Navy - Who is in it?

[WookieeForLife]

Right now my plan is to go into the Navy after I graduate this summer. Anyone in there right now that can give me an idea of what I am in for?

[oldsalt]

Good times! I joined in '99 & was wounded in Jan of '07. So, now I'm retired! I know you asked for anyone that's currently in, but I thought I'd tell you that it is the best gig without a bass you'll ever have! Like anything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Bust your ass. Learn to take commands & criticism well. Do the work of the pay grade above yours. Realize that everyone cleans & does dishes at some point. Say "hi" to the sea for me. When it gets tough, just put your head down & do the work. Days are long, but weeks are short. Lines don't last forever. The senior people are actually there to help you. Pick your rate wisely! Keep your head on a swivel. Port is on your left hand side when facing forward. There's no such thing as bulkhead remover, a bucket of steam, a flux capacitor, or gig line straightener Oh & make sure you know how to swim.....you'd be surprised!
Seriously, any questions, just ask!

[ADbassman]

I've been in for a little over a year and a half. It's a good time, really. As OldSalt mentioned, choose your rate wisely. "Chose your rate, chose your fate." My rate in particular is kinda bizarre so I'm not a fair representative of the fleet as a whole, but I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

[Bard2dbone]

Would you perhaps be an AD?

Yes. I'm guessing based on your username.

I've been out of the Navy a really long time. Since May of '88 as a matter of fact. But I endorse everything that Oldsalt said. Even after being out this long I still get backwards on Rate and Rating when talking. Mostly that's because a lot of people say them backwards. If I'm remembering right and your rate is your payscale and your rating is your job, then I'll shout what everyone else has muttered.

CHOOSE YOUR RATING CAREFULLY!!!

Ahem. I mean look many times before you sign. I went in to do one job and ended up doing another later. Fortunately for me, both were marketable skills in the civilan world.(I was an ET, then an HM.) But many are not. And the Navy needs those jobs filled, too. Try real hard to not fill one, if you can.

[WookieeForLife]

I got a 78 on my ASVAB so the recruiter said I have a good field of jobs to choose from.

[CamMcIntyre]

I'm in it now. I'm an MU (musician), and have barely started my time in A-School.

Like oldsalt said, learn how to swim before you get here. If possible, learn how to prone float before you get here as well. I passed that portion of the swim qualification two days before I was going to get moved back in training...yeah, last person in my training group to pass my 3rd class swim qual.

If you have any questions about the enlisting process or boot camp, hit me up. I'll answer whatever I can.

[WookieeForLife]

Originally Posted by CamMcIntyre

If you have any questions about the enlisting process or boot camp, hit me up. I'll answer whatever I can.

Not going to lie. This is what I am scared of.

[tekdiver500ft]

Boot camp is 90% mental if you are in reasonably good shape. Just realize that it's all a game, nothing your DI says is personal (no matter how it sounds at the time). The reality of it is that the majority of DIs are really good guys, and are genuinely interested in your welfare, and want to ensure that you are a productive member of the Navy before they pass you. If you aren't qualified, and they pass you, people die. So, they do anything they can do make sure that you understand that people depend on you, and you depend on them. If you get that, and can keep from letting it be personal, then it's a breeze.

[fhm555]

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

Not going to lie. This is what I am scared of.

Just a little something from a former active member of a department of the Navy regards your fear of boot camp. This actually came from a career Army aviator, but it applies to your fears nonetheless.

My dad once told me he could stand on his head and whistle dixie while someone poured hot lead down his azz...as long as he knew it was temporary.

Boot camp is temporary. Approach it that way and it's not near as daunting.

[oldsalt]

You only have to get through it once. Then, you reap the benefits for a lifetime. The worst part of basic was the lack of sleep<======that's part of the mental workout. Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork is the other part. You aren't the only person on a ship. The quicker you get working as a unit, the easier life gets. & if you wanna shine a little, memorize all of the things they want you to memorize before you get there! Other than that, it's not bad. Only eight weeks. You go in a raw product & come out a sailor. Take a deep breath & relax. They need sailors. Again, everyone there is actually there to make sure that you become not only a sailor, but a valuable one at that.

[CamMcIntyre]

Boot camp wasn't as bad as you think it will be. I'm pretty fresh out of boot camp (graduated Nov 18th), so here's my opinion.

Everything that the other people have said is true. You don't sleep much the first few days, I think we were up for about 36hrs straight the first night, and then there are a few nights later on where you don't get much sleep. Beyond that, we were given the opportunity for at least 7-8hrs of sleep per night.

