I did a search of military, navy, join navy, enlist and a few others and got a few good threads but it was mostly the Army or USAF.
I know we have Airman Doors and SSG Shwarz being in the USAF and Army respectively (sorry about butchering your names I tried to do it from memory). Are there any current/former Navy Recruiters on the dope? I have a couple questions and thoughts on joining. . .
Currently I am a senior in college, going to be graduating in May ( :mad: ). Then next spring I’ll be student teaching until December and then I’ll be certified to teach Secondary Sciences. After that, so approximately 9 months from now, I’m thinking of enlisting/joining. Its not the first time I’ve thought about it or attempted, I tried getting into the Naval Academy out of high school… obviously that didn’t happen.
So anyone here have some experience and or input?
I guessed on the placement in IMHO you can move it anywhere it needs to go.
I did a single week of recruiting duty (HARP duty) in 1986 for the Navy. So I probably will not be lot of help but I can try to answer some of your questions if they are not specifically about bonuses and benefits.
I will say Navy is a great choice, especially if you are not eager to have bullets flying at you and no desire to kill others. Each service has different advantages. I think Air Force is also great but the Navy have some advantages that might appeal to you.
Naval Officer here. Not a recruiter, and never have been.
Navy will probably let you see much more of the world than the AF. The AF, however, has a much better quality of life. I would say that either service will likely stick you in the desert at some point in the next 5-10 years, if you stay in that long. Don’t think that you’re safe from that just because you’re in one service or another. If you have a problem with the notion of killing a designated enemy (and I know you haven’t specified any such thing), then by all means, join the Peace Corps.
Keep in mind, Sfd, that you’re probably eligible to be an Officer. Not suggesting one over the other, but just letting you know your options. OCS is hard to get into and hard in general, but still a good option.
I have a few buddies in the USCG. But I’m not all that interested in the Coast Guard. I forgot to add the Marines, I’ve got some interest in that also, a bit in the Army. Who knows I guess?
I’m pretty interested in Officer Candidate School, but I’ve heard a lot difference between the enlisted (?) and officers. So I’m not sure I would go straight for either one just yet. Any insight into that?
I have no problem with having to possibly kill someone… sort of a lie, but I’ve accepted that with enlisting I’ll have to make that choice at some point, 'll deal with that when it comes.
I can’t help on OCS. There is a big divide between Officers and Enlisted. The only real advantage to enlisted is if you stay in being a Chief or above is pretty damn good and with most shipboard rates you never need to fire a gun, at least at anyone else.
What are you interested in doing though? Tech? Journalism? Etc.?
Are you interested in rapid promotions?
Give us some more info and we should be able to collectively fill in some gaps.
Yeah, you’ll have to narrow it down some. I’ve got over 14 years worth of insight, and I’m sure there are guys that have more than 20. I can tell you that being an O is great. Others will tell you that being an E is great. They’re both true and false–it all depends on what you’re looking for and your personality.
I’d like to do something with Education, Science, Information Technology… I’m pretty wide open at this point. I’ll have my degree and be a certified teacher, and still have absolutely no idea what I’d like to do as a career. Military seems like a good place to spend my time, serve the country, do something useful, and find myself/career.
Not to interested in rapid promotions, they’d be nice, but I’m more looking for something that I either enjoy or can see what I get our of my work. I don’t mind the firearms or any of that good stuff. I think it would be sweet to be out on a carrier, those things are beast.
In all honesty I’ve always wanted to fly jets off the air craft carriers, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have the eye sight or talent to do that sort of thing. (Ohhh, Top Gun)
I’m still kind of an immature kid if you couldn’t tell.
Army Reserve checking in. I am the lone Army person in my family–the rest are Navy or USMC–I’m the black sheep.
I would definitely recommend OCS–the opportunities that are afforded an officer are much better than being an enlisted Sailor. However, there’s nothing wrong with taking a short enlistment, then applying to OCS in the middle of your enlistment. In my experience, some of the best officers have at least some enlisted time under their belts.
Don’t discount the USCG. Being a coastie has some great advantages, the least of which is almost all of your duty locations are large cities in the US located by a substantial body of water. Compare & contrast with Ft. Sill, OK (Army); Minot, ND (Air Force); and/or being out to sea for 6+ months.
