..namely the Navy but, i would like to get your opinion on how it was for you and maybe some advice that a recruiter wouldnt tell you.
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Anybody serve in the military?
- Thread starter Ojinomoto
- Start date
My brother was a complete and total looser until he did a 10 year stint in the navy. Now he is human.
I think if people can't get work for long periods of time military seems like a good way to get on track.
I think if people can't get work for long periods of time military seems like a good way to get on track.
- Apr 1, 2000
- 17,410
- 9,868
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Roscoe Guitars, DR Strings, Aguilar Amplification
Get everything in writing. Before you sign anything.
I've been in two branches and have served almost 20 years now. I've loved it. Did you know that you can get a gig as a bass player in all 4 services?
I've been in two branches and have served almost 20 years now. I've loved it. Did you know that you can get a gig as a bass player in all 4 services?
- Apr 1, 2000
- 17,410
- 9,868
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Roscoe Guitars, DR Strings, Aguilar Amplification
Each of the 4 armed services has a band program. If you pass the audition, you could have a full-time gig, with benefits.
My four years in the Army was a positive experience. Now, looking back, I am very appreciative of that time. I made at least one life-long friend whom I will be visiting in a few weeks after about 14 years without contact.
The only thing I will say about the recruiting experience is to ask lots of questions and make sure you get straight answers. Most recruiters are very solid individuals, in my experience, but a few bad apples give everyone else a bad reputation.
The only thing I will say about the recruiting experience is to ask lots of questions and make sure you get straight answers. Most recruiters are very solid individuals, in my experience, but a few bad apples give everyone else a bad reputation.
Just remember that the recruiter is there to sell you something. It is only normal that he or she will leave the unpleasant parts out. But there is nothing in the Navy that is so bad that you cannot overcome it. Remember to read the contract, then bring your folks over to read it with you again. If the recuiter promises you ANYTHING, make sure that it is WRITTEN in that contract before you sign.
The military life is not for everyone. It calls for putting up with things that your civilian counterpart doesn't have to worry about. It calls for setting your personal beliefs and feelings aside for the good of someone else or for the sake of your mission. If you feel that you can do the dumbest/most menial/most suicidal things because someone told you that you have to then you may fit right in.
I've been doing this for 16 yrs now and I love it.
ditto. i'm in the army. It's alright, i liked my old job better though and ready to be a civillian again.
I really want to enlist when i'm of age. My dad served in the 31st highlanders and my grandpa was in wwII, So i feel I should enlist myself. I feel like it'd be a good thing to enlist, whether it be full time enlistment or even part time.
For what its worth, I know about 10 people in the USMC including my brother and every single one has told me not to join because I would regret every second of it, hands down. But thats the USMC..
My personal opinion is that the military give you a direction in life and structure that seems to be missing in this day and age. I also think the Navy is an excellent way to see the world.
ALL the men on my father's side of the family were in some branch of the military going back to the Civil War. My grandfather was in Burma and my father in the Navy during Vietnam. I would have enlisted but was lucky enough to be the first male in the family with an opportunity to go to college right after high school. If I was not afforded this opportunity I would have joined the Navy for sure.
Make sure to READ everything you sign and understand that there is a WAR going on and it will not be an easy ride. It IS dangerous, and the possibility of injury or death is REAL. Please think it over very carefully. Good luck!
ALL the men on my father's side of the family were in some branch of the military going back to the Civil War. My grandfather was in Burma and my father in the Navy during Vietnam. I would have enlisted but was lucky enough to be the first male in the family with an opportunity to go to college right after high school. If I was not afforded this opportunity I would have joined the Navy for sure.
Make sure to READ everything you sign and understand that there is a WAR going on and it will not be an easy ride. It IS dangerous, and the possibility of injury or death is REAL. Please think it over very carefully. Good luck!
One of my music teachers keeps telling me about that. I played bass for the college show choir and jazz band and I don't want to have to deal with any more of that crap ANYMORE! (bad memories) But hey, to each his own.