The biggest adjustments for me were: body weight only exercise (I did a powerlifting orientated routine before enlisting), living with 87 other guys in one compartment (aka no privacy, ever), and not being in much contact with family. I lived by myself in a studio apartment before enlisting, so being there with so many people, many of whom were straight out of high school, was an adjustment.

If you don't already, start testing yourself on the PRT. The PRT is the physical readiness test which consists of 2mins of pushups, 2 mins of situps, and a 1.5 mile run. I wish I would have gotten better at those things before getting to RTC-mostly pushups. You will learn to love them, and to go well beyond what you thought you could do.

Learn your 11 general orders and chain of command BEFORE you get to RTC. I believe it's a requirement at this point to get your PQS signed off by your recruiter before leaving...I was in one of the last classes to ship before that came to be true. I spent quite a bit of time memorizing that stuff while my shipmates were studying for test 1.

The RDC's (Recruit Division Commanders) are great. They may seem like they are only there to make you feel like crap, but there's a reason behind everything they do. I am extremely thankful to my RDC's, as well as the other RDC's that assisted in our training while at RTC.

Some parts of boot camp weren't fun at all, but some parts were a blast. I have noticed several changes in myself, learned many new things, and have improved as a person, all thanks to going to RTC. Just remember, it is only 8 weeks out of a 4 year contract. You will hear it many times, Boot Camp is not what the Navy is like. Heck, A School is not what the Navy is like (so I'm told). I am extremely happy to be done with boot camp, but if I had to, I'd do it again without hesitation.

Here's a link to RTC (Recruit Training Command) aka Boot Camp website. There's a lot of good information.
Recruit Training Command - Recruits

[Tsal]

It's a good idea to get your body ready for all those exercise. Best way IMO is just to do things that are required from you, that's the way they are going to rate you anyway. Of course general working out and fitness doesn't hurt.

When I was in the army, hardest thing to get used to during the basic was walking more than a mile with 20-30 pounds of gear. Filling a backpack with some weight and taking a nice long strolls through the woods can be a good idea.

[ADbassman]

Originally Posted by Bard2dbone

Would you perhaps be an AD?

Yes. I'm guessing based on your username.

Actually I'm a CTI (Cryptological Technician Interpretive, a translator in other words). AD stands for Anti-Dyer, which was my first band.

Everybody here is pretty spot on about boot camp. I honestly thought boot camp was fun, but I found ways around the ******** all the time. For the longest time I kept my head down and out of sight of the RDCs whenever they were filling positions, until that became unavoidable, at which point I became the EPO (Educational Petty Officer). I ran study time and tutored the people who were too dumb to pass the tests, which are exceedingly easy. I know it seems like a lot of information to memorize in a short period of time, but bear in mind it's pretty much all you're doing and you're getting paid to do it. There would be times when we would just stand in front of our racks and recite the chain of command or general orders. The rest of the time whenever I had downtime I would read my training guide or the bluejackets manual. I ended up memorizing both almost word for word by the end cause it's all I had to read for 2 months.

I always felt like we had a lot of down time, which is good for memorizing things or getting to know your shipmates, but it's also prime time for trouble. The RDCs will be going around looking for any reason to turn your world upside down and they're quite good at it. Just keep your head on a swivel and keep situational awareness. That will actually take you a long way in the real Navy too, which is pretty much the point. Always go above and beyond and be honest and you'll do fine. Boot camp isn't that hard, and remember that things get much better afterwards. Like I said, I had a good time in boot camp and met a lot of really cool people. You get out of it what you put into it. If you want to be a dirtbag, don't expect any favors from anyone, but if you do your job and give it your all, doors will open.

[WookieeForLife]

Thanks to everyone posting!

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

Right now my plan is to go into the Navy after I graduate this summer. Anyone in there right now that can give me an idea of what I am in for?

From the movies, some officer yelling and shouting at you etc
No I've not been to the US navy, but I've done 3 years service, as a "foot soldier ", but not in the US, and not in Norway either.
Basically if you are going to go through hard training, for 95% of the population this amount of activity is not usual in the civil life. In addition amount of sleeping is vastly reduced for most. So, from my experience, get yourself into the best shape you can with focus on endurance both physically and mentally. You should also do some strength/ weight training, even though ill say endurance should come first. To be "resilient" is what I'll say is the key factor.
I do not miss the army, and the 3 years I've been through have been the hardest thing I went through in my life. But I remember this time at service positively. I've learned a lot, much about myself. Be prepared, and enjoy it as you can. Life in the army is kind of working it day by day, it will seem like it take very long time to go through it, but suddenly you are finished with your service with mixed feelings, very happy to finish but still kind of and end of an era, you will have to say goodbye to some new freinds etc.

