thinking about joining the navy

[mustangkid05]

well i graduated last year, and for the past year i've been just hanging out and working at my part-time job, so i am thinking of joining the navy, to give me a little direction in my life. So my buddy brought up the idea that we should join, is there a buddy system in the navy? and if i was to sign up for 4 years, how much time do i get to spend home, like to go home and visit? also i heard the pay isn't that great but thats not why i would sign up, so how much does an elistment make? oh and how does going to college during the navy work?
thanks

 

[9A Pilot]

Alot of the ppl I know in the Nav are from PA..So you'll have plenty of company.
The first hurdle is seeing what you're qualified for...& if your going to do the "buddy program",obviously your boy will need to do the same...To me the "buddy" program is kind of a gimmick & you can only resonably expect to just go to recruit training together..The longer you & he are in,the harder it would be for you to stay in together..I've seen people do it well through their first tours..But it's more just luck.As time goes on, having your 'buddy" with you will become less & less important anyway.
Aver the couse of four years, you would earn 120 days of leave..Your ability to take leave will be determined by operational commitments...But you get 30 days per year.
We are increasingly better paid at all paygrades since I first came in..Our standard of living continues to get better in both pay & benifits,as well as the facilities such as barracks,etc...as you get more senior & move out in town,that'll be less of an issue anyway...
College is very doable on active duty & is highly encouraged.

 

[canibus]

once the 4 year term is over, is it over. or are you on call for the rest of your life? always wondered this

 

[WHITESVTCOBRA]

well technically yes you are on call for the rest of your life, but you go into inactive reserve's after your 4 active if they are anything like the army.

 

[03RedCobra]

well technically yes you are on call for the rest of your life,

What the hell are you talking about ?!?!?

You're not "on call" for the rest of your life. You have to complete an initial 8-years of duty when you join the military, the combination is different on the amount of years of active duty, reserves, inactive reserves, etc.....but after the 8-years is up, it's OVER. Period. After that 8-years you fall under the same rules as any other civilian, in regards to the draft, etc....

 

[03RedCobra]

Alot of the ppl I know in the Nav are from PA..So you'll have plenty of company.

Man, that is Sooooo true !! I knew quite a few folks in the Navy and Marines that were from Pennsylvania. I found that a lot of folks from Ohio were in the military as well.

 

[Midnight_Cobra]

Before you make a decision, don't just join the Navy cause your buddy is. I would research each branch before you make a decision.

 

[9A Pilot]

Before you make a decision, don't just join the Navy cause your buddy is. I would research each branch before you make a decision.

**** it..Make it a poll on SVT performance titled "What service should I join?"
I'm kinda curious what the results would be..

 

[Rochard]

Be a man. Join the Marines.

Twenty years later you'll thank me.

 

[Riddla]

Be more of a man and join the U.S Army

 

[KDog]

Hehehe, I love inter-service rivalry.

Midnight_Cobra's post hit it on the head. Look at each, find out who has the best job for you - something you're interested in doing and you can carry with you back into civilian life if you decide it's not right for you. Then, make damn sure that job is on the contract you sign.










...and I agree with Rochard.

 

[WHITESVTCOBRA]

What the hell are you talking about ?!?!?

You're not "on call" for the rest of your life. You have to complete an initial 8-years of duty when you join the military, the combination is different on the amount of years of active duty, reserves, inactive reserves, etc.....but after the 8-years is up, it's OVER. Period. After that 8-years you fall under the same rules as any other civilian, in regards to the draft, etc....

from what I've been told, even after your out there is always a possibility if there is some serious shit that happens they can recall all of the guys that used to be in.

 

[Rwick7]

Do you like boats?

 

[SoCalCobra]

Do you like boats?

That's not always the case, depending on what your rate is. I've been in 6.5 years, haven't been on a ship and won't be on one any time in the near future.

well i graduated last year, and for the past year i've been just hanging out and working at my part-time job, so i am thinking of joining the navy, to give me a little direction in my life. So my buddy brought up the idea that we should join, is there a buddy system in the navy? and if i was to sign up for 4 years, how much time do i get to spend home, like to go home and visit? also i heard the pay isn't that great but thats not why i would sign up, so how much does an elistment make? oh and how does going to college during the navy work?
thanks

I'll answer all of your questions and I'm not going to get into an inter-service rivalry. Every branch has their positives and negatives and since I don't have personal experience with the other branches, I won't speak on them.

