reporting to my ship!

[conventional nuke]

Fresh out of ptype reporting to my ship! Heard all the do's and don'ts for what to do when I get there but was wanting some info on what to bring; obviously my uniform items but more practical ship-life kind of stuff. I also got rid of my car before I qualified and was looking to get a new one but wanted some insight on whether I should or not. I don't want a flashy new car to waste away my bonus but something to get around might be kind of nice.
$0.02 anybody?

-New surface guy going to California.

[IPREGEN]

For the ship, wait until you see how much actual storage space you get.
For the car, wait until you know what the deployment schedule is before buying a car. It does no good to have some new wheels, new payments and just a picture of it while you're on a nice long cruise.
 Have fun, good luck, now the real fun starts.

[Gamecock]

Which brings up a question, does the Navy help it's service members alleviate the age restrictions of most rental car companies?

No.

[Wareal]

Which brings up a question, does the Navy help it's service members alleviate the age restrictions of most rental car companies?

If you only need wheels on a very limited basis, rentals can be a good option.

My son is 23.  He cannot rent a car.  Three months ago he rented a UHAUL truck for a DITY move.  Go figure.

[Gamecock]

My son is 23.  He cannot rent a car.  Three months ago he rented a UHAUL truck for a DITY move.  Go figure.

If you have a major credit card, some companies will rent you a car, even if you are under 25.

[HydroDave63]

That's too bad, they deserve it.

My itching Ferengi ears smell proffffit to be made, perhaps a venture capital company of "Military Assistance Rental &  Shipping Inter-Modal"

[JustinHEMI05]

Fresh out of ptype reporting to my ship! Heard all the do's and don'ts for what to do when I get there but was wanting some info on what to bring; obviously my uniform items but more practical ship-life kind of stuff. I also got rid of my car before I qualified and was looking to get a new one but wanted some insight on whether I should or not. I don't want a flashy new car to waste away my bonus but something to get around might be kind of nice.
$0.02 anybody?

-New surface guy going to California.

You won't have a lot of room for the niceties of life, of course. I mostly wanted to address the part about the car.

You said you don't want a flashy new car, but then qualified it with "might be kind of nice."

Let me reaffirm, DO NOT waste your bonus on a car.

If you haven't already, search around the nuke area on this site about how to get an investment started with that money. If you are smart now, you will be a millionaire later.

You did, however, bust your butt to get that bonus, so something nice for yourself is warranted. A nice watch, or some clothes or something of that sort. That doesn't mean a 2000 dollar TV.

Cars and TVs will come, in time.

Good luck and thank you for your service!

[HydroDave63]

Chips to keep the autos from exceeding 65mph, tubes to assure they have to blow to go, perhaps, maybe it could work, provide a service and protect the investors at the same time,....

I'm sure that if you got it set up, mildly profitable and workable, that it would get bought up by NorthropGrumman (since SATO already goes through them...)

[Preciousblue1965]

Ok there Shippie, let me give you the good, the bad, and the Ugly about San Dog and going to your first ship.

The good is that there is plenty to do on NAS North Island.  There is a beach, a movie theatre, beautiful NEX, and plenty of fast food right there on the island.  Also there are islands all up and down the pennisula that forms North Island.  Now if you are old enough, there are a lot of great places to have a beer just off of the base within a decent walking distance. If you do decide to get a car, the Navy does allow you to park it in a fenced in lot over at the 32nd street base(don't remember if you pay or not) during deployments. 

The bad is that everything in California is expensive, especially anything related to a car.  If you plan on buying a car, do so before you get there or get it out of state once you get there.  Register it somewhere other than California because registration is rediculous(several hundred dollars if I remember right).  Same thing with insurance.  Just make sure it can pass SMOG testing before you bring it into the state because you have to have SMOG testing done before they will give you base stickers.

The Ugly is that if you plan on living off the ship, GOOD LUCK.  Sadly the only way to really be able to do it is to recieve BAH.  Last time I was there(circa 2000-2003) a three bedroom dump 4 miles north of the mexican border in a cheap part of town was still $1500 a month, plus utilities.  So unless you plan on re-uping right away(not recommended) or you can manage to make E5 really quickly, plan on living in the steel dorm for a while.   

As far as stuff to take with you: Uniforms, Civilian clothing, laptop if you got one, etc.

[Fermi2]

Have fun in the fleet. Good luck.

[conventional nuke]

If you have a major credit card, some companies will rent you a car, even if you are under 25.

