Enlisted as a Navy Nuke

[DepingNuke]

I have about 5 months before i ship off to boot camp and i am thinking about brushing up and teaching myself some things that i will see later on at A school nuclear power school. I was wondering if any of you people know of any books that would be helpful (of course they cant have everything because its classified) but stuff that i should brush up on such as electronics and so forth. I have also been looking at the different rates. EM, ET, and MM and i would like to know more about each of these, i know of course what i "WANT" to do means very little, but i know most people going in want to get ET for some reason.

Also i heard that its a good idea to make friends with some people in the class ahead of you so they can tell you what to expect, so i assume that having 6 or 7 people from my recruting office/my highschool leaving for the nuclear program within the next 6 months is a plus.

Any tips for success would be a help

*i also have shaggy hair, is it a good idea to get my hair cut before leaving for boot?

[Roll Tide]

*i also have shaggy hair, is it a good idea to get my hair cut before leaving for boot?

First things first: let it grow to your belt if you want. Nobody in your recruit company will recognize you anyway after boot haircuts unless you shave it the week before you get there.

Take a look around the site, and check out the previous threads in the Navy Nuke section. After you have that background, you will be more prepared to accept the advice we give here appropriately. For example, when I tell you that the best position in the Navy if you are following up with a commercial OPS career is submarine MM, you should realize there are some others on this board that feel just as strongly about the other half-dozen choices available.

As far as brushing up, that depends on how long it has been. If you had to study for your grade on the ASVAB / NFQT then study is a good idea. If you took it cold, you will be fine without it.

Study material: any high school Algebra II, physics, and chemistry level books will be appropriate. Don't try to learn electronics before you go in: the Navy will find a way for it to be different than the rest of the planet and it will just confuse you.

Cheating is bad. If a member of a class ahead of you says, "Study trigonometry functions while in DEP" that is OK, but detailed stuff can get you both booted out of the Nuke field. You know what I mean, sample questions that aren't made available by the instructors.

Learn to be very careful in what you say and hear. Your integrity is a prize to be valued, and without it you are useless to the Nuke Field.

[DepingNuke]

Thanks I took the asvab and the other test completely cold and did fairly well i guess.

Also, i didnt mean cheating off people who went to highschool with me, just what to brush up on and so forth like you said.

Right now basied on the knowledge i have i would put like ET and MM ahead of EM.

[damad1]

IT seemed to me that ET's did a small portion of electronics interaction, and mainly operations, which is a completely different world. I was a MM, and all my buds that were ET's complained that they never got to do maintenence since they were to junior. It might of been the command structure, or maybe they stunk at maintenence, but that sticks in my mind.

If you have a strong aptitude in something, mechanics or electrical, then try for that path. It seemed to me in basic, then "A" school ,and in NPS that alot of guys wanted to be ET's, but when I received my ET cross training, I asked yself why anyone would want to work in this field. To each his own I suppose, but the comments of my best friend while I was an instructor at NY, whom was a ET, sticks out in y mind. He hated being an ET because of the orientation as a operator, while mechanics and electricians got to work in their rate and operate as nukes.

This may be uninformed, as I said I was a mechanic, but it should give you some idea of the ramblings of an ex-nuke.

Bottom line, do what interests you. Roll Tide has it down, algebra, chemistry, some physics if you have the time.

Good luck to you!

[Anton]

DepingNuke
 I am currently enlisted at NPS as an EM.
First "A" school: MMs only have 14 weeks , EMs 22 weeks and ETs 24. If i was brushing up on anything it would only be Math Elec. And some mechanics. You dont see chem physics or anything "nuclear" until NPS.
Second Rates: I belive EM is the best rating . From what ive heard from all three rates is that MMs are pretty much Plumbers. ETs are wierd and if you dont understand you will once you get here. EMs are pretty much laid back.
During most of "A" school EMs and ETs train togather and learn most of the same stuff. ETs learn advance trouble shooting and EMs learn electrical Distribution. And picking your rate dosent mean much the navy will put you where the need you. about 60% MMs 25% EMs and 15% ETs. Good luck with boot and "A" school.

[damad1]

Don't they still teach math and physics in "A" school as a prep for NPS?

Anton, you still got a ways to go before you are qualified, you will probably see what I am talking about when you get to prototype.

[dragent11]

DepingNuke
 I am currently enlisted at NPS as an EM.
First "A" school: MMs only have 14 weeks , EMs 22 weeks and ETs 24. If i was brushing up on anything it would only be Math Elec. And some mechanics. You dont see chem physics or anything "nuclear" until NPS.
Second Rates: I belive EM is the best rating . From what ive heard from all three rates is that MMs are pretty much Plumbers. ETs are wierd and if you dont understand you will once you get here. EMs are pretty much laid back.
During most of "A" school EMs and ETs train togather and learn most of the same stuff. ETs learn advance trouble shooting and EMs learn electrical Distribution. And picking your rate dosent mean much the navy will put you where the need you. about 60% MMs 25% EMs and 15% ETs. Good luck with boot and "A" school.

