Recruiter to pick up my son to take ASVAB

[jowlman]

This is easy to explain. He can join as a non nuke machinist mate, because he is joining as one. He cannot join as a nuclear machinist mate because you only join as a nuke and are given your rate in boot camp. So to join as a nuke you have to meet all of the requirements for each rate. Even though a machinist mate can be colorblind an electronics technician cannot, it is needed to read various color codes on electronics.

That said, I have a friends who's son wanted to be a cop. Another job for which you cannot be color blind. He got corrective contact lenses to fix the problem. They were not cheap. Your son could investigate this if he really needs to.

Just a word of caution. If you son gets cleared by his doctor to enlist and gets to boot camp and fails the test. Tell him to take the discharge or else the navy can assign him pretty much anything. What they used to do, this happened to several guys that I went to bootcamp with, is they wait until a few days before boot is over. Then they tell you that you are medically disqualified. Then they give you this line about how you've already made it through boot so why throw it away. Then they say that if you let them out of your contract, they will see what they can do to get you what you want as another job. The kicker is you have to let them out of the contract first, so you are at their mercy.

[tradosaurus]

Update:  recruiter called and said if he could get a civilian doctor to give him the test and he passes then he would be retested at another MEPS facility.  If he passes that one then he would go to nuke school.

[tradosaurus]

Update:

My son went to a optometrist yesterday and passed his version of a color blind test. 

Now my son will get a second chance at another MEPs facility to pass the lantern test. 

[sovbob]

That's great news!

Remember the old saying, "Just because I'm losing doesn't mean I've lost."  Good luck to your son!

[JustinHEMI05]

Good luck and keep us posted!

[tradosaurus]

Well the Navy recruiter wasn't able to pull any strings to have my son retested for the lantern test.  So nuke school is out.

He did go to the MEPS facility yesterday to test for the DLAB.  He scored a 96 which is not good enough. 

Then my son spent 1 1/2 hrs being pressured to join the Navy.  After they told him it would be a year until he could get to boot camp he told them NO for 1 1/2 hrs.

My son impression having visited both the NAVY and ARMY recruiter is that compared to the ARMY the Navy is unorganized.

My son will head to the ARMY recruiter to see what is available or head to the Navy's men's department (Marines) to see what is available.

[KUrunner]

I spent the better part of 5 years trying to convince my baby brother to go Navy.  He went Army.  Now, every time I see him, he complains about how he should have gone Navy.  Of course, my sister says we're both stupid for not going Air Force. 

But at the end of the day, we're all on the same team.

Until December, that is, when Navy will be kicking Army's ass for the 9th time in a row. 

[HydroDave63]

Well the Navy recruiter wasn't able to pull any strings to have my son retested for the lantern test.  So nuke school is out.

He did go to the MEPS facility yesterday to test for the DLAB.  He scored a 96 which is not good enough. 

Could be worse....here's a picture of the MEPS in Ukraine...

[kalkap]

I was a Nuke Recruiter a couple of years ago and still have recruiter friends.  Based on that some of you are right and wrong. 
First off regarding the nuke officer program.  Unless you are going to college for and Engineering program AND have at least somewhere ballpark of a 3.7 GPA or higher and at least 2 years of the college completed, you are NOT going to get in the program.  Plain and simple.  Many of you would be surprised, but there are many people out there applying for the program so it's highly competitive.  Of note on that too is that you often have to have some significant non-academic accomplishments as well.  Usually charity work and the like and not just a few hrs or a weekends worth.

Second being, there is no "fix" to the color blind requirement.  You can't be color blind for any of the nuke jobs not just EM.  Getting passed by a civilian doctor with a test that escapes me at the moment, you have a shot.  Why they mentioned going to another MEPS is a little strange to me because more than likely your name will still pop up in the system (depending how far they put you into the MEPS system).  Once you pass the civilian test, you automatically have to a nuke specific waiver which If I remember correctly is a Type II and therefore can take several weeks.

Thirdly, times have changed so although an enlisted recruiters primary goal is filling enlisted jobs, so many jobs are already over filled and have been for the last couple of years, that many enlisted recruiters have been tasked with funneling people to the officer recruiters.

And lastly, don't be misled by how you perceive the organization between the branches ESPECIALLY at the recruitment level.  Each has their own systems and how things have to be done.  Example being that a Navy recruiter can NOT tell someone that they qualify for a job or even if that job is available until they finish medical at MEPS and sit down with a classifier.  The classifier is the only one who has access to job openings, see if the person qualifies for that job, and also reserve jobs.  The Army on the other for example can go into much further detail right in the recruiting office because they have access to real time job openings.  The catch is though that the Army (and I believe the Marines as well) can't give you a specific job but rather can gaurantee you a job field.  They will talk it up like no other that it's the same thing but it's NOT.  You won't find out your actual job until have signed the dotted line and left for boot camp.  This is the biggest reason why the Navy seems a little more chaotic and is quite a bit harder for the recruiter.  Hence most of the time a person will be sold on the Navy rather than on a job.

[Marlin]

I was a Nuke Recruiter a couple of years ago and still have recruiter friends.  Based on that some of you are right and wrong. 
First off regarding the nuke officer program.  Unless you are going to college for and Engineering program AND have at least somewhere ballpark of a 3.7 GPA or higher and at least 2 years of the college completed, you are NOT going to get in the program.  Plain and simple.  Many of you would be surprised, but there are many people out there applying for the program so it's highly competitive.  Of note on that too is that you often have to have some significant non-academic accomplishments as well.  Usually charity work and the like and not just a few hrs or a weekends worth.

Second being, there is no "fix" to the color blind requirement.  You can't be color blind for any of the nuke jobs not just EM.  Getting passed by a civilian doctor with a test that escapes me at the moment, you have a shot.  Why they mentioned going to another MEPS is a little strange to me because more than likely your name will still pop up in the system (depending how far they put you into the MEPS system).  Once you pass the civilian test, you automatically have to a nuke specific waiver which If I remember correctly is a Type II and therefore can take several weeks.

Thirdly, times have changed so although an enlisted recruiters primary goal is filling enlisted jobs, so many jobs are already over filled and have been for the last couple of years, that many enlisted recruiters have been tasked with funneling people to the officer recruiters.

And lastly, don't be misled by how you perceive the organization between the branches ESPECIALLY at the recruitment level.  Each has their own systems and how things have to be done.  Example being that a Navy recruiter can NOT tell someone that they qualify for a job or even if that job is available until they finish medical at MEPS and sit down with a classifier.  The classifier is the only one who has access to job openings, see if the person qualifies for that job, and also reserve jobs.  The Army on the other for example can go into much further detail right in the recruiting office because they have access to real time job openings.  The catch is though that the Army (and I believe the Marines as well) can't give you a specific job but rather can gaurantee you a job field.  They will talk it up like no other that it's the same thing but it's NOT.  You won't find out your actual job until have signed the dotted line and left for boot camp.  This is the biggest reason why the Navy seems a little more chaotic and is quite a bit harder for the recruiter.  Hence most of the time a person will be sold on the Navy rather than on a job.

Thanx, I hope you keep up with the Forums and contribute in the future.