Surface Warfare Officers (SWO's) are the men and women who, as junior officers only a year out of college, lead the sailors within the many specialized divisions of a ship's crew. Many of these young officers aspire to someday command their own ship. The SWO badge was first propsed in 1972. The Surface Warfare Officer Badge, also called the "SWO Pin", is the highest qualification one may receive in Surface Warfare. This is a 2 3/4" badge in sterling silver with a 24k gold plate. It is very rare to find this badge in sterling. It is hallmarked W-32 and Sterling.