[fmoore200]

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

Right now my plan is to go into the Navy after I graduate this summer. Anyone in there right now that can give me an idea of what I am in for?

Soon after high school I wanted to join. I went to a recruiter and after having the appropriate amount of smoke blown up my balloon knot I decided to give it a go.

Got picked up at 3:45am and taken out to Brooklyn where they take all recruits for testing and physicals. I was put in a huge empty room with about 50 other guys and was told to undress to my underwear. It was February and they had all the Windows open and fans going. I was quite shriveled, lol.

From there we were taken to a bathroom where there was about twenty or so urinals. We were each given a cup and told to give a sample while they watched.

Then we were given the general aptitude test. Me and a girl scored high enough on the math section that we were given the test to become nuclear technicians. I don't know exactly what that is, but it sounded cool, so I took the test. It was pretty hard and I misses the cut by a few points.

I said I wasn't prepared and they were willing to give me another chance, but I had blood pressure issues and I couldn't go any further. Se la vi...

[Waterpilot]

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

Not going to lie. This is what I am scared of.

I don't know about Navy boot camp, I was in the Marine Corps, but my guess is what everyone told me about the Marine Corps will translate...

The first 24 hours are the hardest and as soon as you get there you'll want to leave... Once you get the feel for things though it gets better, relatively speaking.

The day I graduated Marine Corps boot camp was one of the proudest days of my life though. It was an accomplishment like no other up to that point.

The military is a fantastic opportunity and I wish I took more advantage then I did. Good luck!

[JohnMCA72]

1.Sleep on the shelf in your closet.
2.Replace the door with a curtain.
3.Four hours after you go to sleep, have your wife whip open the curtain, shine a flashlight in your eyes, and mumble, "Sorry wrong rack".
4.Build a wall across the middle of your bathtub and move the showerhead down to your chest level.
5.When you take showers make sure you turn off the water while soaping.
6.Every time there is a thunderstorm, go sit in a wobbly rocking chair and rock as hard as you can until you're nauseous.
7.Put lube oil in your humidifier instead of water and set it to "high".
8.Don't watch TV except for movies in the middle of the night. Also, have your family vote on which movie to watch, and then show a different one.
9.Leave your lawnmower running in your living room for 24 hours a day for the proper noise level.
10.Have the paperboy give you a haircut.
11.Once a week blow compressed air up your chimney, making sure the wind carries the soot across to your neighbor's house. Laugh at him when he curses you.
12.Wake up every night and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on stale bread. Optional: canned ravioli or cold soup.
13.Set your alarm clock to go off at random times during the night. When it goes off, jump out of bed, get dressed as fast as you can, then run into your backyard and break out the garden hose.
14.Once a month take apart every major appliance and then put them back together again.
15.Use 18 scoops of coffee per pot and allow it to sit for 5-6 days before drinking.
16.Invite 100+ people you don't really like to come and visit for a couple of months.
17.Install a fluorescent lamp on the bottom of your coffee table and lie under it to read books.
18.Raise the threshold and lower the top sills on your front and back doors so that you either trip over the threshold or hit your head on the sill every time you pass through.
19.Every so often, throw your cat into the swimming pool, shout "man overboard, ship recovery!", run into the kitchen and sweep all the pots/pans/dishes off the counter onto the floor, then yell at your wife for not having the place "stowed for sea".
20.Put on the headphones from your stereo (don't plug them in). Go stand in front of your stove. Say (to no one in particular) "stove manned and ready". Stand there for 3-4 hours. Say (once again to nobody) "stove secured". Roll up the headphone cord and put it away.
21.When it rains. Get two empty coke bottles, tie them together, and hang them around your neck. Go outside and stand in the rain for four hours. From time to time look through the coke bottles and observe the horizon and lightning.
22.Put on a clean white suit, then go change the oil in your car.

[skychief]

Originally Posted by JohnMCA72

15.Use 18 scoops of coffee per pot and allow it to sit for 5-6 days before drinking.

After complaining about the strength of the coffee, I was told by the cook "Stand a spoon in the center of the cup - if it falls to the side, the coffee's too weak."

[HeavyDuty]

1. Thank you all for your service.

2. Am I the only one that can't get the Village People's "In The Navy" out of my head since seeing the thread title? I need an icepick.