Possibly joining the Navy! Any current or retired sailors on ATS?

How's it going?

Tomorrow I have to have an eye exam because I failed MEPS because of my vision. I just barely failed due to my vision so my recruiter needs to get my eyes checked to determine if I can receive a waiver.

Either way, my recruiter seems confident I will get the waiver.

If I pass I will then be taking the "Nuke Exam" to see if I qualify for the Nuke Program. If I don't get into the Nuke program then I want to get involved with Intelligence or Electronics.

If you could recommend me some/any Navy Rates I would appreciate it. I'd hope to get an enjoyable job. I heard that alot of the Navy Rates can make your time serving miserable.

The Navy Rates I currently have my mind set on are Intelligence Specialist, Electronics Technician, Cryptologic Technician, Information Systems Tech, and Fire Control.

If you could give me any information about what these jobs are ACTUALLY like rather then little descriptions that just give the basics. I haven't talked to alot of people currently serving so any info would be appreciated.

Good luck. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT join without a guaranteed "A" school. You will end up a swabie if you don't get a guaranteed A school. Other than that it is a great experience. You get out of it what you put in.

reply to post by FreedomXisntXFree


My brother in law is a fire controllman and a tomahawk specialist. He loves it. I come from the Men's department(just kidding) of the Navy, The USMC. As with any military job, there will be things that suck and things that are really cool. My personal advice would be to pick something technical and competitive. there is more room for advancment that way. Anyway good luck to you and stay positive. Semper Fi.

reply to post by micmerci


Just an added note. I have my Bachelor's Degree already and I am probably going to get the Student Loan Repayment Program bundled in with my contract. I will be enlisting starting as an E-3 due to my degree.

Also! If you did serve/are serving.....mention what your rate was!

I'm also curious how much do you get deployed? For how long? I've read deployments are typically 6-8 months. Please share your experiences! What were some memories?

Military training is one of the best out there. I am a USAF vet. I would recommend doing a job that you know they have out in the public sector and stay in a minimum of 36 months to get your G.I. Bill.

Also after basic and the on the job training, take a class or 2 each semester. Especially if you go out (which you probably will) to sea. Not only will it help you after you get out (whether 3 years or 20+) but your NCO's (and more importantly your CO's) will see that you have potential and are not in it because its just slightly better than welfare. (Strangely enough, their are more than a few like this in the service.)

Talk to them about becoming an officer. I had a buddy that was in the Navy, gaining rank has its privileges .

He talked mainly about no longer being forced to clean certain areas that are nasty

I hope you can get in and get going!

reply to post by FreedomXisntXFree


no navy experience - but i reccomend a trade that will have direct use in civvie street

reply to post by FreedomXisntXFree


If you have a degree I am curious, what made you decide to enlist rather than seek a commission? There are alot of good training programs for officers these days, and even if you enlist, with a degree and a little hard work and you will go far fast.

Oh I see you have a degree. E-3? I think your recruiter is playing you. Had I a degree in the USAF, I would have gone on to OCS (Officer Candidate School). I started with an E-3 due to having enough credits for half a degree.

Anyway, electricians make a good living income where I live, I would think about that or any kind of job like that, Technical would be good as well. It really depends on what you want 5-10 and more years down the road.

Also, do yourself a favor and don't spend all your money on leave (or whatever its called in the Navy). Think heavily about adding to the TSP (you will find out more once your in).

I tried to do my best research as to which jobs translate best to civilian world. Still kind of hard to determine because you need certification in the civilian world for most jobs that are similar to military jobs.

IE: I fix helicopters in the military but can't in the civilian world. I heard of this happening!

I do plan on using my degree once I get out. I went to Full Sail University to learn how to make CG Video Game Art. Right now, I just want to serve my country and take care of my loans before I pursue that. I probably should have done it the other way around(Navy then College) but plans change.

I never intended on joining the military but the weight of my loans is making it become an option.

You're not truly "free" if you have thousands in debt. I figure I will proudly serve the country I love(fyi the government isn't your country) and sacrifice some of my time to get a large portion of my loans taken care of.

Kind of in the same vein of......"Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."

Mutual benefits I suppose....

I did look into Officer Candidate School but if I do that then I don't get the Student Loan Repayment "bonus". All my loans would still be my responsibility.

So while I'd be earning a better salary as an officer.......I'm am getting 65K of my student loans erased going in as enlisted. That's how me and my recruiter are weighing it out.

I was informed by my recruiter that I could apply for officer candidate school a year after I am enlisted.....so that's still an option.

The reason I'm not pursuing a job with my degree is because even if i did find a decent paying job, my student loans put me so far in the hole that I wouldn't be pocketing much for a LONG time and also still be needing assistance from my parents.

To be honest......the whole "go to college to better yourself" stuff I was told in high school i feel was pushed upon my generation so we're in debt just like everyone else. I have come to realize that True freedom = No Debt.
I NEVER saw myself considering the military until 8 months after graduation. In a way the military is a last resort but the idea of serving my country is strong in me. I care about this country. That's why I advocate truth in the manner that ATS tries to present. I feel the US of A is on a slippery slope. So if "S*** is going to hit the fan" I feel like I should get out debt quick. Fortunately the military offers me a solution. I figure I'd kill quite a bit of my student loans in 1/8 of the time by serving my country.

