How to prepare for Navy NPS

[HarleyNukeWife]

To answer the girls as nukes thing - yes they can.  my hub has been working with girls since he arrived on the Ike in 1994.  His first deployment was the first with females on board.  there are problems, yes.  if the girls do their jobs and well most people are fine with it.  if a girl gets pregnant while on sea-duty she'll take some serious heat, from serious about the navy girls as well as the guys.  as in a lot of fields that are male dominated you will get looked at a bit more intensely.  if one chick in the dept has screwed up (no matter if 25 guys have), the next girl will have a tougher row. 

hub is an EM.  He has stood many watches not in the AC.  Good luck in your choice.

[_ELT_]

In the event that you are not past bootcamp already...

1 - you don't have to decide if you're going surface or sub until you get through A school, at least - maybe even prototype.  They will ask for "sub vols"

2 - I've known three guys who each came in under the "buddy system" Not one of the three made it past bootcamp (if that far) in the same division/school/etc. as their "buddy".  It doesn't work like they tell you - needs of the navy...not needs of your lonliness...

[taterhead]

Fast attack (SSN) subs are pretty tight spaces.  I have had the opportunity to crawl around on them here at PEarl Harbor.

I can't get over :

How you have to turn sideways to get 2 people down the p-way. 

3 sailors, 2 beds.  I am not a math major, but I count one bed short.  Not on carriers.  We even have extra racks.

Breathing recycled fart air.

You guys can wear sneakers and grow beards all you want, I'll take the wide open spaces of the carrier life.

Hats off to the sub guys.  I am not cut out for it!

[jarad2002]

Why get talked into Nuke at all?  Research all the fields and take the one that is right for you.  There is a saying that I really like "choose your rate, choose your fate".   Rates determine a lot of factors for a quality of life.  Decide if you want to go subs, don't let someone else pressure you into it, even if they mean well.  Carriers look pretty decent to me, but that also means that they look decent to a lot of people and when that happens it usually means less advancement opportunity, less incentive to retain you, and less opportunity to excel. Nuclear power on a sub is different in one major fact:  there is less of you assigned to it than on a carrier.  Think about what implications this has as far as leave, scheduling maintenance, etc.  Nuclear power needs to be a career choice that you want, not something someone else wants.   I have never regretted my decisions for going into nuclear power and being on subs, I have a lot of medals and good memories to go with it, however to make any decision of this magnitude requires that you first understand the magnitude of this decision and are comfortable with it.  In order to make sure we are staying in topic here, think of it as a K sub shell electron as opposed to an L shell electron where the K sub shell electron works 2N*2 and the L shell electron works 2N*2/(80 people on the carrier)..
MMC/SS USN (ret)

[TheEngineer]

  In order to make sure we are staying in topic here, think of it as a K sub shell electron as opposed to an L shell electron where the K sub shell electron works 2N*2 and the L shell electron works 2N*2/(80 people on the carrier)..
MMC/SS USN (ret)

Touche.

[mdgreen1]

  From my Power School class I noticed that a number of my surface fleet budies reupped while the sub
  guys seem to tend to do 6 and leave. This isnt a scientific study only an observation. There are a lot of
  pressures dealing with submarine life or military life in general surface fleets specifically carriers have more
  means or distractions from these pressures. The entire engineering department on a sub is smaller than one
  nuke division on a carrier. Which boils down to responsibility.

  But you can go to sub prototype S5G near IF, if you dont like the physical sub atmosphere go surface.

  Big thing is I am 6'1 and I bumped my head quite a bit in engine rooom, and hatchways.

[Marlin]

    Big thing is I am 6'1 and I bumped my head quite a bit in engine rooom, and hatchways.

