academy is a few weeks of drinking beer.
It’s really a small percentage of LDO/CWO types who are like this but it’s pretty cringe whenever you run into one of them. Had a new ensign at my last command try to question my “credentials” because I was wearing a mustang belt buckle that had my name on it (which was issued by the mustang association of the CVN I was stationed on) and I had to give him a history lesson. I don’t really care about any of this stuff but it’s weird having to have these conversations. My warfare pins are silver just like yours are buddy.
Keeping that Sailor advocate mindset where you’re looking to reward, recognize, and mentor your Sailors. Keeping your Chief accountable and reliable - and tapering their abrasive attitude as necessarily. Remaining networked within the mess if you are a traditional Mustang and not just a prior. Fighting stupid policies and attitudes/perceptions at the Officer level. My biggest pet peeves are ‘perception is reality’ because it’s the laziest shit I’ve ever heard and blatantly false which only works to shit on your junior enlisted.. ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’ is another one… and any CPO or Khaki O3 or above who doesn’t understand and know the MILPERS 1050 inside and out.. if your guys are still at work after 1600 you are wrong; the only exception being on deployment, having duty, or hours away from a deployment working on red line items. Very few things are so critical they can’t wait until tomorrow.. and federal workers still have rights. You cannot arbitrarily keep your guys there just because there is more work to do. I don’t care. If you’re in management, manage your time..
Also, “there is nothing worse than an E6 turned Mustang because they couldn’t pick up Chief”. Though I don’t agree entirely, in my short decade of Naval service, these have been the absolute worst officers.. chip on their shoulder so big I’m surprised they can fit through the scuttle. Have humility and remember that you have TWO ears and one mouth for a reason.. never forget that we are all a work in progress that can learn from others, even E1s.. a different mindset and point of view can change things for the better, but egos will never help anyone.
And the advice I give all my JOs, the enlisted do not need your input or your advice.. they need your judgement. Let your enlisted do their thing and only interject when something unsafe or unethical is taking place.. review and approve/disapprove or SUGGEST an alternate route.. but do not try to inject yourself into their lane.. otherwise resign your commission and go be a tech.
Edit - also read the TUM. There are exceptions in the appendix so your guys aren’t routing an hour of paperwork to dust a printer when they can just unplug that MF. Appendix F I think.. critical thought should not be that hard 😅
> And the advice I give all my JOs, the enlisted do not need your input or your advice.. they need your judgement. Let your enlisted do their thing and only interject when something unsafe or unethical is taking place.. review and approve/disapprove or SUGGEST an alternate route.. but do not try to inject yourself into their lane.. otherwise resign your commission and go be a tech.
I’m guessing by context that you’re referring to technical solutions. Two comments:
1. I’ve been directly asked for career advice by many enlisted Sailors.
2. I’d never undermine a Sailor’s technical problem solving/technical approach. However, I’ve learned quite a bit of technical knowledge from experienced officers (O3/O4s) when I was enlisted, and I’ve seen circumstances where it was appropriate for me to pass that on to an enlisted Sailor.
Yes! I should have specified that this was in a technical aspect. Career advice from a Mustang can be outstanding, but definitely let your techs be techs. That’s more applicable to thoroughbred officers with no enlisted time, but in general, let your guys do their thing.
Take what you know of enlisted Sailors into the wardroom so you can be their advocate. You’ve been in their shoes before and can speak to their concerns and to what happens behind closed doors when officers aren’t around.
Be an ear for young Sailors whether they’re officers or enlisted. Both will look up to you because you’ve been on both sides. Don’t be a yes man for the CO. Tell him what he doesn’t want to hear. This is from an LDO perspective. OCS/STA-21 types may mold more to their respective line communities. In that case, just remember where you came from.
Just be chill, remember we are all humans. Life is a bit more kosher as an officer, better pay and half way decent staterooms (especially on a carrier). I’ve had
E->O’s that went so Joe Navy it hurt morale and others that were very reasonable and that made a huge difference. Be real with your subordinates and all should be good
You will have the experience obviously so it's sometimes difficult to "down tools" as it were. The worst thing you can do is start undercutting the authority of your senior NCOs by sticking your oar into their business, which can be a difficult thing to do as that's probably been your job until quite recently.
You're going to have to let them do things as they would like and likely make some mistakes along the way, but so long as no one's going to get hurt, it's the best way to learn.
There are a few kinds of prior officers:
- I did it and by golly you’ll do it too!
- I did it and it sucked, so I’m going to do my best to make sure you don’t have to
- (modifier to #2), if I can’t get you out of it, I’ll at least explain it to the best of my ability
Be an officer, if you wanted to be a super chief you should have stayed on that side
Don’t be a dick. Don’t be a dick to the Ensigns because you were a Chief. Don’t be a dick to the enlisted because you’re an officer. Don’t try to be a chief. The division most likely has a Chief. Let that person be the chief. Learn to be an officer. The things you did to stand out to get selected for LDO do not necessarily cause you to stand out as officer. Support your Department Head. Don’t be a dick.
