just to add to how it's different for different communities, i'm a navy missile technician by trade, so i deploy on SSBN's, which are ballistic missile submarines - yeah, i work on nukes, really cool, btw...SSBN's have two crews, so the boat is at sea, pretty much all the time, leaving one crew behind...each crew goes out for about three months at a time, while the other is at home for about three months at a time...since our mission is strategic nuclear deterrence, our schedule is pretty much completely unaffected by wartime...we're always at war...now, you won't be attached to the same submarine the whole time you're in...we have a sea/shore rotation...depending on your rate or job, it will be different, but for missile techs, you'll join, go to boot camp, then to a 4 month 'a' school, and then a 4 month 'c' school and go to your first boat for a 4 year sea tour, which will be followed by a 3 year shore tour (no going to sea on a boat for 3 years - woohoo!)...then you go back to sea for 3 years, then to shore for 3 years, yadda yadda yadda, back and forth...here's the catch since the war started for us missile guys...when we go to shore duty, we may get called to do an IA (individual augmentee) tour over in iraq, afghanistan or even bahrain or cuba...this means, we leave our shore commands, grab a rifle, sidearm, kevlar, combat utilities and some boots and stand a post in the desert for a year with a combat unit or sometimes a support staff unit over there in country...but, you do get to spend an extra year on shore duty if you get to do one of those...personally, i'd like to go over there and do some stuff, and i always volunteer every time an IA comes up for my code, so we'll see...i'm a soccer coach for my 6 year old daughter, and i also have a 4 year old son...i've been married for almost 10 years to an awesome woman, so maybe i just got lucky...i seem to balance my life out just fine, but i'm not in a combat unit (anymore...i used to be a PFC in the army stationed with the 3rd ranger battalion and i spent a pretty good amount of time in panama with no ties to anyone or anything - completely different)...it's different for everyone...
)I spent 1980 -1987 in the Navy as a Jet Engine Mechanic and saw the world and really enjoyed it, but yes you have to do your time scrubbin some fun things or other stupid tasks, but I learned a skill that got me into working for the airlines and kept me employed in a comfortable life style in my life. It did me good and I too have the great stories to tell, none of which I am able to tell my kids just yet. It is what you make of it,boot camp was no big deal, my first squdron, VF-1 was great and being on the carriers was hard work, but you got to plunder a port every 6 weeks or so. It was not too bad, I would do it again and in a sick way I enjoyed it. Good luck to which ever branch you choose if you decide to go down this path. Chaz
