Any HAMBERS in the navy? kinda ot

Ive been offered a full ride scholar ship to a 4 year college of my choice if i join the navy. After i get my degree i will be sent to officers school and become and officer and work on the Nuclear Program, i got a 96% on my asvab score. Im just kind of lost. Ive heard the armed services tell ya one thing and do another sometimes. Should i do it, is it worth it? How were your experiences in the navy?

 

Ali (Slamcouver on here) is headed to San Diego today for SeeBee (I think) training. My Son is Airforce, two years now, and it hasn`t been an easy ride for him,and won`t be for you either. Has made a man of him though. If you are young enough, you can still be in your early or mid twenties if you decide to get out at the end of your term. If you decide to do it, my hat is off to you.....

 

Do you like Math? Hard shit? Lots of it? More than you've seen in your life?

If so, join the Nuke program.

When I signed up, they did not explain that to me. What I did not want to do was to go to college, I wanted to serve my country. I enlisted with that promise of more $$, bla bla, and found myself screwed.

I was miserable until I changed fields, which took 1 and a half years to accomplish.

I know guys will say otherwise, but sign up for something that gets you a job on the outside, or that you like so much you stay in for a long time.

Lots of opportunities there, just make sure its the one you really want. Because you are pretty much stuck with it.

But then again, the boot camp for Nukes is (was?) Orlando FL, and all the girls go there too.
They are not all ugly.. trust me on that!

EDIT.. Is the college AFTER you do your first enlisted term? Its a good program, but might not turn out how you think it might.

 

Go for it, had a guy get out of Nukes and try Engineering school that joined our guard unit. He had civilian AND Military folks chasing him to work for them. Military is the best thing anyone can do..............just remember to "play the game".

 

By all means, I am in full support of whatever choice you make. Anyone joining the Military, currently in it, or a Veteran are held in a much higher standard by me.

Thanks for even considering it.

 

i dont know much of the "O" side they get paid good i was enlisted i had a blast but it is what you make of it i had my share of shitty times too most likely if you get in the nuke school youll either end up on a sub of on an aircraft carrier you wont see much on either one subs rarely pull into port over seas so do aircraft carriers they are too big i was on a ddg been all through the med and black sea if you wat you can call me i can tell you about my time in if i were you id go down to sandiago n your bout to meet an officer around there find a young guy and ask him some questions you might have to talk to a few to find one that isnt a total tool and dont trust fully in the recruter they are tryn to fill a quota you make them work for you barter with him you might get more outta the deal and be sure to get it in writing i do miss it sometimes but anywaay i hope this helps alittle

 

Do a search there are a few threads about Navy and other services.
Before you accept or not think about this.
Has joining the Navy been in your mind anyway?
Has life in the military always been something you wanted?

If you answered yes then do it.

If the answer was no then you may want to find other options.

Military life is hard*, you get fucked around, shit on, work long hours and by that I mean 30+ hours at a time, get very little time off, poor pay level and are expected to lay your life down at the drop of a hat for your country.
You will not get thanked, more likely abused for your service, the average person will look down at you, you will NOT have a life outside of the service.

But you know what?

If I could, I would still be serving my country because there is no better life, no better mates and no better sense of accomplishment when you can look around and see that YOU have helped to keep your countrymen free.
(*Well, not so hard in the Navy or Air Force, I respected all branches until I worked with them, Air Force are ok but I lost ALL respect for the Navy after working with them)

Proud to have served.

Doc.

 

Nuke school was a challenge...but I had never had calculus or even advanced science classes in high school so I started out a little behind. If you like a challenge...go for it. The pay is great nowadays and you will be many steps ahead of your regular joes that just go to college. Carrier life wasn't bad (I never got seasick like I would have on smaller boats) I was on the Enterprise for 4 years. I am trying to get my oldes kids in the service now.
Just be sure whatever they promise you is in writing when you enlist...and hold them to it...it is a legal contract.
96 on the asvab isn't bad....I knew a few guys that aced it that were in the program (I missed one question )

 

congrats on the schooling good luck and go for the gold ps hope u see many diffrent ports around the world

 

I'm not a nuke, just a tin bender/general slave and I love it. I have been on the enlisted side for 8 1/2 years and couldn't think of doing another job... (aside from my dream of working at a hotrod shop! )

Whatever you decide, make sure you get everything they "promise" you in writing. They will promise you the Brooklyn bridge, but in the end you'll get the equivalent of dog shit in Port Authority.

Another good bit of advice is you have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you talk! (I always liked that one!)

Best of luck to you, whatever your decision.

 

How do i get them to get it in writing, do i have to have a notary make something up? Ive heard many many times of bullshiting recruiters.

 

Doc, what's the reason you have no respect for the Navy?? Surely you know there are good guys and bad guys in every branch.... I remember some of your posts in the past and respect you greatly, I'm just asking, not trying to come off confrontational whatsoever.

