Limited Duty Officer and Chief Warrant Officer Program

LDO/ CWO Procurement Program

This program allows highly qualified and motivated Active-Duty (AD,) Full-Time Support (FTS) and Reserve Sailors an opportunity to apply for the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Programs. The programs may vary from year to year, and eligibility is different for Active Duty and Reserves so it is paramount that you reference the latest NAVADMIN that is published for both Active Duty and Reserve.

Since eligibility requirements change yearly, the best place to start is the latest NAVADMIN that is soliciting Sailors for the next fiscal year. That will have the most current information for Active and Reserve. Next will be the OPNAVINST 1420.1B which is the application administrative manual for the LDO/ CWO program. Additional requirements are that you must be a U.S. citizen, be a high school graduate or have a GED, that you pass the color vision test for certain designators, and that you have no NJP or civil convictions in the last three years.

You will also want to seek out any officers that you might know who went through the program. The "Current & Previous LDO/CWO Boards" in MyNavyHR lists past board members; see if any past board members will mentor you. You will want him or her to review your OMPF if possible. That will also be a good opportunity to make a list of items missing from your OMPF that you will want to fix and submit to the board.

Also listed on that page is "Discrete Requirements" for both Active and Reserve. The discrete requirements give you a general idea of what you need to qualify by designator for that fiscal year. It is important to look at the designator you are applying for since only best and fully qualified Sailors will be selected. It is also required that you and your command look at it before applying.

Communicating with the Selection Board

The preferred method of submission of applications and addendums are outlined in NAVADMIN 125/22. Emailed applications must be received no later than (NLT) 1 October in the year you are applying. Routine addendums to applications, including evaluations and awards, must be received no later than 15 December in that same year.