sourceninja
Diamond Member
- Mar 8, 2005
- 8,805
- 65
- 91
If I was to go into the military. I'd go in as an officer, which means college first. Your treatment is much better and it pays well as a career and not a road bump on your way to a career.
dud
Diamond Member
- Feb 18, 2001
- 7,635
- 73
- 91
My dad retired as a Navy civilian (30+ years), I worked for the DON for 6 years and my youngest enlisted in the Navy earlier this year.
Honeslty, being a somewhat "Navy family" it was fun but you should know that (currently) because of the recession and the fact that the Navy is having NO problems recruiting people you will probably NOT get a recruiting bonus and, based upon what rating you choose you can expect to wait as much as 6-to-12 months from enlistement to finally going to boot camp at Great Lakes. My son enlisted in January only to find that he would not be reporting for duty until January, 2010. He eventually got out of his Navy enlistment and enlisted in the Army ... with a healthy bonus and an October report date (as a helicopter repairer).
This.
get a BS degree first. Get student loans then go into the Navy/Air Force etc... that way you go in as a officeer and get your school paid off.
Look into ROTC in college.
lupi
Lifer
- Apr 8, 2001
- 32,539
- 260
- 126
Nah, nuke program was easy. Just boring as hell once you get in and you wished you were somewhere else.
But he's right about the rest; if you go enlisted and don't have your job/reason for entry in writing before signing be prepared to be fuked when they select for you.
dainthomas
Lifer
- Dec 7, 2004
- 14,941
- 3,922
- 136
That school sucked for me. Of course it might have had something to do with being preoccupied with other things (being 18 and in Florida
).Once I got to the fleet it rocked, though. Phillipines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Dubai were a total blast. If you like travel and want to see places you very likely will NEVER see otherwise then that's the way to go. Sure beats the hell out of CC.
Originally posted by: MichaelD
Serving in any of our nation's Armed Forces is a wonderful thing. All of our men and women in uniform are truly putting service before self and should be commended. Good on you for thinking about serving.
But...if you have the option; I'd go Air Force.
I agree! As a soldier I used to loathe the "chair force", but given the chance to do it all again, I would have went air force just simply because the standard of living is so much higher.
Okay, here's my 2-cents.
I agree that you want whatever career field you've chosen (and qualify for) in writing. Otherwise, you're open to whatever crappy job they have a hard time filling. Recruiter promises that aren't in writing aren't worth crap once you've signed the paper and raised your hand to take the oath, and you'd pretty much be laughed at if you complain later on. Did I mention to GET IT IN WRITING???
That being said, the Navy has some great career programs, with definite potential for a career after the navy, whether you're in for 4 years or retire with 20+ years. Like someone above said, the two most technical programs are anything dealing with advanced electronics, or nuclear power (which included electrical, electronic and mechanical fields). If you're looking for something "outdoorsy", you can probably count out both of those areas, though (since the nukes work down in "the hole", i.e.-engineering stations, and the electronics types generally spend lots of time in the best damn air conditioned spaces on board the ship, due to electronics not working well in high heat).
For outdoors work, your best bet might be looking into the "Seabees" (CB's, or Construction Battalion) jobs. Their promotion potential isn't as good as other career fields (usually), but the guys that work in the CB ratings pretty much consider themselves CB's for life, and enjoy some good comraderie.
Really, though, you should consider a career field in whatever area you think you'd eventually like to get a degree in, as you'll then be more likely to get college credits later on for your training and experience. So far as college credit for basic training, some colleges will give you a physical education class credit for it, but that's about it. Remember, though, that you'll be getting the new GI Bill for enlisting, and you should also get 100% tuition assistance for any classes you take while you're active duty. They do offer classes while you're underway, so you can knock off a lot of your prerequisite classes right away.