 

Nah, not a notary, but theres a huge pile of papers you will need to sign to enlist, or be commissioned. just read everything carefully, then read it again. don't let them talk you into anything you don't want to do. They have quotas, they must fulfill. Although scoring so high, you might roll right into the nuke program.

 

Sorry guys, don't take it personally, I should have quantified and said Australian Navy.
I know that in the Army and RAAF guys look out for one another, if a guy is a couple of minutes late his mates cover for him if they can. You always look after the guy (Or girl these days) next to you, go that little bit extra even for someone you don't know simply because they are a brother in the service.
When I had to live on a Navy base I saw absolutely none of that, if someone was not at work right on the dot they run to the 'brass' and run them in. There is NO brotherhood, they are only out for themselves, sadly it is common thread running through every part of the Navy I have worked with. From launching raids from a sub to a 'bus' ride on the 'Brick' (HMAS Tobruk) and even on the FFG's and DDG's there is no cohesion between sailors.
One of them even put in writing a complaint about me and another Medic after a particularly long day and night (About 25hrs) on the Drop Zone we finally got a chance to go get something to eat after dropping off the last casualty, we took my Army Ambulance to the local drive through as that was the only thing open at that time. The Navy tried to have us charged with inappropriate use of a military vehicle!!
It must be an endemic thing, something they must have instilled in them somehow since recruit training. It saddens me as our Navy, while small has an incredible history to be proud off.

Doc.

 

My view of military training comes from working in the high voltage power biz.

Guys who'd been through electronics training from Air Force or Navy were quickly hired and got into well paying jobs pretty fast.

3-4 years had them at a pay scale that's perhaps a hundred grand per year nowadays - but don't quote me there and find out for yourself.

Add overtime, occasional holiday work and life can be pretty good.

Difference between a military person trained in electronics is they have way more hands-on experience than those who've gone through a regular college and come out with an electric engineer degree.

 

I dunno why C9 but I always thought you were ex-military!?
See, thats how highly regarded you are by lowly lill' me!!
(Serious, its a compliment)

Doc.

 

Holy smokes, I guess you missed the English class portion of school huh?

Anyway, I spent the first 15 years of my life as a Navy brat as my Dad served his country. We lived a few different places in those 15 years but mainly the San Diego area. We never lived on base, my folks always made sure we lived in a normal neighborhood with kids that weren't in the military just so we knew there was alife outside of it. While we didn't have alot those early years we weren't hurting for anything either.

Dad traveled the world on the Enterprise and Midway. We missed him alot when he was gone but it was the only life we knew. Not sure what kind of effect it had on us but I can tell you my parents have been happily married 47 years and I don't know anyone who is closer to their folks then I am.

After 20 years Dad retired at the age of 38 from the Navy with a nice pension and immediantly got a job with the Ford Motor Company where he retired 22 years later with another pension. This from a guy who never graduated high school. Him and my Mom live very a comfortable life with a number of homes in Michigan, spend the winters in Florida, always have nice cars to cruz in, take nice vacations, put me thru college and is currently putting their grandson thru private high school and will pay for his college. They do alright.

If you're at a loss for what to do in life you could pick a worse option then the Navy. If you've got what it takes you can make one full career out of it and still have time for a full second career later.

 

I spent 4 years in the Navy and while I didn't choose it for a career, I did consider it. The life of a commisioned officer is much more refined than that of an enlised man, but either was OK. It taught me things I have used forever, like how to work with people I don't particularly like, and how to get along in a lot of situations. Attitude doesn't work there. The nuc's I worked with had lots of school and good working conditions. The US Navy does not seem to have the problems Doc was talking about; everyone helped each other and we all worked together. Remember it's very structured and you must accept that or it won't work; be a part of it, not a problem, and you'll do fine. Went lots of places I would never have seen otherwise, that's for sure.

 

I had the privilage and honor to serve in the USNavy both in peacetime and wartime. My contacts with the Aussie Navy in that time were great. Maybe something went sour from my time to the Doc's . If so am truly sorry.

Doc is right don't go in the service (any branch) if your heart isn't in it. Military life is demanding enough without having to talk yourself into it every day for the next few years. And they will feel extremely wrong and long if you are making the wrong choice. Having said that your recruiter shouldn't hesitate to give you copies of any legit contract offer in writing, they will promise anything and it will be up to you to meet any and all conditions spelled out in same. You fail in any specific area and it could and probably void their part and you still have a lot of time to serve. And not to be a sea-lawyer but the only person that can usually help you enforce that contract will be your congressman.

Good Luck to you whatever decision you make, and as WW2 vet told me prior to my enlistment "It's a million dollar experience, but one he wouldn't take 10 million to repeat."

