Last night, this guy, now almost 18 years old, joined the United States Navy last night in Des Plaines, Illinois.
He was at MEPS all last Friday, Saturday, and most of Monday - he had to wait for his eyesight waiver to come back before he could be sworn in. He scored a 99 out of 99 on his ASVAB’s :eek: and was accepted into the Navy Nuclear Power Program and is hoping to become an Electronics Technician. He’ll go to boot camp at Great Lakes (as an E3!) after high school, then to his A School in Charleston, SC. After that, he will advance to an E4 (Petty Officer Third Class), and go to Nuclear Power School in Charleston for six months. Following that, he’ll be stationed in either Ballston Spa, NY or Charleston for six months. After that it’s college for three years and into the Officer Training Pipeline. Then, if he still wants to, it’s off to the FBI or he continues his Naval Career. They even gave him an $18,000 enlistment bonus!
He’s grown up and moving on - and I don’t think I can find the words to express just how god damned proud I am of him!
Gonna go smoke a cigarette and cry for a little while now…
How proud you should be. Thank him from me – a member of a hugely military family. Tell him the smartest move he could make is to retire with the Navy and reap all the benefits he can. (hugs) for you for doing a great job there.
The young man picked a fine vocation. If he wants to see a bit of the world during his enlistment, urge him to go surface instead of subs. Our nuclear-powered surface ships (especially carriers) have a better time of it when it comes to port calls, than our submariner brethren.
While some of us civilian-types can’t be positive as to the meaning behind all the references and acronyms (okay, I did get the “FBI” one), I think it matters little in the overall impression that he’s both turned out to be, and is embarking upon, something special.
You should be proud. I’ll bet you’re positively beaming!
E# is the pay scale, and lots of people go through their whole carreer and barely get to E4. Not many are at E3 before they even get to boot camp.
ASVAB is Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery. I scored a 99 also, and received a hand signed letter from one of our state representatives, IIRC. I never thought I’d be a good fit for the military, but considering what I ended up specializing in (explosives, weapons systems), it wouldn’t have been a bad idea.
Congrats to your kid. It’ll be fun. I will say that I don’t know where the people are that scored under 70 on their ASVAB because I’ve never met any, in or outside of the military. I had 99 in 3 categories and 91 in the 4th and I was a C/D student throughout high school.
That’s a pretty big long term plan for him. He should probably focus on the next couple years before thinking about his next big move after his enlistment. FWIW going to OTS/OCS etc… is not as easy as it once was. It takes far more than just a 4 year degree to make it in. This is due to downsizing of the Navy and Air Force due to budget cuts and a desire to increase the Army’s footprint. I know MANY people who applied numerous times to OTS and were declined so make sure he keeps all of his options open and doesn’t put all his eggs in one basket.
I think my cousin did the exact same track that your son is doing. He ended up leaving on a medical discharge after a few years (asthma + submarines = no sir) but his job with the military served him well and he’s now happily employed with a civilian silicon chip plant and raising a family in New Hampshire.