Anton, what are you talking about? You ain't a nuke 'til you hit the fleet? How can you know what the ET, MM, and EM's do? You talk about it in the classroom? Best to get a real understanding about what you talk about before opening mouth and inserting foot!

[damad1]

Anton, what are you talking about? You ain't a nuke 'til you hit the fleet? How can you know what the ET, MM, and EM's do? You talk about it in the classroom? Best to get a real understanding about what you talk about before opening mouth and inserting foot!

Settle down dragent! This is suppose to be a friendly site! I'm guessing you were a ET? I understand what you are saying, but chill a bit!

[Beta_effect]

Probably the best prep is to not empahasize the nuke and just brush up on the Navy part...the Bluejackets manual is perhaps the best place to start. I personally went on wheat harvest for four months before I went in. I was with a small tight crew and we started in Texas and wound up in North Dakota. After I left they went on into Canada-probably the best prep I could have done for a life with a team.

If you have the time and did not do it in H.S., I would probably take a calc or physics class at a local university-life might be a little simpler at Nuke School if you had calc in H.S.

Beyond that just practice self disipline and be where you are supose to be and do what you are told to do. A lot of peeps muck it up at boot and at A school and tube it forever as far as nuke school goes. While you are in take advantage of college courses if they are offered and study for and take take the CLEP exams if you can-they will shave some time off college if you decide to go when you get out.

If you are one of those few hot runners who happen to finish high in the class, being a staff pick up at a prototype might be interesting. Also other opportunities might present themselves. I personally think the coolest duty in the Navy is submarines, but some of the ex-surface pukes might disagree! It is going to be a journey you will never forget...good luck!

On a final note...one thing that follows you all through the nuke Navy and on into a civilian nuke carrer is you honesty and integrity. Do not compromise either...the nuclear program, military or otherwise, depends upon people that act with honesty and integrity. And whatever you do, stay away from the drugs-they will end your career in both.

[HydroDave63]

If you are one of those few hot runners who happen to finish high in the class, being a staff pick up at a prototype might be interesting. Also other opportunities might present themselves. I personally think the coolest duty in the Navy is submarines, but some of the ex-surface pukes might disagree! It is going to be a journey you will never forget...good luck!

How many cool liberty ports did anyone see on SSBN patrol??  You'll definitely want to try the local cuisine and customs in, say, Karachi , Pakistan 

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[dragent11]

How many cool liberty ports did anyone see on SSBN patrol??  You'll definitely want to try the local cuisine and customs in, say, Karachi , Pakistan 

Or Manta, Ecudor
Or Guatamala City, Guatamala
Or Dubai, UAE....Etc etc etc

[Beta_effect]

I was on a fast attack and we had just about as many ports of call as any carrier task force since we usually were in the vicinity :-). We had port of calls in Norway, England, Scotland, North Africa, Italy, Greece, Israel (the most memorable), the Virgin Islands. Spent time in Sardenia just by virtue of pulling into where the Tender was at San Stefano-even did a couple of weeks temporary duty helping the R5 division get ready for the tender's transit back to the States. Interesting times then for sure and interesting times ahead for all the new Navy Nukes...

[methman]

SSBN's get to see their homeport and maybe Hawaii!

But they only go to sea for 3 months!

A good trade off?

[ELTsmag]

I was a junior staff instructor at Charleston Prototype (ELT obviously).  Go for all the decision making you want, but the guys in boot camp are going to assign you your rating, and only partially listen to your request (unless you get a rate guaranteed in your contract).  At first I was disappointed I didn't get ET because I liked the idea of a sit-down job that worked with electronics and digital circuits.  Well thats what I thought all through Power School.  Things changed in prototype however, and I suddenly found my place as a Machinists Mate.  Its not at all like being a plumber (maybe a little of the maintenance is, but VERY little) but nothing can replace the sheer visceral thrill of spinning up the turbines during warmup (propulsion turbines) standing right between the beasts, and FEELING and HEARING the roar of them fire up at your very command.

I learned to feel sorry for the poor ETs stuck in manuevering because they have to perform flawlessly, since there is an officer watching over their shoulder, and when the higher ranks come down and NRRO (Navy's version of NRC) they always want to see some nifty drills, the central focus of which is usually something to do with the ETs.

Not saying I was prone to making mistakes as an MM, but it is more forgiving if you do.  Its pretty tough to SCRAM the plant as an MM, it's possible but you pretty much must intentionally do it. 

I'd have to say ETs have the easiest job but requires the most prepping, study, and expertise to wisely respond to any number of scenarios in a split second, knowing all the switches and controls and readings in front of them like they know their own name.  Another drawback is EVERYBODY knows your job so when you do make a small mistake everybody knows about it and will jump all over you.

On the flip side, if you are a smart and congenial as an MM you can get picked up as an ELT like I did.  I think ELT has the greatest job in the NAVY (and if I somehow get dropped from STA-21 I won't be that sad because I still get to go out to the fleet to be an ELT, oh no don't do that!).  The knowledge level and expertise of an ELT rival that of the ETs, except our knowledge is pretty exclusive.  Every rating gets cross-rate knowledge (ie mechanics learn basics of all electrical systems) but nobody really gets farther than basic understanding of ELT material.  This leads to us having to explain things much of the time, and just as with the ET, being an ELT leads to lots of face to face time with the captain, XO, NRRO, and lots of officers.  A very political job that concerns everybody to the top of the chain of command and many concerned civilians.