Talk to some officer recruiters, let them know you’re thinking of enlisting, and ask about the best way to achieve your goals.
Quite frankly, I was in your position as a recent college grad, and was too chickenshit to commit to the military. It wasn’t until later life that I joined the Reserve after law school. Even in the Reserve, the Army has taken me to Italy, Germany, Cuba and Japan. However, I still wish I would have joined when I was in your position–I’d have my 20 year retirement letter in hand by now… *sigh
Flying jets sounds like an area **flyboy **can give you details on. I was an Electrician on a Carrier. The USS Ranger where by odd coincidence *Top Gun *was shot. (Also Star Trek IV and a few others)
Information Technology (IT) can be any service; you could shop for the best offer. I suspect that with the shortage of IT people in the services this might give you a boost towards OCS, but I also have to say that with my knowledge being out of date. Science is tough. Air Force and Navy have some science but it is a small part of each. Education I can’t comment on, I am clueless.
Navy is good for Tech, Air Force is probably the best.
As to flying jets off carriers, you could look into some of the non-pilot jobs onboard the jets and other planes. I know pilot training is very hard to get and tough. Again, it sounds like **flyboy ** can help you with this part.
Military is a great place to spend your time, serve the country, do something useful, and find yourself/career. It has worked well for so many of us. I did not like plenty about it, but I think it really helped me sort out my life and set me on my way. I also made some friends for life. Two I am still in contact with 20 years later.
Every service has something to offer and it can buy you time before you have to grow up or it could be a wonderful and rewarding career, especially as an Officer.
As I recall with pilots, we directed three college grads that wanted to fly into flying helicopters in the single week I worked in the recruiter’s office. So back then that was apparently a very viable field for those that wanted to fly. I can’t say if all made the cut, but that was a good alternative back then at least.
I asked about promotions as the services tend to have different manning levels that mean different promotion availability. The army was the easiest and the Air Force and Coast Guard the toughest with Navy and Marines in the middle. But that is more important for those that want a career in the military.
Carriers are very good for many reasons but also have some drawbacks:
The Good:
Very stable and thus less chance of being seasick
They have their own airport, this is actually important at times.
Very good medical facilities.
They tend to get best food but as cooking is on a truly huge scale, the preparation is usually poor.
Plenty to do on the carriers. Plenty of places to disappear to.
5000-6000crewmembers means you are on a small floating town.
The fleet basically exists to keep the carrier from being hit.
Carriers never run out of hot water, this use to be a concern on smaller boats, may not be an issue any more.
The Bad:
Carriers are very noisy during flight Ops. Officers and techs tend to berth below the flight deck.
5000-6000crewmembers means you are on a small floating town. Some don’t like this.
There are fewer ports that you can pull into then the smaller ships.
I have a son that is becoming directionless but has expressed interest in Joining the USCG, and I would like to help point him to whatever information I can so if he really wants to enlist he would do so knowing as much as he can and not do a “whim” kind of thing and just do it. He is super fit and resonably intelligent and has very little college.
Retired Navy Chief here (1990). In the day, the fast-track for enlisted promotion was in the nuclear power program; also where the officer eggheads went to practice all that math, science and engineering stuff. I would recommend OCS for you unless you’re a fan of no money, no rights, no privileges, and bad food. An O-1’s pay far exceeds and E-1’s pay, plus you’ll be taking on more responsibility more quickly. That’s not to say that some Chief won’t stick life up your ass right off the bat, but you’ll learn quickly about who to turn to for help.
I typed up a whole post, but my f***ing work computer ate it.
Here’s the bottom line: Generally speaking, life as an O is much better than life as an E. The responsbility is much greater, but so is your freedom and the respect you get. You need to have a strong sense of dedication, drive, and maturity. A lack of any will either drive you out of your initial training, or make you a crappy officer. As an E, a lack of any will keep you from becoming a senior NCO. Also keep in mind that there is absolutely nothing wrong with coming in, serving your minimum time, and getting out.