The "Buddy System", like others stated, just guarantees you and your buddy go to boot camp together. If you want to go to "A" school together, you're going to have to pick the same job. Personally, I don't feel that's a good idea since not everyone is cut out to do the same job.

As far as the pay goes, here's a link to the BASE PAY charts.HERE. Obviously, you're going to be low ranking when you come in first, BUT try everything you can to get E-3 before you go to boot camp. I know that college credits help, and also helping to recruit people into the Navy while you're in DEP can help you get E-3. The reason I'm stating this is because it's a huge difference between coming in as an E-1 and and E-3. It takes 9 months to make E-2, then another 9 months to make E-3, so you're 18 months behind someone who enters as an E-3. Plus, once you come in as an E-3, you only need 6 months time in rate to be eligible to take the E-4 exam for your rate. So, with luck you could be an E-4 before your first year in the Navy is up.

Also, don't just focus on the Base Pay aspect of the pay. There are a lot of other benefits that go into military pay. If you're eligible, you can live off base, and the military will give you BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) which varies by which zip code you live in stateside. Now, most commands require you to be an E-5, or an E-4 with over 4 years, but I'm sure there are some exceptions to this. Obviously, if you're married or have dependents you're not required to live in the barracks.

As far as leave is concerned, you earn 2.5 days of leave a month, which translates into 30 days of leave each year. You don't get sick days, like in the civilian world. If you're really sick, go to medical and get an SIQ chit and you're good to go, and it doesn't cost you leave.

If you're wanting to go to college after you join, there's several programs available. First, and most importantly, GET THE GI BILL. It costs you $100/mo for the first year you're in. The Navy also has tuition assistance, which pays for 16 credit hours per fiscal year. $250.00 per semester hour is the maximum amount they'll pay, which is excellent. The Navy encourages you to attend college, and your chain of command will usually do whatever they can to help you go to school. (Operational commitments come first, obviously.)

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I know I could fill up this whole page just replying to you, so I'll keep it short and sweet this time.

 

[03RedCobra]

from what I've been told, even after your out there is always a possibility if there is some serious shit that happens they can recall all of the guys that used to be in.

This isn't meant to be rude or anything like that, but Please do not quote things "that you've heard" that are of that magnitude when it comes to somone trying to decide on what branch of service to join. Wrong information like that could possibly hurt the enlistment at certain times.

Once a person has fulfilled their "contract" with the Government, they are no more vulnerable to being pulled back into the military than any other person walking the streets of America. That includes people that have never even served. Now of course......they may "waiver" quite a bit more during a draft when it comes to someone that had already served in the military though.

Now, retired Military people are vulnerable to a callback up to a ceratain age or amount of years. In the Navy they called it the "Fleet Reserve".

I served 8 years in the Navy, 5 of which was with the Marines, but I'm not sure if the Marines had the same thing for retirees. I used to confuse the hell out of people, because I wore Marine Uniforms (all except dress-blues), but had Navy insignia on the Uniform. People always did a double-take. On Army bases, I would always get saluted because the Eagle on my uniform on my collar looked like the Eagle of a Full-bird Colonel in the Army. That was hilarious !!

 

[03RedCobra]

Do you like boats?

Believe it or not Randy, the Army has more "boats" than the Navy does !!

When I was over in the Persian Gulf, in Bahrain I ran into some Army guys that were getting their drink on at a local Beach Club, and they kept saying that they "needed to get back to the boat". Man, I was confused. They schooled me quite a bit on the Army. I saw them again at the Piers, and sure enough, they had a rather Large Landing Craft "boat" that they all lived on. Go figure.

 

[fiveohhhstang]

Do you like boats?

My brother hasn't been on a boat and he has been in the Navy for 10 years. He is a mineman.

 

[mustangkid05]

thanks for the info guys, i will be talking with a recruiter sometime this week. And its funny how you said alot of guys in the navy are from pa, because a few of my buddys are in the navy. But another thing is what would be a good job for me in the navy?, im good with doing labor type jobs, but what other jobs is there?

 

[mustangkid05]

thanks for the info guys, i will be talking with a recruiter sometime this week. And its funny how you said alot of guys in the navy are from pa, because a few of my buddys are in the navy. But another thing is what would be a good job for me in the navy?, im good with doing labor type jobs, but what other jobs is there?

d

 

[zerocool]

Does the Navy have an ROTC program similar to the one the Marines use? Meaning, can I go to a certified college, get in the ROTC program, finish college, and come out as a higher rank to serve my years of duty?