Accelerating my life

Haliwali

Spaceman
I started my paperwork for enlisting in the United States Navy today, currently plowing through my clearance stuff. I'm planning on going into Special Warfare, SEALs specifically, but since I can't choose that as my initial rating I'll probably pick something in the Nuclear Program. I can't wait to finish my senior year so can go to Great Mistakes and after that BUD/S.
Since I'm planning on making a career in the Navy, I'll probably end up using the Seaman to Admiral program to go to college, or just take some internet classes sponsored by Uncle Sam.

Later.
 
Uhm...why go to a nuke rating if you're planning on BUD/S? You can literally go YN for your rating, then go to BUD/S after "A" School, as even YN is a SEAL source rating. Go nuke, and you're literally doing two years of fast-paced, HardAsHell schooling for which you're going to be taped in for an extra two years before they let you go to Coronado...and even then, I'd be surprised if they even allowed you to go to Coronado after all that schooling (i.e., the cost factor) in the first place.

It all depends, though, I guess...do you plan on being a SEAL as close as you can get after Great Mistakes is over and done with? Or is that a secondary choice after nuke school and a tour onboard a carrier or sub?

Granted, I'm not a recruiter...never was, and never wanted to be...but 12 years as a YN taught me a few things on career development. You might want to rethink your choice of source rating to make sure things don't tangle where orders to Coronado are concerned.

Either way...well done! Good to see you've got a roadmap on where you want to go in the first place, and the planning of Seaman to Admiral is a good one.

Take care, Shipmate!
 
Yeah, the nuke school route to becoming a baby seal (as in gonna get clubbed by the Company Commander [or whatever they're calling it now] :p ) is... odd. I don't think it's even possible, given the expense of training that Tigerhawk mentions, and the fact that if you're a SEAL, you won't be able to get in your advancement in rate stuff (the odds of a SEAL spending much time in the Zoomieland to do quals and such is rather low, and enlisted SEALs have to keep up with the advancement stuff for their rating as well as their SEAL stuff).

Really, if you're truly interested in becoming a SEAL, you might want to aim at one of the more "traditional" ratings, like BM, MM, GM, and the like. Y'know, the ratings whose heritage can be traced back farther than the dawn of the nuclear age.
 
Yeah, the nuke school route to becoming a baby seal (as in gonna get clubbed by the Company Commander [or whatever they're calling it now] :p )

Last I knew, the name got changed to "Division Commander". Which makes me wonder, are boot camp classes (companies) now called divisions...?

That would sound rather weird in my own memory. "...Division 2-6-7, ready for inspection, sir!"
 