So, you need to buckle down and decide:
a) What service. AF is a bit more corporate-like, with good quality of life, scarves for the fliers, and high on following rules, low on autonomy and leadership. Navy is more relaxed, a bit more trusting with its Officers and how they bend/break rules, high on leadership and autonomy, but a rather crappy quality of life–on the road a lot, with crappy bases, etc. Don’t worry about advancement. No matter what service you choose, O or E, advancement and job placement will all depend entirely upon what the immediate needs of that service are at that particular time. They change constantly.
b) O or E. I can’t say much more on this; you’ll have to do some digging around online to see what fits for you. Personally, I think it’d be crazy to not apply for OCS as long as you’re qualified. Otherwise, I can almost guarantee you that at some point, you’ll run into some O that will piss you off and you’ll think, “Hell, even I could be a better Officer than this guy.” And you’ll have zero right to think that, since at least that guy did what it took to be an Officer. If you have any specific questions as to being an O in the Navy, PM me.
c) What job you want, depending on what the answer for b) is. A recruiter will be able to answer questions as to what jobs that service offers, as compared to what kinds of jobs you’re looking for. And if you decide to go the O route, make sure you talk with an Officer recruiter and not an Enlisted recruiter.
From everyone’s input and loosely on my own concepts of responsibility, I think I’d go in as an enlistee first and the apply to OCS after I put some time in. I feel that way I’d atleast work up to the responsibility and see more of the force I guess.
I’m not all that worried about the money, my other option is teaching (in Maine) so I’m looking at a MAX of $30,000 in my first few years. With less experience gained and what not than the military.
I guess at this point I’m more open to just “Military” in general. I’ve always wanted Navy but the more I seriously look into it the more I open up to the other branches of the Military.
OK, sure. First, enlisting in the CG is the same as it is for any other service. There will be an eight year commitment, usually four years of active duty and four years of reserve time. The reserve time may be select reserves - the ones who drill one weekend a month/two weeks a year, or the reserve time may be inactive ready reserves (IRR) where you don’t drill, but may get called up in times of national emergency. Getting called up from the IRR is not common.
Boot camp is eight weeks in Cape May, New Jersey, and is nothing special compared to the other services. If he’s fit, he’ll have no problems. There’s yelling, PT, classes, and everything you’d expect boot camp to be. The recruits who are in great shape upon reporting will likely find it easier than they expected. After graduation he’ll go to his first unit or to “A” school to learn his specialty. Going to “A” school right out of boot depends on a lot of factors, and is worked out through a recruiter. However, he’ll get to choose his specialty if he qualifies for it via ASVAB scores. The basic groups of enlisted rates fall under deck/seamanship rates, aviation rates, support rates, and engineering rates. You can find info on all of this at the recruiting website:
BE ADVISED: The Coast Guard is a military service, and it is, by definition, a navy. This means all members are available for world-wide assignment, and members may find themselves on ships that deploy for up to six months or so. While this is not as common as the other services, it is a possibility. We do have folks and cutters in Iraq, and we do have a bunch of ships that deploy for extended periods. This point seems to be lost on some people entering the CG. Most people overseas in the Northern Arabian Gulf, however, are there because they volunteered for the duty. Another example is the Polar Class ice-breakers. They will typically sail for six month trips to the arctic or antarctic, but most people on those ships want to be there.
All in all, we’re a pretty diverse service in terms of missions. Yeah, we do a lot of search & rescue and law enforcement, but we do a ton of other stuff that most people didn’t know about. Too many things to list here. Wikipedia gives a good overview of who we are and what we do. But for an inside look, have him check out the info and videos available on sites like YouTube. A lot of these vids and montage/music videos are created by young Coasties just doing their jobs and some of the vids are really good. Surf videos are always popular - here’s one that looks like it was done by some production outfit.This one gives a better perspective. With rare exception, all the crews you see on these surf boats are enlisted.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask or shoot me an e-mail.
Ex-Navy JAG here, but I’ve been out so long I have little substantive to say. But I do have a little piece of military folklore that might help you decide which branch of service to consider:
My son is in the Navy. Right now, he’s in Goose Creek, SC at Navy Nuclear Power Training Command for his “A” School. Following that, (6 months), he has at least a year or more of Nuke School, then Sub School - he is doing School for a good long while. If you’d like, I’ll ask him if it’s ok to give you his email address - perhaps you might want to send him questions?