   That was the height of the most lumps on my boats. Anything shorter missed most protrusions and anything taller was bent over already in over half of the boat. We had someone laid out on the deck every few months or so usually from drills and running down the passages. Emergency breathing manifolds were the primary culprits.
   I don't mean to be cruel but if you have a problem with picking up the load, subs are not for you, everyone wears a number of hats not only in the engineering department but for the boat as a whole. As for me I would not have wanted to tolerate the discipline on a larger ship. Discipline in any smaller command is much lower key, especially on subs. You are probably right about the retention of sub to surface. I'm glad I have my Navy/sub experience behind me and I am proud of it, however it is not a good life for a family. If you are in, the Navy is your primary focus and few spouses like the idea of being second place in your life.

[chuckhallett]

I'm going to tell you my story of how I got screwed out of ET school by this same recruiter ploy!  I went to the recruiter and asked if I could be a radioman.  He said do you want to operate the radios or fix them?  I said that I already operated them (been a Ham since 12) and would like to work on them.  He said you don't want to be a raidioman then, because that is just a yeoman that knows morse code.  He said "Son, you want to be an ET" and went on to explain how I'd go to ET "A" school for over a year before the fleet; only catch was it was a 6 year enlistment vice 4 years; you gotta pay back the navy's investment in your education.  I'm young (17) and I really want an education so I say sure, why not!  Then he says, I got a better deal, another year of schooling for the same six year obligation, it's called Nuclear Power Program...  Well, since I'm going to give em two years, I'd like to get two years back, so I sign up.

Bootcamp; Aced the ET selection test, did OK on mechanical apptitude.  Orders come to Machinist Mate A school, ?  I'm supposed to be an ET and besides MM school is only 5 months long, and I never even picked up a wrench in my entire life.  Tough Titties, my recruiter, and yours, forgot to tell me that if I had gone AECF, they had to give me ET school, or drop the extra two years.  At the time, they were recruiting nukes from every ET class, and I could have gotten NPS just by volunteering, with NO additional commitment.  BUT once I designated Nuke, they could, and did, make me any rate they needed.  Every nuke in my boot camp battalion went to MM school!

SOOOOOOO! Caveat Emptor.

Speaking of Caveats, I must disclose this happened to me in 1970.  Your results may vary.

I will also say, that I got over it, and once I got out (I never did enjoy being a Mechanic) and in the real nuke world, my MM experience was what the commercial nukes preferred.  ET's became Instrument & Control technicians; the former MMs ran the plants.  I'm in engineering now, but have been "nuking" it for over thirty five years now.  Haven't made under six figures in nearly twenty years.

I was surface (Enterprise, Virginia and South Carolina).  Visited my sons boat once U.S.S. Houston, and was glad I'd gone surface.

[ageoldtech]

Be wary of your recruiter. Get everything in writing and make copies. My 18 year old son just went through a bad experience with a marine recruiter. He didn't take his fatherly advice of getting everything in writing and make copies. Let's just say he be peeling taters.

[Marlin]

Be wary of your recruiter. Get everything in writing and make copies. My 18 year old son just went through a bad experience with a marine recruiter. He didn’t take his fatherly advice of getting everything in writing and make copies. Let’s just say he be peeling taters.

Very good advice but even this may not hold up to the ever present "needs of the service".

[gopmattb]

Hey everyone.  Inm a couple of months I leave for basic, after which I ship out for Nuke school in Charleston.  Just seeing if any current or former nukes have any advice?  Thanks a lot.

[Already Gone]

Study.
Ask for help when you need it.  You will get one of two things: a) help, or b) a lot more slack than the guy who is failing and never asked for help.
Do NOT get discouraged.  If I can graduate, you can too.
From the very minute you get off the bus at boot camp, try to see the fun in everything you do.
Good Luck

[graydragon67]

IF you are UNDER 21, DO NOT EVER EVER DRINK!!

That was/is the one thing that will get you kicked out of the program.  Along with Drugs and getting caught cheating on an exam. 

When I went thru Power School we lost 2/3s of the class and most of them was from underage drinking.