So far as which service branch to enlist in, you're pretty much assured of being deployed in one way or the other. The difference being that the army & marines will be pounding the ground (you can guess where), the air force will likely be working at their own bases (though they have taken over some convoy duties from the army in Iraq), and the navy, for the most part, will be turning circles out in the ocean. I can tell you, from personal experience, that having done 3 deployments on a carrier, I got to see a whole lot more places than the air force guys I work with now (I'm civil service with the AF), but usually only for 5-10 days at a pop, while we were in port (of which you'll most likely be on 3 section duty, stuck on the ship every 3rd day). Also, the navy has much better promotion potential than the air force, as I took my sweet ass time and made E6 in 8 years, which is almost unheard of in the AF (possible, but unlikely).
Personally, I'd recommend the navy, with the caveat that it's not for everyone. I would suggest that when your buddy gets back to home port, arrange to go visit him for a few days, and get him to escort you on the ship (usually not a problem in my day, not sure about now, after 9-11). See the living conditions, get a feel for what sort of crowding you have on a ship, so you'll better understand that pretty much the only personal time you'll ever have will be on the shitter, in the shower, and in your bunk. I wouldn't trade my time I spend on board the ship for anything now, though I didn't always enjoy every little detail while I was in, and serving. It's definitely a worthwhile way to spend part of your life, imho.
Oh yeah, and I was a nuke machinist's mate (mechanic), went through nuke power school back when it was in Orlando, class 8107. Feel free to make all the glow in the dark comments you want.
I agree that you want whatever career field you've chosen (and qualify for) in writing. Otherwise, you're open to whatever crappy job they have a hard time filling. Recruiter promises that aren't in writing aren't worth crap once you've signed the paper and raised your hand to take the oath, and you'd pretty much be laughed at if you complain later on. Did I mention to GET IT IN WRITING???
That being said, the Navy has some great career programs, with definite potential for a career after the navy, whether you're in for 4 years or retire with 20+ years. Like someone above said, the two most technical programs are anything dealing with advanced electronics, or nuclear power (which included electrical, electronic and mechanical fields). If you're looking for something "outdoorsy", you can probably count out both of those areas, though (since the nukes work down in "the hole", i.e.-engineering stations, and the electronics types generally spend lots of time in the best damn air conditioned spaces on board the ship, due to electronics not working well in high heat).
For outdoors work, your best bet might be looking into the "Seabees" (CB's, or Construction Battalion) jobs. Their promotion potential isn't as good as other career fields (usually), but the guys that work in the CB ratings pretty much consider themselves CB's for life, and enjoy some good comraderie.
Really, though, you should consider a career field in whatever area you think you'd eventually like to get a degree in, as you'll then be more likely to get college credits later on for your training and experience. So far as college credit for basic training, some colleges will give you a physical education class credit for it, but that's about it. Remember, though, that you'll be getting the new GI Bill for enlisting, and you should also get 100% tuition assistance for any classes you take while you're active duty. They do offer classes while you're underway, so you can knock off a lot of your prerequisite classes right away.
So far as which service branch to enlist in, you're pretty much assured of being deployed in one way or the other. The difference being that the army & marines will be pounding the ground (you can guess where), the air force will likely be working at their own bases (though they have taken over some convoy duties from the army in Iraq), and the navy, for the most part, will be turning circles out in the ocean. I can tell you, from personal experience, that having done 3 deployments on a carrier, I got to see a whole lot more places than the air force guys I work with now (I'm civil service with the AF), but usually only for 5-10 days at a pop, while we were in port (of which you'll most likely be on 3 section duty, stuck on the ship every 3rd day). Also, the navy has much better promotion potential than the air force, as I took my sweet ass time and made E6 in 8 years, which is almost unheard of in the AF (possible, but unlikely).
Personally, I'd recommend the navy, with the caveat that it's not for everyone. I would suggest that when your buddy gets back to home port, arrange to go visit him for a few days, and get him to escort you on the ship (usually not a problem in my day, not sure about now, after 9-11). See the living conditions, get a feel for what sort of crowding you have on a ship, so you'll better understand that pretty much the only personal time you'll ever have will be on the shitter, in the shower, and in your bunk. I wouldn't trade my time I spend on board the ship for anything now, though I didn't always enjoy every little detail while I was in, and serving. It's definitely a worthwhile way to spend part of your life, imho.