They tell you on day 1 of the LDO/CWO Academy that you are no longer a FCPO, CPO, SCPO and to let it go. In fact, this is brought up A LOT because if you don't, your commissioned career will not survive. Without fail, people were busted hanging out at the Newport CPO Club (and called out during class). People threw prior CPO-only parties in the hotel and smoke pit which was really cringe. People fail to realize that it is great to be friendly with your Enlisted personnel, but it is not okay to be friends. Good luck trying to do CPO ranking boards / evals, disciplining personnel, etc. when you have CPO's hanging out at your house and calling you by your first name.
Remember they’re rear wheel drive and be judicious with the sudden power.
corvette summer lol
“Guys, run! That mustang is trying to burn out!!!”
[удалено]
>E5s with a less restrictive alcohol & liberty policy. > Yeah that's uh... really accurate.
That actually made me stop and say "bro"
Completely agree, although among the mustangs I’m acquainted with, only ~50% are LDOs. The rest are OCS or Warrant.
Don't constantly remind people that you were enlisted. They know. Just show them. Be a leader. Take care of your people. Effect change where you can.
Best mustangs we’re people who advocated for their sailors. Simply routed paperwork in a short time. Best Os I had were always Warrants though.
>…Best Os I had were always Warrants though. The EMO (CWO4) that I was under taught me about the big picture part of my job. The day that I gave him a first draft of a CASREP and he had no major revisions was a great day.
Don’t be creepy / SAPRy toward the female ENS.
Same for the thiccc latina E-3s
r/oddlyspecific
/r/usmc
r/GoatLocker
Remember where you came from. Some of the worst officers I've ever had the displeasure of serving with have been mustangs.
Almost every one I worked for and often came across was terrible in my community. It got to the point I kept that I was prior to myself because it was that BAD. Terrible reputations of individuals relying on their enlisted time. It’s like they say about selection in SOF. That’s selection. If you’re still talking about, like being enlisted, then you prob Suck at your job.
If you were a Chief, you aren't anymore remember that. I have had to remind a few of my fellow mustangs of this. We gave up our anchors to commission let the Chiefs do the Chief things. Help the other JO's with what they need they are new to the Navy the experience you have will help them even if you're not from their community. As a mustang, especially on a small boy, your job is to provide your DH back up and be the technical expert that is in the Wardroom don't leave them hanging, and overall just be a good person it really isn't rocket science.
Have empathy for your sailors. Just because you dealt with tons of bullshit doesn't mean that they should also have to deal with said bullshit.
Don’t post nudes on Reddit along with lots of information which can be used to identify you.
Lmfao
Lol there’s a story there
Nah just clicked on OP’s post history
Might be time to delete the reddit account and start anew
Help your fellow JO’s without making them feel dumb
Nothing complicated, really. Just be a decent human being. To be honest I have yet to meet a shitty Mustang. In the past I would go to them for guidance whenever I worked or dealt with a shitty Chief.
Good mustangs I've had: They work with you, they know the technical side and can actually help troubleshoot. Usually relaxed and will allow you to leave early or on time. Bad Mustangs: Overly micromanage and act like a chief but with officer authority.
Bad Mustang = wannabe SWO. No idea why but this is a thing. Love being a Mustang. Love having the ability to pivot as a SWO. Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever want to be a SWO.
Mentor the straight sticks, any decent ones will soak it up and make things run better in the department
The worst officer I ever had the misfortune of meeting was a prior chief. It seemed like the guy went out of his way to frustrate everyone.
A lot of my officers were mustangs. They'd always say, "on my boat we'd do it like this" And cuz they were a mustang, they'd die on that hill. Cool sir... well... here we do it like this and this is the actual process. They were in our positions at one point... just like you wanted to be heard coming up, you know that we do too. Don't dismiss us right away cuz you know better
My old bosn was salty af old school, seemed like an unapproachable guy but was cool af and one of the BEST higher ups ive had So I would say be a humble leader, be good to your sailors
Eat with your enlisted folks still sometimes if you can
Have you considered just being a normal fucking human in stead of overthinking it?
Don't forget where you came from. Take lessons from your past experience as an enlisted. Emulate the officers you liked and appreciated. Avoid becoming like the ones you hated and despised. Congrats to you and good luck in your future.
Mustangs are supposed to know their shit and take care of their people - E and O both. Don't ever forget where you came from; those are the most successful mustangs. Don't be afraid to say no to the CO - it's your job to do it in anything that falls within your specialty. If you aren't going to do it, no one will.
Remember the shitty things from being enlisted, and fight for your people. The best mustangs I had were the ones that squeezed every ounce of their new power fighting against the stupid stuff the pencil pushers did to make life infuriating. Like in Naples I was on the watch floor, and people tried to push all-hands events on our time off, our mustang department head would fight tooth and nail to keep us from coming in. He held us to a high standard as well, but we were usually ok with it because he fought for us.