If you are OVER 21, DO NOT EVER EVER GIVE BOOZE TO SOMEBODY THAT'S NOT!!  Those underage guys told the command who got them the booze and those fellas went down too.  It is all an integrity thing. 

Other than that, study hard, try your best and hit that 'I BELIEVE BUTTON' on your forehead.

[Hoss]

While in the pipeline, keep your head down and powder dry.  Do your home work and put in the required hours (I was on voluntary 10's for all of A school and 90% of power school (boned the second RP test, got like a 3.0 on it 'cause a very good friend of mine had just offed himself and the 3.0 was so unusual for me that my section advisor put me on suggested 10's for two weeks)).  Regardless of what you may have learned in school, the terms 'voluntary' and 'suggested' are subjective the way the Nav uses them.  Essentially, they mean the same as 'mandatory' hours (ie. you have to put them in whether you want to or not, voluntary, huh!), except that you are higher in the food chain in class rankings (voluntary being the highest, then suggested, then mandatory, and finally ordered hours).  But regardless of your class standing, unless you want some plum assignment or school that you may or may not get due to the "needs of the Navy," if you pass all the way through to the fleet you will find that the 'Mando Commandos' get paid the same as the guys like me that were on voluntary 10's for the majority of the time.  Of course, while going to school, getting good grades does open up some nice perks.  Because I did so well in A school, I got picked up to teach in the lube oil lab for five months (of course your A school is totally different than mine was (Alas poor NFAS, I knew you well...)).  Also, because I did study hard when I did study, my good grades got me out of school an hour early on those days that the last hour was study hall (most days).  This allowed me to get back to the barracks and catch a nap before my classmates got out of school.  Of course, this may no longer be feasible with power school up in Charleston now (you'll have to ask someone that went there).  Either way, my good grades and early qualification at NPTU ensured that I had a choice when it came to becoming a staff pick up, becoming a subdude, or picking a school such as ELT school or welding school.  In reality, I turned down the SPU position and sub duty, but elected to go to ELT school.  But for me, because they needed people for both sub and spu billets, the staff put alot of pressure on me to volunteer.  For one of the few times in the Nav, I had the actual power to say no to something.  But this lesson will apply to all of your adult life whether in or out of the Nav.  The cliche is true, "Knowledge is Power."  After I got out and went to work for GE as a field engineer, by studying hard in GE's schools, busting my butt on the jobsite, and writing excellent reports, I got to the point that not only did I have my choice of assignments but I actually got to pick who management would hire as my boss once (we had a horrible boss at the time that needed to be replaced, I would have been first choice, but I did not want to move to Tampa, so our boss's boss called me to ask which of two of my peers that I would recommend for the job (pretty nice, I think)).

Ditto on graydragon: DO NOT DRINK!

Also, DO NOT LET GIRLS get in the way of school (met my first wife at prototype and she had a substantial affect on my ELT school grades (definitely not 2.5 and survive, but significantly lower that the >3.6 I had in power school (then again after bootcamp, A school, power school and prototype maybe I was just getting burned out (liar! she had you thinking with the wrong head (oh yeah, that's right)))).  Either way, girls will always be there and, although it seems forever, school will soon be over.

Finally, when the school day or workday is over and all of your study and work is done, get as far away from other squids and the Nav as you can.  Meet normal people, do normal things.  I know this is hard while in the pipeline, but when you get to the fleet don't forget there is life beyond the Nav.

[jdf2k5]

hey man, im 6 weeks away from finishing power school. im pretty sure i have some decent advice, for ET's at least.

under 21, dont drink. ever.ever.ever. easiest way to lose money, seen it 1000 times in the past year here.

work.grind.play.
put you job first, especially during the week. bust your ass and study. dont be afraid to ask instructors for help and dont just push what you will come to know as the "i believe" button. if you arent pressed, take saturdays for your own. 1 day without seeing rickover center is a blessing.

as far as preparation, calc is good to know, and be solid in alg for sure. if you know any electrical theory, forget it. the navy teaches you what they want you to know and how they want you to know it.

learn to roll with whatever they throw at you. makes your time go by faster. dont fight the little points of the program, because god knows that one word can make all the difference between full and no credit...argh.

good luck man. contact me at jdf2k5@hotmail.com for any in depth Q's about the program.

