Does a DEO help you progress faster ?

[Zero to One]

Hi, I would like to enlist to become a Naval Warfare Officer and from what I understand with the DEO you start as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant after basic military training. Does that mean that at the end of the nine-year contract, you will potentially have a higher rank than those who enlisted with the ROTP, for example ? Because I imagine that in general, you finish the nine years as a Lieutenant, but with the DEO, is it easier to finish as a Lieutenant Commander ?

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[ModlrMike]

You can typically only DEO if you have the appropriate credentials for the occupation, ie: nursing degree = DEO nurse. Alternatively, officers who are re-enrolling in the same trade they left would enter as DEO. DEO officers are already qualified in their occupation, and do not require basic occupational training in order to work in their trade. NWO would not qualify (except in the case of re-enrolling). To answer the question you asked, being a DEO does not necessarily mean that at the end of your initial engagement, you would have obtained a higher rank than someone enrolled under a different plan. The results of one's career progression are highly variable and individualized, and what happens for one, does not necessarily happen for another. With a nine year engagement, virtually every officer will finish at the rank equivalent to army captain - unless they're a right bag of hammers.