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.