Careers in the Navy and Marine Corps
History of the term Line Officer
The term line officer dates from the earliest days of the Navy when fighting ships were designated as Ships of the line of battle. This was shortened to Ships of the line, and officers to Officers of the line, which in time became line officers. In today's Navy, there are many different types of line officers, each having a designator reflecting their individual professional specialization. Non-warfare specialization as a general unrestricted line officer (communications, ocean systems, personnel/training, space systems, etc.), intelligence officer, cryptologist, aviation maintenance duty officer, engineering duty officer, etc. are designators that are not available to NROTC program graduates. Line officers seeking a warfare specialty are most frequently assigned to duty aboard surface ships, but at one's request and with additional training may be assigned to aviation, submarine, or special warfare duty.
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