This is true but they will typically charge an under-age fee every day you rent that car. I remember paying around $30/day in addition to the rental fee when my car was in the shop

The bad is that everything in California is expensive, especially anything related to a car.  If you plan on buying a car, do so before you get there or get it out of state once you get there.  Register it somewhere other than California because registration is rediculous(several hundred dollars if I remember right).  Same thing with insurance.  Just make sure it can pass SMOG testing before you bring it into the state because you have to have SMOG testing done before they will give you base stickers.

The Ugly is that if you plan on living off the ship, GOOD LUCK.  Sadly the only way to really be able to do it is to recieve BAH.  Last time I was there(circa 2000-2003) a three bedroom dump 4 miles north of the mexican border in a cheap part of town was still $1500 a month, plus utilities.  So unless you plan on re-uping right away(not recommended) or you can manage to make E5 really quickly, plan on living in the steel dorm for a while.   

So would it be better to buy a car prior to going to California or get there and find out what my deployment schedule would be like before getting a vehicle. I remember asking about living off the ship but got mixed answers; am I allowed to live off the ship as an E-4? I understand I will not be getting any BAH for it and it is ridiculously expensive but is it possible to sleep elsewhere if I so choose? (Haha choice; maybe its all the leave kickin in and I'm losing sight of what choices I actually do and don't have)

You won't have a lot of room for the niceties of life, of course. I mostly wanted to address the part about the car.

You said you don't want a flashy new car, but then qualified it with "might be kind of nice."

Let me reaffirm, DO NOT waste your bonus on a car.

If you haven't already, search around the nuke area on this site about how to get an investment started with that money. If you are smart now, you will be a millionaire later.

You did, however, bust your butt to get that bonus, so something nice for yourself is warranted. A nice watch, or some clothes or something of that sort. That doesn't mean a 2000 dollar TV.

Cars and TVs will come, in time.

Good luck and thank you for your service!

More curious about the necessities of living on a ship. I heard Febreeze is a must-have. I don't own shower-shoes anymore and I'm not sure what kind of hygiene products I can buy on a ship or what I should bring. Most of my bonus is already locked away in a roth IRA so I won't be burning any cash for the car, probably just a new loan.

Thanks for all the input so far.

[JustinHEMI05]

Shower shoes are a must. LOL I don't know if it holds true for all surface ships, but my brother, who was an airdale on Big E, said that they lined the showers with t-shirts because they were so nasty.

[MMM]

You can live off the ship any time you want. You will not receive BAH until you are an E-5 or married (don't get married for the BAH though). You can run a chit to get BAH as an E-4 over 4 years.

As far as the car goes, find out your schedule first. You can usually call and get a good idea before you get there. In SD, you can walk or take a bus just about anywhere you need to go.

Finally, the "stuff" issue. If you're going to a carrier, you'll have room for your seabag in you locker and some misc other stuff (a laptop is a good choice). There is also a seabag locker for your less commonly used items (peacoat, non-NWU uniforms, etc), but be careful, as the locker is usually a pain to get into and things do sometimes get lost. If you're going to a sub, don't count on having space for more than required uniforms.

[Cycoticpenguin]

, lots of memories brought up in this thread

Hmm my advice to you ->

Living on the ship day to day is your own call. Only you can decide what you need and dont need.

Underway here's what I recommend ->

1) LOTS OF TSHIRTS AND UNDERWEAR. like 20 pairs of each, im not kidding at all.
2) Dont bring books. Get a kendal or use the library
3) bring a laptop.... play some games, or find something to do that occupies what free nub time you have.
4) dont get bitched up at being called a "nub". Its a vicious cycle.
5) bring enough toiletries, but the ship store has anything you need really. Make sure you buy enough razor blades though!
6) buy some decent boots for gods sake... you will be in the enough to warrant any cost you spend.
7) 10 pairs of coveralls  (not joking)
one set of NWU's to wear, unless you are one of those wierdos that wears them all the time -.-
9) no need for other uniforms, just throw them in your seabag storage.
10) buy a nice set of flip flops for your shower shoes. If you dont, enjoy falling down stairs (I've done that plenty of times, it sucks i promise)
11) A nice blanket! I recommend the thinner fleece ones, because they are comfy and warm.
12) flashlights are worth their weight in gold
13) diggits are... useful at times.
14) lots of pens, red and black ink

Food for thought -> If you make e5 off the test it takes about a year from your frocking date to get paid, meaning no BAH until you get paid. Not saying to "reup" for the hell of it, but if you are contemplating it, sooner is better then later.

