A graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy with the Class of 1942, Captain Sweitzer served in the USS Maryland a year and then, successively, in the submarines Cuttlefish, Picuda, and Sablefish. He attended George Washington University Law School from 1947 until 1950, when he was awarded a Juris Doctor Degree. He commanded the submarine Pickerel from 1951 until 1954, instructed Law at the Naval Academy from 1954 until 1956, and commanded Submarine Division 41 from 1957 until 1958. He served two years on the staffs of USCINCEUR and the Vice Chief of Naval Operations before commanding the USS H. W. Gilmore (AS-16).