When I was talking with my recruiter, he said it wouldn't really matter what my rating was when I started, I would start on the SEAL stuff immediately after Basic. I'd come back to Knoxville for a few months to prepare for BUD/S, then go to Coronado. I'll find out more details Monday when I go to MEPS. The only reason I'd be a nuke first is because you can't pick SO (SEAL Operator) as your initial rating.
 
~~~, GO ARMY.. No honestly, the any branch of military service is a great idea, well except for the USAF. :p Its honestly a great way to put a strong foot forward in life. Even if you don't go to JSOCOM and spend your time as a regular sailor, it rearranges how you look at challenge in your life. What would seem like insurmountable odds to your average high school grad will look like just another challenge to conquer. I've been a soldier for going on five years now and I will say without question that serving is one of the most satisfying, unselfish, and gratifying jobs you can possibly have.

Just one piece of advice. I had some friends enlist in the Army on Special Forces contracts. They either made it all the way through Basic, Infantry School, Airborne School, Ranger School and failed something BS like Land Nav during selection, or got hurt in either airborne, ranger school, or during the q course. They ended up falling back on, you guessed it, Infantry. Just like guys that come in on an Officer Candidate School contract and get hurt in OCS... Congrats, your Infantry. I am by no means hating on the infantry. I love them. I spent 2 years as a Combat Medic in 2d Battalion, 3d Infantry Regiment, 3d Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division. If you can score high enough to qualify for nuclear reactor operator, then you definitely can do some pretty hoo-ah, er.. hoo-ya stuff. Just make sure your fall back, MOS or Rating, is something you will enjoy also. You never know what can happen to you in training. Most of what I see wasn't even the injured service member's fault. Just bad luck.

Once again, I applaud you for your decision to join. The US Navy is an institution I respect and admire. I wish the Army still had a taste for its ancient traditions as the Navy does. I'm sure you will make a fine sailor. Young men like you are what keep this nation strong. The fact that you are joining during a time of war and global turmoil says even more for you. You are joining the ranks of what less than one tenth of a percent of the citizens of this country have done in its history. Standing up voluntarily and swearing the oath of allegiance. Be proud of yourself, as we are proud of you.

-SGT McC

PS: I am not a recruiter either. :)
 
When I was talking with my recruiter, he said it wouldn't really matter what my rating was when I started, I would start on the SEAL stuff immediately after Basic. I'd come back to Knoxville for a few months to prepare for BUD/S, then go to Coronado. I'll find out more details Monday when I go to MEPS. The only reason I'd be a nuke first is because you can't pick SO (SEAL Operator) as your initial rating.


Be careful picking a special program as your initial rating. A buddy of mine from boot camp tried going the same way you did. He wanted to be a SEAL, but his recruiter convinced him to sign up for nuke school. Unfortunately for him, nukes are one of the rates excluded from going to SEALs, so he had to finish his career in the nuclear field. They've opened up SEALs to many more ratings in the past couple of years, but I think other special programs are still exempt. If you'd like, I'll check with my command career counselor for more accurate info; he'll know better than anyone. Last I knew, the name got changed to "Division Commander". Which makes me wonder, are boot camp classes (companies) now called divisions...?

Let me know if you want any more info; sometimes the recruiters can be.....difficult. After all, they have an agenda, and it doesn't always coincide with your plan (speaking from experience).
Good luck, and welcome to the Navy.
 
Last I knew, the name got changed to "Division Commander". Which makes me wonder, are boot camp classes (companies) now called divisions...?

That would sound rather weird in my own memory. "...Division 2-6-7, ready for inspection, sir!"

They've been divisions and Recruit Division Commanders for at least six years (I went to RTC in 2003). I guess they changed it in the intervening six? years. No more rifles or running between ships, either. Or foul language from the RDCs, for that matter. It's just not what it used to be.
 
I wish the Army still had a taste for its ancient traditions as the Navy does.

Given the new uniforms they're going with, starting next year, I'm somewhat skeptical of the Navy keeping with tradition.

Blech, blech, and blech. If sailors wanted to look like Marines (particularly the Navy Working Uniform... the "blend with the ship" reason given for using MARPAT is stupid; if the enemy is close enough to distinguish people, you've got far bigger problems than uniforms clashing with the hull), they'd have signed up for Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. :p

[/rant]
 
~~~, GO ARMY.. The US Navy is an institution I respect and admire. I wish the Army still had a taste for its ancient traditions as the Navy does. I'm sure you will make a fine sailor.

Speaking as an Army officer, I couldn't agree more. I think we absolutely have lost touch with our roots and it will take a concertive effort to reconnect.

We definitely are all with you, Haliwali. The advice about having a good back up plan is a sound one. I narrowly escaped injury a few times through training - it can happen to anyone. Each close call had the propensity to completely alter my career.

Best of luck - we all support you.

@Death - yeah, we're all changing our uniforms these days it seems (with the exception of the Marines.) Did you see the new Air Force dress?
 
Have you ever thought about Officer Training School (OCS)? Its the path I considered taking for a while.
Thought about it, and may go later in my career. I actually found out that despite my grades, my ASVAB score was good enough to make me eligible for an ROTC scholarship if I get a high enough score on my ACT.
 
-SGT McC

PS: I am not a recruiter either. :)

Yeah yeah yeah...we can sniff a recruiter from miles away. ;) j/k

They've been divisions and Recruit Division Commanders for at least six years (I went to RTC in 2003). I guess they changed it in the intervening six? years. No more rifles or running between ships, either. Or foul language from the RDCs, for that matter. It's just not what it used to be.

Yeah, I went to Great Mistakes in '90. We never had rifles...to my understanding that was done away with a few years before I got there, but...wow, sounds like at least a few things have changed from my day, and I've only been away seven years.

Thought about it, and may go later in my career. I actually found out that despite my grades, my ASVAB score was good enough to make me eligible for an ROTC scholarship if I get a high enough score on my ACT.

