Navy Message Authorizing SWO Leather Jacket - USNI News

The Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) Community now has a leather jacket to wear as organizational clothing with many restrictions. Officers who earn a surface warfare qualification and are issued a SWO leather jacket while serving in officer designators 1110, 1115 and 1117 and transfer to other designators are authorized to continue wearing the SWO leather jacket. Officers who transferred from designators 1110, 1115 and 1117 prior to the date of this instruction will not be issued a SWO leather jacket. Not enlisted, not other officers who still hold the qualification and stand the watch without the specific designator. They have excluded many of those designators like LDO/CWO in their own community from wearing the jacket based on the rules they just approved, so I can only question the value that the jacket's distinction will add.

I'm no longer in uniform and just making the observation that many of us who had served before this came about in the 80's earned a designation as a Surface Warfare Officer. We were proud to have the approval to wear a distinctive blue sweater that had to be purchased by the qualified service member, and then later the wear was approved for everyone because it hurt morale. Hopefully, our leadership will remember and remain respectful to those previously qualified and relax some of the restrictions.