What exactly is with the "contract?' Right now, to me, it would seem like there would be something "special" that went along with a "contract." Whats different about one persons contract opposed to someone elses?
Which is exactly why Im quitting college and gonna pursue it. I wanted to get a second job and move to France but that would take FOREVER and I absolutey hate where I live, my lack of purpose, and where I am in life, so Im going to save my millitary money, go in as a Cryptologist (hopefully! I love languages and different cultures!) and travel, travel, travel!
My only real concern is this, in the Navy, you're on a ship or sub, duh, but would I be able to bring my guitar with me?(electric, no amp or gear, just it and a hardshell case. Sorry bass
) It's kinda important that I be able to bring it, being a musician and all.Also, my parents keep stressin that "oh Navy, but your on a ship 6 months out of the year!" My problem isn't the length, but while you're out to sea, are you visting ports during that time or is it a straight run of nothing but sea? Im asking you guys because I can get truer answers, maybe.
I think of large segments of my enlistment as being like prison, but without the fun parts.
Okay, that was an exaggeration. It wasn't all that bad. The contract everyone is talking about is your personal enlistment papers. DON'T go in without a school picked out. Recruiters will often try to talk you into going in for one of the apprenticeship programs. Those are exactly the opposite of what the name implies. An apprenticeship is when you get sent to the fleet with no job skills at all. You'd just be an unskilled Seaman/Fireman/Airman/Whateverman. Then you'd have to pick a job to try to get a school for. And you can't go to that school until you're accepted to it and there is an opening.
If you can sign up for a particular job at the MEPS station you'll go straight to that school right after boot camp in stead of after being underpaid unskilled labor for a couple of years. Most of the good schools require signing for an extended enlistment. For example: the Nuclear power program, ET, STS...all the technical schools require a six year hitch, in stead of four.
Giving away two extra years of your lifesounds like forever while you're young. Don't worry. It's just two more years. If you can talk the recruiter into a useful job get it in writing on your contract and all will be well.
Time on a ship is a couple of years. The six months at a time thing is actually out at sea. But you won't go on cruises that long all the time. What I personally experienced was being in homeport, except for short periods of time at sea, say two or three weeks at a time, mostly, for about a year, then going out on a cruise scheduled for six months that then got extended to eight months.
I can't swear that's still what happens, but it happened to me a few times.
I had a bass on the ship, but no real amplifier. If they still make the Rockman (tm) you should get one.
I'm so sleepy.
Okay, that was an exaggeration. It wasn't all that bad. The contract everyone is talking about is your personal enlistment papers. DON'T go in without a school picked out. Recruiters will often try to talk you into going in for one of the apprenticeship programs. Those are exactly the opposite of what the name implies. An apprenticeship is when you get sent to the fleet with no job skills at all. You'd just be an unskilled Seaman/Fireman/Airman/Whateverman. Then you'd have to pick a job to try to get a school for. And you can't go to that school until you're accepted to it and there is an opening.
If you can sign up for a particular job at the MEPS station you'll go straight to that school right after boot camp in stead of after being underpaid unskilled labor for a couple of years. Most of the good schools require signing for an extended enlistment. For example: the Nuclear power program, ET, STS...all the technical schools require a six year hitch, in stead of four.
Giving away two extra years of your lifesounds like forever while you're young. Don't worry. It's just two more years. If you can talk the recruiter into a useful job get it in writing on your contract and all will be well.
Time on a ship is a couple of years. The six months at a time thing is actually out at sea. But you won't go on cruises that long all the time. What I personally experienced was being in homeport, except for short periods of time at sea, say two or three weeks at a time, mostly, for about a year, then going out on a cruise scheduled for six months that then got extended to eight months.
I can't swear that's still what happens, but it happened to me a few times.
I had a bass on the ship, but no real amplifier. If they still make the Rockman (tm) you should get one.