 

As a former Navy recruiter, I would say that this is the best advice. The Navy recruiters do not have qoutas, ask them, they will tell you. They have "goals". Four enlistees per month when I was in, no dopers, no non high school grads, no QT scores below 35, none below 50 if possible, and as few women as possible. A 96 QT score to a recruiter is like Christmas in July. With that high a score, you are refered to as a "Nuke", whether you go with that program or not. A recruiter will do ANYTHING to get a Nuke in the Navy!
During my short time as a Navy recruiter, I never did find out what the difference between a quota and a goal was. If you don't make goal, you get fired, and sent back to some crapy duty that nobody else wants, although I got lucky on that one. I got sent to VF-126 at Miramar. That assignment came from the "Fairy Godmother Department"! pigpen

 

Never
Again
Volunteer
Yourself


Just kiddin, my brother Jim is coming up on his 20 years and looking forward to retiring soon. He's been on the Nimitz last 4 years in SanDiego. Had good days and bad, bullshit and silly stuff too. Seen the world and done things I can only dream of.

Ya know what? It turned him from a follower into a leader.

You have to decide if you can take orders or not, can trust the military environment to help you be a better man, can leave home when needed, and willing to die for your country.

Best of luck to you.

 

I'm in a "department" of the navy....The Shitty department! The pay sux, well damn near everything sux where I'm stationed. Only have some weekends to work on my car too! Ok done whining. I'd say do it if you have nothing going for you in real life right now. Choose an mos thats gonna help you in the real world, infantry......not so much, should've known.

 

i smell squid!! wow! its another anchor clanker thread! oh goody!

 

Going NUke can lead you into submarines or onto aircraft carriers. Make sure that you know what you're getting when you sign. Some guys like being on subs. Others don't. You don't want to end up in the submarine career path if you don't like that. In a 20 year career as a naval officer, I spent a couple of days each on a couple of different subs. That was enough for me.

 

I served in the US Navy for eight years. There were days that I loved it and days that I hated it. All in all I would not trade that time in my life for anything. Hell, I miss it a lot more then I ever thought I would. Joining the military is not something that you should take lightly; this decision will color and shape the rest of your life. That is true if you serve 4 years or 40. Day to day life in the USN falls into a routine after about the first year or so. If you are willing to do what you’re told when you’re told to do it; you will get along fine. I have never heard of them giving out a full ride scholarship to an enlisted man unless it was a program to go to the Academy at Annapolis. I was not a Nuke so I cannot speak to that side of the Navy. Best of luck to you whatever you decide!

 

LarzBahrs,

I hit 21 years in December and just pinned on Senior Chief last month. My son attended the Air Force Academy (class of 2005) and flies an F16. Important things to remember are the paperwork you sign is a legal binding contract both ways. Get your recruiter to put absolutely everything in writing on the contract then read it very carefully before signing. I have seen people get out of their obligation because the Navy didn't fulfill their part. If you don't like disciplined life then you need to run right now, I don't remember how many times I have heard "the Navy would have issued it it they wanted you to have it". It is a good life but like anything else it has its bad days.

Also that free college isn't free, you will have to serve an obligated term of service equal to or greater than the length of time you spend in school. In my sons's case he is obligated for 10 years, 5 for the academy and 5 more to get in the seat of a fighter jet.

Weigh the decision carefully to make sure you are sure of what you want before committing. If you go for it, then welcome aboard shipmate.

Senior Chief Seabee

 

if they say "just sign it, it will be all ok"...walk away.

If you are heart set on sailing take a look at the California Maritime Academy, you can go there and attend ROTC at UC Berzerkely or join the MMR if you want a slightly lighter version of ROTC.

Drop me a line if you want to talk, I graduated from there in '03.

 

When your an Ensign don't let it swell your head ,be firm but be down to earth ...
I was a snipe ,haze grey and underway ,15 countries.Did four active ,got tired of it ,but never regretted the experience ;the most frustrating time though was maneuvering off the coast of Virginia for two weeks when in the distance you can see your apartment complex!

 

I served in the Navy from Feb 1975 to Aug 1995. I don't need to repeat what has already been said, I agree with most all of it. The only thing I can tell you that might help you understand is this. I find myself missing the time I spent in the Navy immensely. In spite of the long hours, cold nights on the quarterdeck watch, poor pay, months separated from family, crap dished out by superiors, and disrespect given me by civilians, I deem those 20.5 years well worth it. My retirement makes my mortgage payments, the GI bill paid for my college, good memories far outweigh the bad ones, and I wish I was young enough and healthy enough to still serve. I tried to re-enter in 2001 after our country was attacked but my skill set was not needed. I was an Aviation Anti-Submarine Warfare Technician. The most valuable compensation I received for that investment was my medical insurance. I am glad I was able to serve.

 

Do the military first! How about Airborne RANGER contract, 4 years get the college money socked away and if the military is for you, when you get to college they will be begging to get you commissioned anyway!