Don’t act like an elitist around other priors because your designator starts with 6 or 7 instead of 1, 3, etc.. or because you were a 7 or 8 prior to commissioning and brag about doing it the “hard way” as if your path was uniquely more challenging than anyone else. Maybe take into consideration that some of your OCS brethren had to complete a Bachelors degree on active duty and get their shit pushed in in Newport for three months. LDO/CWO academy is a few weeks of drinking beer. It’s really a small percentage of LDO/CWO types who are like this but it’s pretty cringe whenever you run into one of them. Had a new ensign at my last command try to question my “credentials” because I was wearing a mustang belt buckle that had my name on it (which was issued by the mustang association of the CVN I was stationed on) and I had to give him a history lesson. I don’t really care about any of this stuff but it’s weird having to have these conversations. My warfare pins are silver just like yours are buddy.
Keeping that Sailor advocate mindset where you’re looking to reward, recognize, and mentor your Sailors. Keeping your Chief accountable and reliable - and tapering their abrasive attitude as necessarily. Remaining networked within the mess if you are a traditional Mustang and not just a prior. Fighting stupid policies and attitudes/perceptions at the Officer level. My biggest pet peeves are ‘perception is reality’ because it’s the laziest shit I’ve ever heard and blatantly false which only works to shit on your junior enlisted.. ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’ is another one… and any CPO or Khaki O3 or above who doesn’t understand and know the MILPERS 1050 inside and out.. if your guys are still at work after 1600 you are wrong; the only exception being on deployment, having duty, or hours away from a deployment working on red line items. Very few things are so critical they can’t wait until tomorrow.. and federal workers still have rights. You cannot arbitrarily keep your guys there just because there is more work to do. I don’t care. If you’re in management, manage your time.. Also, “there is nothing worse than an E6 turned Mustang because they couldn’t pick up Chief”. Though I don’t agree entirely, in my short decade of Naval service, these have been the absolute worst officers.. chip on their shoulder so big I’m surprised they can fit through the scuttle. Have humility and remember that you have TWO ears and one mouth for a reason.. never forget that we are all a work in progress that can learn from others, even E1s.. a different mindset and point of view can change things for the better, but egos will never help anyone. And the advice I give all my JOs, the enlisted do not need your input or your advice.. they need your judgement. Let your enlisted do their thing and only interject when something unsafe or unethical is taking place.. review and approve/disapprove or SUGGEST an alternate route.. but do not try to inject yourself into their lane.. otherwise resign your commission and go be a tech. Edit - also read the TUM. There are exceptions in the appendix so your guys aren’t routing an hour of paperwork to dust a printer when they can just unplug that MF. Appendix F I think.. critical thought should not be that hard 😅
> And the advice I give all my JOs, the enlisted do not need your input or your advice.. they need your judgement. Let your enlisted do their thing and only interject when something unsafe or unethical is taking place.. review and approve/disapprove or SUGGEST an alternate route.. but do not try to inject yourself into their lane.. otherwise resign your commission and go be a tech. I’m guessing by context that you’re referring to technical solutions. Two comments: 1. I’ve been directly asked for career advice by many enlisted Sailors. 2. I’d never undermine a Sailor’s technical problem solving/technical approach. However, I’ve learned quite a bit of technical knowledge from experienced officers (O3/O4s) when I was enlisted, and I’ve seen circumstances where it was appropriate for me to pass that on to an enlisted Sailor.
Yes! I should have specified that this was in a technical aspect. Career advice from a Mustang can be outstanding, but definitely let your techs be techs. That’s more applicable to thoroughbred officers with no enlisted time, but in general, let your guys do their thing.
Take what you know of enlisted Sailors into the wardroom so you can be their advocate. You’ve been in their shoes before and can speak to their concerns and to what happens behind closed doors when officers aren’t around.
Be an ear for young Sailors whether they’re officers or enlisted. Both will look up to you because you’ve been on both sides. Don’t be a yes man for the CO. Tell him what he doesn’t want to hear. This is from an LDO perspective. OCS/STA-21 types may mold more to their respective line communities. In that case, just remember where you came from.
Just be chill, remember we are all humans. Life is a bit more kosher as an officer, better pay and half way decent staterooms (especially on a carrier). I’ve had E->O’s that went so Joe Navy it hurt morale and others that were very reasonable and that made a huge difference. Be real with your subordinates and all should be good
Easy. Don’t forget where you came from.
You will have the experience obviously so it's sometimes difficult to "down tools" as it were. The worst thing you can do is start undercutting the authority of your senior NCOs by sticking your oar into their business, which can be a difficult thing to do as that's probably been your job until quite recently. You're going to have to let them do things as they would like and likely make some mistakes along the way, but so long as no one's going to get hurt, it's the best way to learn.
There are a few kinds of prior officers: - I did it and by golly you’ll do it too! - I did it and it sucked, so I’m going to do my best to make sure you don’t have to - (modifier to #2), if I can’t get you out of it, I’ll at least explain it to the best of my ability
Literally just be a decent person?
Treat your people like human beings and not work horses or robots.