Hello my Mid-A friends. I have been thinking about joining some branch of the military for some time now, and my friend just told me he joined the Navy, and is starting everything in September. He told me they have a buddy program, and I could join with him, and go through boot camp and training with him. After he told me that it kind of made me want to join more. I need to have some kind of career planned out, and serving our country would make me feel really good. Im just wondering if anyone on here has joined the Navy, or knows anyone in now. My grandfather was retired Navy, and I have a friend thats enlisted right now. They never regretted it, and loved it. I would join the Army or Marines, but I would be shipped to Iraq like almost immediately if I went that route. Any input on this would be appreciated. Thanks all.

 

Well it all depends on what you want to do with ur career
There is basically any job u can think of in the navy
most of them you can only benefit from them by getting
some kind of college degree while ur in.
if u do good on ur asvab test u'll be able to pick almost any job
do you like to travel?
you would be doing that while ur in especially if ur on a ship
see it all depends on what you wanna do
ive been in for almost 2 yrs now and its def been
an interesting experience
you could stay in for 20 and retire but you would have
to deal with all the bs that goes on everyday
pay is crappy starting out but gets better as you advance
you can go into boot as an e-3 which i highly suggest
you will have to talk to a recruiter about that.
well any more questions ask
-rick

 

Thats my only dilema. Im not sure on what I want to do. Im going to the recruiter Monday, so I guess I can discuss options with him. Ive always been really into the Navy Seals and would be interested in trying out for them. I love to travel, and there are many places that I want to visit someday. The pay isnt too bad for me, im only 19, and its about what I make now. Plus the 4000 sign on bonus after boot camp would be nice, it would pay off a lot of my bills. How is boot camp? What do you have to go through? Thanks for all the info.

 

Another option you have is the Coast Guard. You get to do a lot of fun stuff, but I guess it all depends on what you are really interested in and where you want to go. If you're into submarines, I don't think you would want to join the Coasties.

Depending on the person, I've been told that boot camp is a physical hell, and others have said that it's just a mind game with the drill sergeants. I could see it either way. I don't think I would be able to survive, though... I don't have the stamina

 

oh ok....
yeah seals are gonna be kinda hard to get into right away
my friend here is a gunners mate and he wants to be a seal
but i believe u have to be a certain rank and a recommendation
from your commanding officer.
and the 4000 bonus will turn into about 3-3500 lol they take taxes
out etc. etc. and u wont get it till after boot camp only when u get to
ur school
and was that bonus including extra time on ur first enlistment?
if so i wouldn't do it...i got 2000 for an extra year and i regret it
but 2k sounded nice to me at the time haha
boot camp is more boring than anything lol
most the time u sit around reading or shining ur boots or waiting for them
to yell at you for something stupid
but u learn a lot, meet a lot of new people, get embarassed a lot
and do an asston of pushups, sit ups, leg lifts, 8 count body builders,
squats and so many more torturous exercises but theres also fun stuff
gas chamber, fire fighting, battle stations, marching
no problem man anything else?
-Rick

 

My +1 just retired from the Navy (Capt - submariner). He may be able to give you some advice. PM me and I'll forward his email address.

 

yo man ive been in the navy for 3 years now and im stationed in san diego. im originally from oxon hill pm me if u want more info.

 

I don't care what branch you choose, you will not regret giving 4(or more) years to your country. Do it right and you could parlay it into a successful career, leave active in your early 40's and still have a ton of life left in you.

As the other guy stated, take advantage of your off-time to get some kind of formal schooling, if only getting a course or two at a time out of the way.

As for your basic(I think only the Marine Corps calls it boot camp), I seriously doubt that it is overly rigorous. Sorry, squids , but it pales to the USMC's version.

If you have no current direction, this is the perfect time to join the service. You can develop a skill, gain invaluable experience in that field, expand your life experiences, give something back to your country, and leave that branch(whenever you decide to) with a DD-214 that future employers will respect. I could have retired last year at age 38 had I stayed in- did 7yrs. Good luck with your decision. Thank you in advance for your service.

Skip Merryman
USMC 1985-1992
Desert Shield/Storm
Disabled veteran

 

I'm glad to see you might be interested in joining the military. However, no offense, but if you are thinking twice about joining a certain armed forces because you'd be sent to Iraq, you might as well stop your thinking about joining the armed forces. Other than the Coast Guard, anytime you sign up for any armed forces branch, you need to accept that you will be eventually be sent overseas in hostile area's. I served in Army for a while, knowing full well that when I signed up, Desert Storm was under way. I accepted the fact that the chances of me going oversea's was a good one. Re-evaluate what you want out of the military and the pro's and con's before you sign up and raise that hand.

Peter

 

Yea thats the way im looking at it. Im serving my country, and i would be proud to do so. I also see where your coming from with making it a career. I would be retired at 39-40 and i could start on something else in my life. I will definitely take advantage of not having to pay for schooling too. I honestly dont have any direction on what i want to do. I was going to start taking real estate classes, but i dont think thats for me. I really feel like im just wasting time working for Comcast right now. I go to work and do the same thing over and over again, and i have to deal with our shitty ass customer (no offense if anyone is one) and im pretty sick of it. I am going to talk to the recruiter tomorrow, so i will let you all know how it goes. Thanks guys, thanks Skip.