As a surface warfare officer, you're ultimately
responsible for all the lives onboard your ship
because your ultimate responsibility is to qualify
Officer of the Deck and then you stand that watch
which means you're driving the ship, making sure
the ship gets to the location that it needs to,
and making sure that you're avoiding anything
that could be hazardous to the ship.
I'm Lieutenant Monika Coxe. I'm a surface warfare officer
with a nuclear subspecialty in the United States Navy.
I joined the program through Navy Reserve
Officer Training Corps. From there, my senior year of
college I went and interviewed at Naval Reactors in
Washington, D.C. I did two technical interviews,
passed both, and then met with the four star admiral
and was accepted into the program.
Tradition in the Navy is an officer commissions you.
My brother happened to be a United States Navy Lieutenant
at the time and he commissioned me into the Navy.
My father happened to be retired from the United States
Air Force at the time as an enlisted person and he gave
me my first salute. Since my entire family is military,
they could be involved in my commissioning and
my graduation from school.
As soon as you are commissioned you'll head to your first ship.
You'll be there for 21 months to receive your Officer of
the Deck qualification and that's the main purpose of the
Surface Warfare officer is to be a ship driver.
From there you'll go to Nuclear Power School in Charleston,
South Carolina, which is six months long. Then you'll head to
Nuclear Prototype which you can do in either Charleston,
South Carolina, or Ballston Spa, New York, and that is also
six months where you actually get to work on a actual reactor.
And then, from there, you'll head to a nuclear power carrier,
which are stationed all over the world and you'll
serve onboard for two years.
The Navy has allowed me not only to lead people but grow as
I did so. So, I think the things the Navy has given me are
the schooling, you know, 'cause I did my Bachelor's degree;
my Master's degree, and all the training and growing up and
leadership. Without the Navy, I would not be nearly as mature
or ? or as responsible as I am today.
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