I think it is a draw between MM and EM, they both do tons of maintenance, and EO (Electric Plant Operator) can be a crap deal in some instances (watch how fast a careless EO can SCRAM the plant).  But if you want a shot at ELT you gotta be a mechanic.  In my experience at prototype (almost 2 years of instructor duty before shipping off to STA-21) as an ELT instructor I saw about 2 ELTs out of a crew of say 12 mechanics get picked up to be an ELT, usually based on how much the Mechanic Chief likes you (and your MDiv LPO).  If no staff likes you forget about being an ELT, even if you are the smartest nuke this side of the pacific

[nukeIllini]

Well so far we've seen MM's recommend being an MM, EM being an EM, Bubble heads recommending subs and surface pukes saying that it's better on top. What else would we expect from a bunch of nukes  

The only thing that I will add as an ET (can you see it coming)  is that everyone has left out Qualifying Watch Supervisor. As an Watch Supe,  ET's finally get out of Manuvering/EOS and into the plant. If you have a little initiative you can then learn the other rates jobs. And yes a lot of ET watch supes suck I'll say it before anyone else does but If they want to, they can learn how to really run the plant.

The other rates don't have this option because they will never learn advanced electronics or operate the RX without it being shut down.

my 2 cent

[20 Years Gone]

Well,

ETs get paid for what they know

MMs get paid for what they do

And EMs...

Well,   EMs just get paid.   

[jowlman]

For the record I am an ex MM/ELT. I will say that alot of what you choose should also depend on if you want to make the navy you're career. If you choose EM you can get out as a journeyman electrician, a very valuable option in the civilian world. If you get chosen for ELT, when you get out there will be many options in the nuclear field, but not many others. If you get ET, when you get out, you will have many options, in today's electronic world, anyone with experience troubleshooting and maintaining electronics can pretty much write their own ticket. Finally as a MM, A lot of companies will want someone with your experience maintaining mechanical systems.

If your looking to make the navy your career, I would look at the jobs with oppurtunities out of nuclear power. With no new nuclear plants under construction, 20 years from now, one can only guess what the chances of employment will be like.

As all of us that have been through the process know, your desires are second to the navy's needs. That said if you don't ask for what you want your chances of getting it are pretty slim, so it doesn't hurt to ask. I hope you get what ever it is that you decide that you want. Good luck in your service to our great country.

[damad1]

Really, there is only one way to look at it...what is right for you! Do you have a strong mechanical background...then go MM. You have an interest in electronics...ET. You like wiring, electric motors and such...go EM. Play your strengths.


I'll say one thing, don't think if you go MM that it limits you to only mechanical work on the outside. With what you learn as a Nuke, and by that I mean the cross training in electrical and electronic and power distribution, you are far from being limited to only a mechanical field. For instance, I speak from experience on this. I was a 8 year MM, and I now have a job as a hydro-electric plant operator, who's job has me throwing more breakers than anything else.


I am sure it must be similar with the other rates. Don't get a mental block about it. If you go for ET and get assigned as a MM, do a good job, get out and apply what you have learned. Any rate will open doors for you later!

Everyone will think the rate they trained in is the best, it is just human nature...as obviously MM is the best   (Just kidding!)

[Already Gone]

Sometimes the question os so simple that a bunch of nukes just can not figure out how to answer it.  If you want to know what rate you will choose, think about which is more interesting to you.  Then pick that one.

Forget about all that crap about what you will do on the outside.  First of all, that's at least six years away.  Second of all, they are almost all wrong. 
If you make it through NPS, it will be because you are dedicated to learning the job.  Once you get out, your opportunities are going to be huge, because you, as a navy nuke, have proven that you can be trained to do anything.
MM's get out to become plant operators, shift supervisors, plant managers or Rad Protection Techs, or some of them own little liquor stores.
EM's get out and do the same things, with the added bonus of being trained electricians.  So, they can pick up a lot of side work on their days off.  I don't know about being Journeyman though.  Most Union locals won't give you your J card until you have worked 3000 hours and passed the training.  It would make sense to accelerate that for navy EM's
ET's get out to be operators, I&C techs. Rad protection techs...etc.
What I'm sayin' is that it all depends on what jobs are available in the places you want to live.  As far as commercial nukes go, it doesn't make a huge difference what your navy rate was.  I know several control room operators who were MM/ELT's and a few Rad Protection techs who were ET's with SRO/ EWS quals.

Don't wory about the haircut.  You're going to sit in the chair and pay the Navy Barber for a buzz job no matter what.  If you get one of those high-n-tight "military" style cuts, or a mohawk, they'll shave you bald, because they want eveybody to have a uniform appearance.  Believe it or not, the "military" style cut is more of a fad than anything else, it is no more military than any other cut except that it conforms to regs.  The problem is that it has a "style" which is a strict no-no in boot camp.