Yes, I've contemplated the whole WW3 scenario doom and gloom but I'm going to get drafted anyway if it happens. So why not get to volunteer and pick my job before I'm forced to join Army infantry? I'll admit I'm kind of nervous/scared but I think that's the normal mental response when joining the military.

All in all I'm trying to look at everything positive and this seems to be where my life's road is taking me.

As a Viet Nam era veteran, I would advise you to NOT join the Armed Forces.

This is the wrong time to sacrifice your soul, surrendering your will, your health, and possibly your life on the alter of Economic Imperialism.

If it is school you want get a student loan and go to college.

Military training rarely converts to civilian jobs.

Please open you eyes and actually see how the United States Government treats our sons and daughters who have for God and Country joined the Military.

Learn of how the VA treats the one who’s lives were changed forever from service. They today are only Red Ink on a balance sheet, discarded from society. Used and thrown away.

Find out why the rate of suicide in those that have served are higher than any other group.

Why are most veterans released have a history of mental illness recorded in their files, and will be required to remain on medication for the rest of their lives.

I, too was young and thought I was serving my country when I volunteered. It took a decade to recover from the experience, and some things still remain.

Just DON’T Do it

You have been warned.

reply to post by brokedown


I knew I was going to get responses like this on ATS so maybe this was the wrong place to "put this out there".

Like I said, I'm trying to look at this as a positive and in the face of war.....wouldn't the Navy be one of the "safer branches". Granted no branch is necessarily safe.

Even though I read alot about the WW3 stuff on here and elsewhere.....part of me feels like its not going to happen. Another thing I'd liek to add is my brother joined the Army just recently. At the time I was totally against it. Bt I've realized that after a decade of war it has to come to and end. I believe WW3 already happened.....except the major loss of life was on our opponents rather then our forces.

But please......still offer me some info on the Navy. Don't get me down with all this "this is a bad time to join" stuff. I;ve already batted around those feelings in my mind for months. I can't live life in fear. You just have to live life.

Well, buddy. Good luck. I joined the Navy with a degree, too, years ago. If you're interested in intelligence, why no take the DLAB? If you do well, a CTI rating could do very well for you. Your A school would be in Monterey, California, a very nice place. CTI is Interpretive, so you learn a foreign language in depth. With the right language you will be in demand as a civilian. I was an MM Nuke, and I have to tell you--it's not only difficult, it's not like there are a lot of jobs as reactor people in the civilian world. Both MM Nuke and CTI have amazing re-enlistment bonuses, if you want to go there, but with a degree you would have several patheways to a commission should you choose to do that.

The most important thing to do is keep a good attitude and let the bad stuff roll off your back. There are always people with a bad attitude in the service and it is way too easy to fall in with the wrong crowd, which I managed to do. Being in the Navy is difficult, particularly if you are assigned to sea duty, but it can be very rewarding. People who have never gone through it have no idea what it is like.

reply to post by schuyler


Thanks alot for input! That really helps!
2nd

Originally posted by FreedomXisntXFree
reply to post by brokedown

 

I knew I was going to get responses like this on ATS so maybe this was the wrong place to "put this out there".

You're not posting on the wrong forum/website. You have to realize that there will be positive and negative feedbacks from everyone around you including your loved ones. You have to conside them all and consult with people (atleast 10) outside the forum/website and then use your intelligence, logics, morals and ofcourse abilities to weigh against the outcome and go about deciding what is best for your future. Nothing will be easy going forward all the way until one dies. If you think Money is Freedom and Debt =Slavery (from your previous comments on this thread) then FREEDOM isn't handed out to people. It has to earned through hard work. Most of us Earn it and live it. But thats the way life works my friend.

I was in the Navy nuke program. This was between 76-80, so it might be different.

I wanted to go in as an ET (electronics tech), but they put me in as an electrician's mate.

It's a pretty rigorous program. The basic electronics and A school weren't bad. The nuke school is an accelerated program. They pack a years worth of study into 6 months. Since you have a degree, you might do better than I did. I was just out of high school, but managed to muddle through.

As far as rates, nuke rates are EM (electrician mate), ET (electronics tech) and MM (machinist mate). I would recommend ET or MM depending on your preference. Navy electrical systems are not the same as civilian systems. I found out that my Navy electrical training didn't count when I applied to the local union hall.

Actually, since you have a degree already, I would recommend trying to get in as a commissioned officer. The food and accommodations are much better.

Good luck.

Figured I'd give an update.

I got my waiver for my eyes.

I swore in and I will be heading to basic on June 6th. I signed up to be an ET for submarines. Hopefully, my future will be a good one in the Navy. Thanks again for all of your responses.

Hey congrats!

I was e3 in the Army back in 03 but got injured during bct and had to get out on my dd214. Can't return. Even to this day it hurts to walk far distances and I can't even do low impact aerobics.

Killed me to know I could never return but what can you do? I loved it while I was in and wanted to retire. Wasn't meant to be and yeah. It's life I guess. I'd been 9 years in so far, probably would have had tons of money in the bank (they get LOADS per month the higher the rank! The officers in the highest get like 24,000 a month. Something insane like that.

Anyway, my friend just graduated Navy boot. He had a blast. Another friend finished army boot and ait. LOVED it. So you go, have fun, enjoy the experiences and travel. You'll make amazing long life friends and learn so much. Smart move to get the loans taken care of. I only wish I had that option to reenlist again. But I'm so out of shape now and a few weeks shy of my 39th. Far too old to be of value to my country