Oh yeah, and I was a nuke machinist's mate (mechanic), went through nuke power school back when it was in Orlando, class 8107. Feel free to make all the glow in the dark comments you want.
I did 4 years in the Navy from 93-97'. I was an aviation structural mechanic. The work was just ok, but being stationed in San Diego when you are 20-24 years old was a blast. I worked in a helicopter training squadron on Coronado Island. Looking back and knowing what i know now i would join the Air Force and stay in 20 years and retire. Get my masters degree while i was in the Air Force paid for by the military. If you go in at 18 you'd be retired by 38 with a masters degree. You can get a "real" job hopefully within whatever field you did in the military and have 2 incomes coming in. That is what i would have done in hind sight.
I never did go on a ship since my 1st and only tour was stationed on land. Had i re-enlisted i would have gone to a aircraft carrier. All in all i enjoyed the experience and had some good times.
And as another poster said. Whatever branch you chose you will make fun of all the other branches. Just the way it is
Also make sure you sign up for the Navy College Fund while in recruitment. From what i was told later that was the only time you can do that. I was not told this by my recruiter. I did have the GI Bill which paid for my degree i have now.
I never did go on a ship since my 1st and only tour was stationed on land. Had i re-enlisted i would have gone to a aircraft carrier. All in all i enjoyed the experience and had some good times.
And as another poster said. Whatever branch you chose you will make fun of all the other branches. Just the way it is
Also make sure you sign up for the Navy College Fund while in recruitment. From what i was told later that was the only time you can do that. I was not told this by my recruiter. I did have the GI Bill which paid for my degree i have now.
911paramedic
Diamond Member
- Jan 7, 2002
- 9,448
- 1
- 76
The college credits I received all went for "general ed" even though SMART (google it) put them into specific areas. Otherwise, it really depends on what you want to do with your life.
Question: Can a non-U.S. Citizen join the United States Military?
Answer: Yes. A non-citizen can enlist in the military. However, federal law prohibits non-citizens from becoming commission or warrant officers.
Non-citizens will also have restrictions on access to classified material which will limit them to certain career fields. In Japan, there was an Iraqi guy who was a dental technician. Non-US citizens also have their citizenship applications fast-tracked in some way by serving in the military, which makes sense to me.
OP, if you're going long term, consider the Air Force as well as the Navy. I think there are some recruitment bonuses available, but I'm not sure what career fields. If you are considering long term, definitely look into commissioning paths to becoming an officer. The pay is vastly better as are the perks overall. It's not completely rosy, however.
If you're going short term, consider the Army. Sounds crazy considering what's going on in the Mideast, but they have some excellent signing bonuses right now, and if you have half a head on your shoulders, you can get into a job which doesn't require leaving the base when you're deployed.
Incidentally, you will be deployed no matter which service you choose. And, no matter which service you choose, you will be doing a great service for your country, something which is lost on too many people these days.
If you're going short term, consider the Army. Sounds crazy considering what's going on in the Mideast, but they have some excellent signing bonuses right now, and if you have half a head on your shoulders, you can get into a job which doesn't require leaving the base when you're deployed.
Incidentally, you will be deployed no matter which service you choose. And, no matter which service you choose, you will be doing a great service for your country, something which is lost on too many people these days.
Definitely agree with getting stuff in writing.
Navy 1986-2007 Hospital Corpsman (X-ray Tech- which translated excellently to my civilian life!!)
Navy 1986-2007 Hospital Corpsman (X-ray Tech- which translated excellently to my civilian life!!)
I mostly enjoyed my enlistment, and would do it again if I were living life over. That being said I would be picky about when I joined (would have NEVER joined during Bush), and I would make certain that I was ok with what was going to happen (either agree with the military mindset, or be aware and disagree while being fully prepared to accept the consequences for that disagreement). If you're wishy-washy about it, you're not gonna make it.
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