If you can get a ROTC scholarship, do that. Seaman to Admiral's a good path, but it also depends on a selection board with whatever criteria and vacancies have for that selection year. You could literally be waiting years for a slot to a program that has different selection board members with different ideas on who's deserving and who needs more training from year to year. A ROTC schlarship would definitely be a more readily accessible path to a commission.

Any way it goes, definitely watch what rate you sign onto before you take that first oath at the MEPS. Once you sign a contract, especially if it's not as advertised, your career can come to a much different conclusion than what you wanted to go to. DO NOT sign up as a nuke if you're looking for a SEAL billet...you can go regular MM and be a SEAL, but if you nuke MM you definitely won't be.

Looks like you've got a lot of support around here regardless! None of us want you to go down a path you don't want to take...hopefully the advice straight from the Career Counselor's mouth can clear a lot of things up in a hurry!

Whichever way it goes, welcome aboard Shipmate!

- Tigerhawk, former YN1(AW), USN
 
Blech, blech, and blech. If sailors wanted to look like Marines (particularly the Navy Working Uniform... the "blend with the ship" reason given for using MARPAT is stupid; if the enemy is close enough to distinguish people, you've got far bigger problems than uniforms clashing with the hull), they'd have signed up for Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. :p

[/rant]

AHHH!!! my eyes....Seriously, I think I'm going to be sick. Those uniforms just look so wrong to me.
 
AHHH!!! my eyes....Seriously, I think I'm going to be sick. Those uniforms just look so wrong to me.

Uhm........whoa.

What's up with the fascination for "digital camo", anyway? And just what the hell was the matter with the jumpsuits...?

Wow. That uniform just sucks.
 
You are joining the ranks of what less than one tenth of a percent of the citizens of this country have done in its history. Standing up voluntarily and swearing the oath of allegiance. Be proud of yourself, as we are proud of you.

What is that number referring to? The US has about 300 million people. The active military and reserve is more than 2 million people. The VA website says there's 23 million veterans alive. Though a small percentage of those didn't sign up voluntarily, but I think the number you're going for is something like 8%.
 
I started my physical, and started getting worried as we moved closer to eyes. My vision has never been great, and was stressed out the past few days freaking out that I'd be disqualified. Turns out, my visions correctable to 20/20. Hooya, right? Now that'd I'd had a chance to calm down, I figured the rest of the day would be a breeze. Color check time, no problems... I thought. Turns out, Uncle Sam thinks I see in black and white. B frakking S. I've never had any trouble with my color vision (although my sister said that explains my wardrobe.) So I spoke with a doctor later, and we look over the Ishihara book, and apparently, I can see the difference. The problem is, I couldn't put the dots into numbers. F my life. On the upside, my sister's boyfriend had a similar experience, but he consulted an outside doc and now he's in flight school. So, I'm going to do the same, see if can't make this work. Also, when I got home, I went on the internet and looked for tests and corrections. I really didn't have all that much trouble, had my no-color-blind mom checking my answers.
And as a small shaft from life, when I went to Panera purchased a delicious Jones soda. And under the cap I read-

You just helped save a child's eyesight.

Thank you
 
I started my physical, and started getting worried as we moved closer to eyes. My vision has never been great, and was stressed out the past few days freaking out that I'd be disqualified. Turns out, my visions correctable to 20/20. Hooya, right? Now that'd I'd had a chance to calm down, I figured the rest of the day would be a breeze. Color check time, no problems... I thought. Turns out, Uncle Sam thinks I see in black and white. B frakking S. I've never had any trouble with my color vision (although my sister said that explains my wardrobe.) So I spoke with a doctor later, and we look over the Ishihara book, and apparently, I can see the difference. The problem is, I couldn't put the dots into numbers. F my life. On the upside, my sister's boyfriend had a similar experience, but he consulted an outside doc and now he's in flight school. So, I'm going to do the same, see if can't make this work. Also, when I got home, I went on the internet and looked for tests and corrections. I really didn't have all that much trouble, had my no-color-blind mom checking my answers.
And as a small shaft from life, when I went to Panera purchased a delicious Jones soda. And under the cap I read-

You just helped save a child's eyesight.

Thank you

So...did they DQ you or is this a story still in progress?
 
DQd for now. There is no way in Hades I'm letting this stop me.

If there's something I'm thankful for, it's having all these medical exams behind me. The looking, prodding, touching, etc for enlisting, and then commissioning, is awful.

Seriously, who cares if I can walk like a duck or not?! :D
 
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