I’m considering enlisting full time in the Navy to help pay for school and get some good experience. I was wondering if anybody on the board would care to share similar experiences (good and bad)so I can get a little insight to help with my decision. Thanks guys.
Hey Peyton, I did 6 years in the Navy. There are definitely pros and cons. If you still have my number call me and I’ll be glad to help you out. If you don’t, leave a message here and I’ll call you. This is a serious decision and the more you know the better.
Don’t do it.
Explore ALL other avenues towards college first…loans, grants, junior college etc.
If you join now, you will be nothing but a peon following orders. Plus, many sailors do not get to do their college courses because either they are shipped off somewhere where there is no school or their superiors don’t allot them the time to attend class.
Also, there is a waiting list to get into the good jobs like IT or engineering (don’t listen to the recruiter). This means you will be forced into some other lame job for god only knows how long until a space opens for you in the area you really want.
I was employed by the DoD and worked for the Navy. I saw first hand tons of young guys lost in the system…just numbers. One guy shot jets off the deck of the carrier…I thought cool job, but what can you do with that when you get out? Also, my roommate in college was an ex Army Ranger…could jump out of a plane and shoot someone from 200 yards but other than law enforcement (which he was not interested in), not too many jobs require “sniper skills”.
I love the military and it can do some great things for many people, but it will always be there. Get your education first and if you still want to join, then go as an officer.
I am also interested in the navy, but I want to be a Pilot. I know you have to be a officer, and have a degree, but I would also like to hear some ex-navy guys thoughts about the navy.
I was in the Navy for five years as a corpsmen and am now in school for Nursing. I was able to live in Italy for 2 years, travel through France. Spent some time with the Marines. Looking back I enjoyed it all. I was deployed with the USNS Comfort during 911. These are all positives, but there are always negatives, especially now with the long deployments and such. You are able to take classes while you are in but they are done on your time and your job in the Navy comes first. Sometimes it is difficult, also forget being a full time student, you will be going good if you can take one class per semister. Your best be would be to apply for an ROTC scholarship, that way you will be a full time student, get some benefits, and will be an Ensign upon graduation. Then will be in the Navy for 5 years I think to work off the investment the Navy has in you. Then you can do another enlistment or get out. If you just want to go in then get everything in writing. Have a “guarantee” that once out of boot you will go to the school you want. When I was in there was no waiting lists(98-02). Also in school they usually ask the top 5 students where they would like to go and if orders are available then you usually get your choice. Bottom line the Navy wants their sailors to go to school and usually they will do everything to make it happen. At least they did when I was there. Any questions hit me up, but probable won’t answer until Friday.
I was in the Navy for eight years. I was on submarines for 6 of them. Here are some of the things my ex-shipmates are doing now based on not just the training but the insights they gained in the Navy. One is a Nuclear Engineer, two others are Reactor Operators, some work in instrumentation and controls at power plants (mostly nukes again), there are two medical doctors, one guy on a team doing deep sea research, one guy is a Radiation and Laser Saftey Officer at NASA, one works for the American Red Cross. These were all enlisted guys from various backgrounds from nuclear propulsion to corpsmen, to interior communications.
Officers usually do better. One of my ex Commanding Officers is the CEO of Florida Power and Light. Another is a professor and University of Hawaii.
It is what you make of it. Taking orders teaches you something a lot of people lack lately, humility and respect. Once you learn those then you get your chance to give the orders to the immature high school kid that is just like you were two years before.
Most places you work you have a boss. Sometimes he’s a pompous ass and sometimes not. You get farther in life learning how to deal with situations like that and still get the work done than you do quitting and running away from the inconvenience.
Don’t settle though. Get the best schools you can wrangle based on your test scores, even if you have to wait. I’ve seen one or two people not get a school they wre guaranteed but that’s pretty rare.
Your school and training might not seem to have a lot of use in the “real world” but that’s not always the case. Remember Barney Clark? He was the first artificial heart recipient. The guy that serviced the heart/lung bypass machine (and got paid very well) was an ex Air Force radar operator. I met him at a cross country skiing lesson one day. His company liked ex-military because of the things I’ve mentioned. They hired him and trained him because they knew he was reliable.