I'm so sleepy.
Jon-
Did you enlist as a 'bass player' or did you serve a different role in the military before joining the band?
Your personal space is a 'coffin locker' which is like a tray under the surface you sleep on. You'll have a little hanging locker at the foot of your rack. It's about three feet tall and six or eight inches wide to keep your coat and shoes in. The coffin locker is where most of your stuff will go. It's about four or five inches deep and around six and a half feet by three feet-ish. The mattress you sleep on will sit on top of the lid of the coffin locker. The next guys bed will be about three or four inches above you. Rolling over with be a new experience.
Any large posessions will have to go into 'voids' which are dead spaces throughout the ship. There is no security to any of those spaces to speak of. That's why you won't have a real amplifier on board. But a Rockman is a headphone amp about the size of an old Sony Walkman. They didn't sound great for bass, but it was something and it was small enough to go in the coffin. I was fortunate in that my original Division had several voids that only they could get to, so my bass was somewhat secure.
In port your work schedule will usually be about like a civilian job, except for duty days. Out at sea schedules can vary fairly widely. Most times the CO will be able to pick how the shifts are divided. There are only so many ways that they'll typically carve up the day. 2 X 12 hour shifts, or 3 X 8 hours, or 4 X 6 hours. At times we did all of those. They are all fairly traditional choices. The six hour shifts were six on six off around the clock. They sucked.. The coolest choice we ever had was some experimental program where they divided us down to ten hours on, twenty hours off, that was a pretty comfortable shift with a substantial downtime. Unfortunately it made it hard to figure out schedules far into the future. I haven't yet met anyone else who was on that experimental schedule. About a third of us thrived on it. Most people hated it.
Any large posessions will have to go into 'voids' which are dead spaces throughout the ship. There is no security to any of those spaces to speak of. That's why you won't have a real amplifier on board. But a Rockman is a headphone amp about the size of an old Sony Walkman. They didn't sound great for bass, but it was something and it was small enough to go in the coffin. I was fortunate in that my original Division had several voids that only they could get to, so my bass was somewhat secure.
In port your work schedule will usually be about like a civilian job, except for duty days. Out at sea schedules can vary fairly widely. Most times the CO will be able to pick how the shifts are divided. There are only so many ways that they'll typically carve up the day. 2 X 12 hour shifts, or 3 X 8 hours, or 4 X 6 hours. At times we did all of those. They are all fairly traditional choices. The six hour shifts were six on six off around the clock. They sucked.. The coolest choice we ever had was some experimental program where they divided us down to ten hours on, twenty hours off, that was a pretty comfortable shift with a substantial downtime. Unfortunately it made it hard to figure out schedules far into the future. I haven't yet met anyone else who was on that experimental schedule. About a third of us thrived on it. Most people hated it.
This has got to be one of the funniest threads I've ever read.
".....If you feel that you can do the dumbest/most menial/most suicidal things because someone told you that you have to then you may fit right in. I've been doing this for 16 yrs now and I love it."
"...I also think the Navy is an excellent way to see the world....It IS dangerous, and the possibility of injury or death is REAL."
"Just remember that the ultimate purpose in life for every single person in the military is to kill other people...That said, it can be extremely rewarding job..."
".....If you feel that you can do the dumbest/most menial/most suicidal things because someone told you that you have to then you may fit right in. I've been doing this for 16 yrs now and I love it."
"...I also think the Navy is an excellent way to see the world....It IS dangerous, and the possibility of injury or death is REAL."
"Just remember that the ultimate purpose in life for every single person in the military is to kill other people...That said, it can be extremely rewarding job..."
- Apr 1, 2000
- 17,410
- 9,868
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Roscoe Guitars, DR Strings, Aguilar Amplification
No, I do that!
Yes - guaranteed band assignments. In the Army (as is the case with the Navy and Marine Corps), I got sent to the Armed Forces School of Music right after basic. In the Air Force, you just report to your band after basic.
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