Warrants and limited duty officers in the Information Dominance Corps are getting new designators.
The 4-digit codes define each community that can be managed and the administrative change is meant to reconfigure the IDC's chief warrants and LDOs into one such branch. into a the IDC
Six-years into life as a war fighting community, the Information Dominance Corps is realigning it's warrant and limited duty officer communities to better fit into it's total officer corps.
"Ultimately this is a part of deliberate planning that has been going on for many years," said Cmdr. CDR James Scarcelli, officer community manager for the information dominance and intelligence officer communities.
"We realigned the officer communities in 2010, a year after the Information Dominance Corps was formally established, this effectively brings the LDO and CWO communities and designators in line [with the] IDC restricted line officer corps."
In essence, it’s a simple name change for all each of the 327 officers in four LDO designators and the 297 chief warrants in four CWO designators. along with the additional four CWO designators and the 297 officers in those.
There’s no change in end strength for either community, nor is there any shuffling of job responsibilities between the any of the designators, officials say.
"No actions are required on the part of the officers. The designator change will be automatic — they'll just wake up one day and their designators will have changed," said Capt. Bill Johnson, the LDO/CWO officer community manger.
That day, he said, is expected to happen by mid-December at the latest, and officers will see the change reflected in their records online once it’s done.
In addition, There will be no impact on opportunity for the approximately 25,000 enlisted sailors in the eight enlisted ratings that feed into these eight officer designators.
For those applying for this year, the board meets in January and here, too, no action is required by the sailor; they’ll automatically be up for selection in the same specialty under the new designator number.
For example, aerographer’s mates who have already applied to be in the LDO 646X, meteorology and oceanography, LDO designator will simply become part of the 680X designator if selected.
"No change to what we are assessing," Johnson said. When asked what he expected accessions to be like, he said only that it would be "inappropriate" to discuss what this year’s quotas would be as they’d not been approved yet — but that sailors can expect slots in line with those chosen numbers picked the during the last few cycles.
Here’s how The new designators: will shake out:
LDO
680X Meteorology/Oceanography replaces 646X
681X Information Warfare replaces 644X
682X Information Professional replaces 642X
683X Intelligence replaces 645X
CWO
781X Information Warfare Technician replaces 744X
782X Information Systems Technician replaces 742X)
783X Intelligence Technician replaces 745X
784X Cyber Warrant replaces replaces 743X
Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.