I value my training and experiences and the people I got to meet and live with more as time goes by. There is one drawback though, I have some pretty high expectation of what people are capable of. I’ve seen it many times and I know people are capable of far more than they think they are. It sucks to see people sell themselves short like that.
Good post SE.
SE harnessed the ideals that are most valuable in Military service which are so attractive for today’s job market.
We have a code, and a dedication to our duties that surpass that of Myosin’s value system. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I’m Active Duty Navy, PM me for specifics on policies, opprotunities for education, which job ratings are the safest during this recent realignment, where the Navy is going in the future, and chick to dude ratio’s throughout the globe…
Take care
B.
Don’t really
Disregard the “Dont really” at the end of my post.
Steelyeyes summed it up nicely. I did 5 years myself right out of high school. It was the best choice for me at the time. Been to over 15 countries and made life long friends. Gave me good life experience. There will always be ups and downs but you learn from them. Definately gave me direction in life.
Like the others said, make sure you look at other options and even other branches and make sure you get a guarantee. There a plenty of shit jobs and you don’t want to get stuck in one.
Peyton,
joining the Navy is easily the best decision i ever made. after a year of college, where i was an athlete, did well, but was bored, i enlisted. after a couple years of enlisted service, I’m going back to school, which the Navy pays for completely, and getting my paycheck at the same time. there are many opportunities like this available to people in the military out there, and no matter what, if you serve one enlistment term, you’ll be able to sign up for the GI Bill, which will give you $36k (i think that’s how much it’s up to) to go to school either during your active duty status or after you get out. there’s also something called the Navy CASH program, which i hadn’t heard of when i joined, but a few of my friends did it, where you’re considered active duty before you ever go to boot camp, and they pay you E-4 pay while you go to college. NROTC scholarships are also a great deal, if you haven’t considered applying for one. either way, if you’re trying to find a way to pay for your education, or if you want to have a challenging, rewarding job where you work with awesome people and get to visit places you’d otherwise never get the chance to, the Navy is a great choice. PM me if you have any questions. Good luck.
If it were up to me, everyone would serve the country in some capacity for 2 - 4 years.
Military-wise, it’s one of the best decisions anyone can make. The benefits are endless while in, and many doors open upon exiting. the GI Bill is outstanding, and having veteran status will get you automatic preference for ANY government job.
While you are looking, check out the Air Force or Coast Guard. I know TC wrote about how bad the SEALS are, and they are, but the Pararescue pipeline in the AF makes SEALS miss hell week.
Thank you for all the responses. They will be helpful in determining my decision. So far, I’m considering Nuclear Propulsion or Advanced Electronics- if any of you are in either of those fields I’d appreciate your feedback.
When you’re in the navy remember that it’s fun to stay at the YMCA
Been in the Navy for 22 years. It’s a living.
very close friend just passed away in a plane crash in corpus christi texas. his plane went down on an instruction flight i know there is no way to prepare for the funeral ceremony, any of you guys been through something like this?
[quote]wheels wrote:
very close friend just passed away in a plane crash in corpus christi texas. his plane went down on an instruction flight i know there is no way to prepare for the funeral ceremony, any of you guys been through something like this?[/quote]
In which regard are you refferring? How to prepare yourself mentally or how to go about arranging proper pomp and circumstance of a Military funeral?
Let me know, PM me or whatever.
GAINER.
All Im gonna say is when you go to MEPS. Make sure that the rate (School) you want is the one you get. dont let them tell you its closed to some other bulshit. Just say to him or her that when it opens back up to give you a call. Be a hardnose about it. Remember its your life and your 4 years.
I think joining the Military to serve your country is among the most honorable pursuits just do it for the right reasons.
Do not join the Navy for an education and then be surprised when you are called to duty the first responsibilty of anyone in the Armed Forces is the National Defense not their education.
Time and time again I am sickened by some numbskull saying I didn’t sign up for this I was just trying to get a education.
If you got a good grasp on that more power to you.
Gents…
Note that this thread started in '04.
Note too that Wheels posed a question a few posts ago that was dated much more recently, and had a specific question.
Probably should have been a new thread started for his issue but he gets leway from me due to the loss of one of his bro’s.
GAINER