[adidas_2806]

..Wow......

So here I am, at 0430 surfing the web, and I come across a website that I have not visited in quite some time.......

And here I find the post I created >3years ago.  Hahaha , first of all let me thank all of you guys that responded to that post oh so long ago and tried to portray to me what it was going to be like.

Went to boot camp, went through the pipeline and graduated in class 0505. I was lucky enough to get my rating of choice, ET. Went to prototype, MTS 635 in S.C. I had decided at bootcamp that I wanted to be a submariner, mainly for the small community, and signed the vol. sheet as required, filled out the dream sheet in prototype for subs east coast, and what do I get? Yupp, carrier west coast. That would def. be my first run in with "Needs of the Navy" and its signifigance. I reported out here last Aug to CVN-72 (USS Abraham Lincoln).

And I have fully come to know and understand the terms stated throughout this website...Nubs....dink.....get hot...lookups...etc......

Though I am still currently happy with my decision. I came to this ship at probably the worst time....right as they come back from a westpac and go in for a DPIA. A billion NPMTT monitors later, 3.5 straight months of fast cruising, a few incident reports, a fired R.O., and were are now preparing for our second PORSE(extrapolate data from that tid bit what you will.....hence the new R.O.) We were supposed to be out of PSNS in early march, now were hgoping to be done in mid june..........

So yeah, pretty crappy time but still all in all glad I joined. It will get better...it always gets better...right!(lawl) Figured I'd drop a line and a thank you for the help and info I got back when.

If anyone new to the pipeline or might be coming in would like a fresh perspective on the job, feel free to contact me at broanuk@yahoo.com.

Respectfully,

ET2 Sean Broadwick

[slarmox2]

Adidas (ET2),

I too was just looking through posts I had made and found this. Here I am, MM2, with 3 years left in the Navy. It's been good, but I can't wait to get out.

Slarmox2

[jt52510]

i got a 2.65 in A-school. is it true that people who struggled in A-school tend to do better in power school?

[Roll Tide]

i got a 2.65 in A-school. is it true that people who struggled in A-school tend to do better in power school?

It is true that people that struggled in A-school will have to put in a lot of effort in NNPS to be successful. Since some have to get their wake-up call, it is an advantage.

[deltarho]

I'll tell you how it used to be back in 1991...

If an ET graduated NFAS with about a 2.72...100% passed NPS (no failures due to academics)
If an MM graduated NFAS with about a 3.3...100% passed NPS (no failures due to academics)
If an EM graduated NFAS with about a 3.13...100% passed NPS (no failures due to academics)

These scores are best to my recolection.  The differences were attributed to the length of NFAS and the correlating opportunity to nail down a good study routine.

At the time they were trying to figure out how to level the playing field.  Also, that was why the minimum score to pass was a 2.75 for Academic Boards.

[Imaginos]

Going boomer subs you have two options, Kings Bay, GA (right on the Florida state line and East coast), or Bangor, WA almost as northwest as one can get in the US with out living in Hawaii.

You did mean "without living in Alaska," right..? 

[deltarho]

You did mean "without living in Alaska," right..? 

Yeah, Hawaii is the southern most state in the United States of America!

[slarmox2]

You did mean "without living in Alaska," right..? 

Wow! If you would look at the time of night I made that post, you might cut me some slack. Yes, I meant Alaska.

[PWHoppe]

ahem!, could we please try and stay on topic and not drift off into a discussion of geography...as interesting as it is

your friendly neighborhood moderator