Supervise deck operations, seamanship, and small boat operations. Maintain ship's exterior, rigging, and deck equipment.
ASVAB VE+AR+MK+AS: 163
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Boatswain's Mates are the seamanship professionals of the fleet and the rating most visible in the daily running of a ship. Your work covers deck maintenance, mooring and anchoring evolutions, underway replenishment, and small boat operations. You supervise line handling, rig and operate cranes and winches, and maintain the ship's exterior against constant salt and weather. Watchstanding is a major part of the job, including helm, lookout, and boat officer duties. Deck divisions are typically large, so junior Sailors take on supervisory responsibility early.
You learn practical seamanship including line handling, rigging, knots, and cargo and weight handling at sea. Small boat operation, navigation basics, and helmsmanship are core competencies. The rating teaches crane and winch operation, deck equipment maintenance, and corrosion control. You also gain search and rescue and damage control skills that apply across the ship. Many Boatswain's Mates qualify toward merchant mariner credentials recognized by the Coast Guard.
The job builds physical toughness and comfort working outdoors in genuinely rough conditions. You develop leadership presence early, because deck evolutions require someone giving clear, loud, confident direction. It teaches situational awareness around heavy moving loads where inattention causes injury. Boatswain's Mates tend to become practical, unflappable people who solve problems with what is at hand. You also build the ability to supervise a team in noisy, high-tempo conditions.
Maritime industries including commercial shipping, tug and barge operations, offshore energy, and port services hire directly from this background. Merchant mariner credentialing turns sea time into a licensed civilian career with strong earning potential. Crane operation, rigging, and heavy-lift experience also translate into construction and industrial work ashore. Many veterans move into port operations, marine terminal supervision, or harbor pilot pathways over time. The supervisory experience gained young is what most often accelerates civilian advancement.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“A Boatswain's Mate works long hours, hard hours.”
“But it's rewarding. I can look around and know that without us, this ship wouldn't be the same.”
“That shows detail. That shows craftsmanship. The same effort that was put into tying that lanyard is the effort we try to put into everything we do. That's what makes a Boatswain's Mate special.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
Your day starts on the fo'c'sle or fantail rigging lines and supervising the deck crew for the morning's evolution. As the shipboard seaman expert you lead line handling, anchoring, replenishment-at-sea, and small-boat operations while maintaining the ship's exterior and rigging. Chipping, painting, and preserving the hull with your division rounds out the working hours between watches.
SOUTH CHINA SEA (April 18, 2024) Episode three of the “Inside the Rough Life” series highlighting the Boatswain’s Mates aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Pimpaka Kruthun)
Official publisher description and direct video page checked; playback not independently watched. Checked 2026-10-25. This assignment may not reflect every posting in this career.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Sailors, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.
For enlisted Sailors in an eligible surface assignment, including support ratings. Complete the command's current qualification standards, assessments and approval process. A shore or submarine assignment alone does not establish eligibility; confirm current enrollment rules with the command.
Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.
Requires a qualifying aviation assignment or an authorized support-command arrangement, required in-rating technical qualifications and command approval. Current enrollment and pay-grade prerequisites must be checked; this is not a promotion or a badge awarded just for holding this rating.
Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.
Requires assignment to a command authorized to administer EXW and completion of its general and unit-specific personnel qualification standards and approval process. Published NSW program evidence establishes this route, not that every Navy unit offers it. Confirm current command authorization and prerequisites.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Navy BM Boatswain's Mate, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Navy directs enlisted Sailors to rating-specific Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs), and officers to their community managers and officer career-progression guidance. Rating conversion and commissioning are separate application paths, not automatic promotions.
Navy career planning: LaDRs, officer progression, and commissioningService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) appointments require separate applications and program-specific qualifications. The reviewed active-duty page contains FY28 cycle requirements, not Reserve eligibility. Its 1 October 2026 application deadline has passed; this is not an open application offer or a verified designator match for this listing.
Navy active-duty LDO/CWO applicant requirementsSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Supervise deck operations, seamanship, and small boat operations. Maintain ship's exterior, rigging, and deck equipment.
Boatswain's Mates are the seamanship professionals of the fleet and the rating most visible in the daily running of a ship. Your work covers deck maintenance, mooring and anchoring evolutions, underway replenishment, and small boat operations. You supervise line handling, rig and operate cranes and winches, and maintain the ship's exterior against constant salt and weather. Watchstanding is a major part of the job, including helm, lookout, and boat officer duties. Deck divisions are typically large, so junior Sailors take on supervisory responsibility early.
You learn practical seamanship including line handling, rigging, knots, and cargo and weight handling at sea. Small boat operation, navigation basics, and helmsmanship are core competencies. The rating teaches crane and winch operation, deck equipment maintenance, and corrosion control. You also gain search and rescue and damage control skills that apply across the ship. Many Boatswain's Mates qualify toward merchant mariner credentials recognized by the Coast Guard.
Maritime industries including commercial shipping, tug and barge operations, offshore energy, and port services hire directly from this background. Merchant mariner credentialing turns sea time into a licensed civilian career with strong earning potential. Crane operation, rigging, and heavy-lift experience also translate into construction and industrial work ashore. Many veterans move into port operations, marine terminal supervision, or harbor pilot pathways over time. The supervisory experience gained young is what most often accelerates civilian advancement.
ASVAB VE+AR+MK+AS: 163. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Navy enlisted occupational standards, NAVPERS 18068F, July 2026, Appendix B (rating enumeration) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Advertised — Navy, as of 2026-09-28Deployment likelihood: Higher*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.