Last -> DO NOT! I REPEAT DO NOT (!!!) BUY A CAR NEAR ANY MILITARY BASE!!!!   Take someone knowledgeable with you.

good luck.... get qualified nub

[xobxdoc]

Ok there Shippie, let me give you the good, the bad, and the Ugly about San Dog and going to your first ship.

The good is that there is plenty to do on NAS North Island.  There is a beach, a movie theatre, beautiful NEX, and plenty of fast food right there on the island.  Also there are islands all up and down the pennisula that forms North Island.  Now if you are old enough, there are a lot of great places to have a beer just off of the base within a decent walking distance. If you do decide to get a car, the Navy does allow you to park it in a fenced in lot over at the 32nd street base(don't remember if you pay or not) during deployments.  

The bad is that everything in California is expensive, especially anything related to a car.  If you plan on buying a car, do so before you get there or get it out of state once you get there.  Register it somewhere other than California because registration is rediculous(several hundred dollars if I remember right).  Same thing with insurance.  Just make sure it can pass SMOG testing before you bring it into the state because you have to have SMOG testing done before they will give you base stickers.

The Ugly is that if you plan on living off the ship, GOOD LUCK.  Sadly the only way to really be able to do it is to recieve BAH.  Last time I was there(circa 2000-2003) a three bedroom dump 4 miles north of the mexican border in a cheap part of town was still $1500 a month, plus utilities.  So unless you plan on re-uping right away(not recommended) or you can manage to make E5 really quickly, plan on living in the steel dorm for a while.  

As far as stuff to take with you: Uniforms, Civilian clothing, laptop if you got one, etc.

I still get nightmares about living in Imperial Beach

[MMM]

If you're thinking about reenlisting, try to wait until you're in a tax free zone. Keep your current car until you figure out your schedule (no point in getting a new car right before a deployment), plus you can store some of your stuff in it (not recommended if it's expensive).

For uniforms, make sure you have your dress whites (maybe blues, too), as a nub, you'll be manning the rails. If you're senior you can choose to do so. I recommend volunteering for that at the end of deployments, then you don't have to wait for the shutdown to leave the ship. Even if you do have to wait, you typically have to wait several hours to leave in anything other than dress uniforms.
I'd also suggest 2 or 3 sets of NWUs and maybe only 5 or 6 sets of coveralls. I haven't tried NWUs underway, but the guys that did preferred them to coveralls. Different commands might have different dules about coveralls underway, so make sure you know before spending money on them. You will probably need blue t-shirts with them.
Definitely at least 2 or 3 weeks worth of t-shirts, underwear, and SOCKS! Dont't forget PT clothes, at least 1 Navy PT uniform for PRT or if (heaven forbid) you get put on FEP.

[Cycoticpenguin]

If you're thinking about reenlisting, try to wait until you're in a tax free zone. Keep your current car until you figure out your schedule (no point in getting a new car right before a deployment), plus you can store some of your stuff in it (not recommended if it's expensive).

For uniforms, make sure you have your dress whites (maybe blues, too), as a nub, you'll be manning the rails. If you're senior you can choose to do so. I recommend volunteering for that at the end of deployments, then you don't have to wait for the shutdown to leave the ship. Even if you do have to wait, you typically have to wait several hours to leave in anything other than dress uniforms.
I'd also suggest 2 or 3 sets of NWUs and maybe only 5 or 6 sets of coveralls. I haven't tried NWUs underway, but the guys that did preferred them to coveralls. Different commands might have different dules about coveralls underway, so make sure you know before spending money on them. You will probably need blue t-shirts with them.
Definitely at least 2 or 3 weeks worth of t-shirts, underwear, and SOCKS! Dont't forget PT clothes, at least 1 Navy PT uniform for PRT or if (heaven forbid) you get put on FEP.

haha we should be finding out his rate! I bet you were/are an ET, us knuckle draggers get our uniforms a little greasier   7-10 coveralls is pretty standard for mechanics, at least on my boat    

YES good call on the pt gear too!

[MMM]

Nope, MM (M-Div). I've never needed more than 5 sets of coveralls, unless laundry starts losing them, or they don't get out to laundry, which started happening toward the end of my last sea tour. I also know how to keep a couple sets of coveralls just for maintenance, the rest for watchstanding.

[Cycoticpenguin]

Nope, MM (M-Div). I've never needed more than 5 sets of coveralls, unless laundry starts losing them, or they don't get out to laundry, which started happening toward the end of my last sea tour. I also know how to keep a couple sets of coveralls just for maintenance, the rest for watchstanding.

Did you smell bad? Lol. I had a one to two day rotation rotation. Worked well for me.laundry always got backed up and we had a lot of stinky people. Your ship may have been better at laundry???