SWOLE Act
Bill: H.R.4935 | Sponsor: Rep. Wittman, Robert J. (R-VA)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Surface Warfare Officer Leadership Enhancement Act or the SWOLE Act
This bill addresses Naval operations, including the duties of surface warfare officers. Specifically, the bill requires that any person originally commissioned as a surface warfare officer in the Navy on or after January 1, 2023, be assigned to the ship engineering systems career path or the ship operations and combat systems path.
The Department of Defense (DOD) must seek to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity or federally funded research and development center independent of DOD to research and analyze the gender gap in retention of surface warfare officers in the Navy.
The Navy must not expend more than 75% of the funds authorized to be appropriated in FY2022 for Ship Operations, Operations and Maintenance, Navy, until the Navy certifies to Congress that it has established certain standards and procedures by which a member of the Navy can receive a merchant mariner credential with a national officer endorsement, a national rating endorsement, or a Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping endorsement.

To amend title 10, United States Code, to clarify the roles of surface 
         warfare officers of the Navy, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Surface Warfare Officer Leadership 
Enhancement Act'' or the ``SWOLE Act''.

SEC. 2. SURFACE WARFARE OFFICERS OF THE NAVY.

    (a) Surface Warfare Officers Career Paths.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 815 of title 10, United States 
        Code, is amended by inserting after section 8139 the following 
        new section:
``Sec. 8140. Regular Navy: officers designated for surface warfare
    ``Any person originally commissioned as a surface warfare officer 
in the Navy on or after January 1, 2023, shall be assigned to one of 
the following career paths:
            ``(1) Ship engineering systems.
            ``(2) Ship operations and combat systems.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 8139 the following new item:

``8140. Regular Navy: officers designated for surface warfare.''.
    (b) Independent Assessment of Retention of Female Surface Warfare 
Officers.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall seek to 
        enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity or a federally 
        funded research and development center independent of the 
        Department of Defense to conduct research and analysis on the 
        gender gap in retention of surface warfare officers in the 
        Navy.
            (2) Elements.--The research and analysis conducted under 
        paragraph (1) shall include consideration of the following:
                    (A) Demographics of surface warfare officers, 
                disaggregated by gender, including--
                            (i) race;
                            (ii) ethnicity;
                            (iii) socioeconomic status;
                            (iv) marital status (including whether the 
                        spouse is a member of the Armed Forces and, if 
                        so, the length of service of such spouse);
                            (v) whether the officer has children 
                        (including number and age or ages of children);
                            (vi) whether an immediate family member 
                        serves or has served as a member of the Armed 
                        Forces; and
                            (vii) the percentage of such officers who--
                                    (I) indicate an intent to complete 
                                only an initial service agreement; and
                                    (II) complete only an initial 
                                service agreement.
                    (B) Whether there is a correlation between the 
                number of female surface warfare officers serving on a 
                vessel and responses of such officers to command 
                climate surveys.
                    (C) An anonymous but traceable study of command 
                climate results to--
                            (i) correlate responses from particular 
                        female surface warfare officers with 
                        resignation; and
                            (ii) compare attitudes of first-tour and 
                        second-tour female surface warfare officers.
                    (D) Recommendations based on the findings under 
                subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C).
            (3) Reports.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the 
                date on which a nonprofit entity or federally funded 
                research and development center enters into an 
                agreement under paragraph (1) with the Secretary of 
                Defense, such entity or center shall submit to the 
                Secretary of Defense a report on the results of the 
                research and analysis under paragraph (1).
                    (B) Submission to congress.--Not later than one 
                year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
                Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional 
                defense committees each of the following:
                            (i) A copy of the report submitted under 
                        subparagraph (A) without change.
                            (ii) Any comments, changes, 
                        recommendations, or other information provided 
                        by the Secretary of Defense relating to the 
                        research and analysis under paragraph (1) and 
                        contained in such report.
    (c) Limitation on Training of Surface Warfare Officers.--
            (1) In general.--Of the funds authorized to be appropriated 
        or otherwise made available in fiscal year 2022, the Secretary 
        of the Navy shall not expend more than 75 percent of the funds 
        authorized to be appropriated for Ship Operations, Operation 
        and Maintenance, Navy, until the date on which the Secretary 
        submits to the congressional defense committees the 
        certification under paragraph (2) and the report under 
        paragraph (3).
            (2) Certification.--
                    (A) In general.--Certification under this 
                subparagraph is a certification in writing to the 
                Congressional defense committees that the Secretary of 
                the Navy has established standards and procedures 
                (subject to subparagraph (B)) by which a member of the 
                Navy can receive--
                            (i) a merchant mariner credential with a 
                        national officer endorsement officer section 
                        10.109(a) of title 46, Code Federal 
                        Regulations, as in effect on the date of the 
                        enactment of the National Defense Authorization 
                        Act for Fiscal Year 2022;
                            (ii) a national rating endorsement under 
                        section subsection (b) or (c) of section 10.109 
                        of such title; or
                            (iii) a Standards of Training, 
                        Certification, and Watchkeeping endorsement 
                        under section 10.109(d) of such title.
                    (B) Stringency.--In no case shall the standards 
                described in subparagraph (A) be less stringent than 
                the standards applied by the Army, Military Sealift 
                Command, or Coast Guard vessel operators.
            (3) Report.--Concurrent with the certification under 
        paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the 
        congressional defense committees a report that updates the 
        military-to-mariner transition provided in response to section 
        568 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        2017 (Public Law 114-328) that includes--
                    (A) a description of how the training program for 
                surface warfare officers exceeds the minimum 
                requirements for a merchant mariner credential with an 
                appropriate endorsement;
                    (B) a list of the proposed naval curriculum courses 
                that have been submitted to the National Maritime 
                Center for course credentialing; and
                    (C) a timeline for--
                            (i) all Navy seagoing personnel to receive 
                        merchant mariner credentials with national 
                        officer and ratings endorsements; and
                            (ii) 50 percent of such personnel to 
                        receive such credential with Standards of 
                        Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping 
                        endorsement.
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