We have 2 EWO's at my unit. There is not enough EWO type work for two, so the pair that were here before me and the current chief split it up so that the officer stayed in the office and the chief did the hands on part of the job which is the traditional Navy division of labor. I really dislike this setup because the one upside of this job is that it is a chance to get on the ground with the troops doing as opposed to managing, and the office part of the job restricts that. Most of the office work that I do has nothing to do with why the Navy sent me here. It is projects that the guy before me started that have since become indispensable, much like Head Start or Welfare. There is a constituency for them with powerful backing.
As I said, I do not like this arrangement, so when I found out that they may reduce the EWO staffing at my BN from 2 to 1 (as it should be) I decided I needed to go do more of the hands on stuff just so that I won't be caught unprepared when it (hopefully) happens. Today I turned wrenches and carried boxes, and had a delightful time doing things that Navy officers don't normally do. The hands on part is easy - I feel that I could do it on my own after one day - but it is also fun to be able to see what you've done at the end of the day. Hopefully I'll get to do more.
