officers q's

[dep759]

Ok I posted earlier about subs and got some advice to a good book to read. However, I read some of the other post and Ive found that many people argue that its better to try to get into an officers position than to try to move up in nuclear power school from enlisted to officer. So do you think that I should pursue the officers position? Right now Im a senior in high school with slightly above a 4.0 gpa and live in florida. So far Ive depped in as an enlisted nuke but my ship date is jun 13. Its just that my recruiters really pushing for me to go enlisted then to try officer. What options do I have?

[jeepgirl1]

To become an officer, you need a 4 year degree.

If I were in your shoes, I'd go enlisted Nuke then work my butt off with the goal of getting a nod for the Naval Academy or getting picked up for STA21.

[Already Gone]

With a 4.0 GPA what are you thinking??!!!
The Navy enlisted nuke program is for people as smart as you who DIDN'T get good grades.  Basically it is for intelligent underachievers like me.
Get your butt into a four-year college right this very minute!  If DEP is still the way it was back when I went in, they'll tear up your contract if you get accepted to college.
Can't afford to pay for it?  Try for a full scholarship.  There are lots of them, NROTC being only one.

Hey, maybe it won't turn out that way but you have to try!  With your grades you at least have a chance at free college.  But, if you don't try it now, you will never have that chance again.  Better get moving.  Already you're about a year behind.  By the time this year's juniors get to be seniors, their 4.0's will be worth a lot more thatn your stale ones, and they will be applying in a couple of months.

Did you take the SAT's?  What did you score?

Look, you've done all this work to get those grades, take this chance to make them pay off before they become nothing but bragging rights.

If all else fails, you can take comfort in the fact that you are one of the few who qualifies for NPS, which for you will be one really good backup plan.

Best of luck to you.

[dep759]

Ok thanks alot I was wondering though whats the nrotc program anyway?? My recruiter never told me about it. Of course he also wants me to stay enlisted then try to claw my way up to officer. As far as sat scores I made the minimum 1270 for the florida gold seal which gives me 100% but my recruiter did point out one thing. The scholorship doesnt cover books etc. He also showed me an article about how more and more kids are having difficulty finding jobs after college. Thats my main problem getting money for living expenses.

[jeepgirl1]

Hey,
NROTC info, check here: https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/  If you're considering the ROTC route, also look into AFROTC (www.afrotc.com) and Army ROTC (www.armyrotc.com).  All are great in that they pay for tuition and books, plus give you a few hundred dollars a month for living expenses if you qualify for a scholarship.  I know a bit about AFROTC, so if you have any questions about that feel free to PM me.  The only thing is that you still have to come up with living expenses, which will run you upwards of $1000 a month when you look at rent, utilities, food, car insurance, health/dental insurance, etc.  You can get loans, but I'd try to keep them to a minimum. 

Working fulltime while going to school is NO FUN and will more than likely hinder you in your studies. 

As for enlisting, you should research STA21 and getting an appointment to the Naval Academy. 

[Already Gone]

Your recruiter didn't tell you about it because he doesn't want you to know about it.  Every recruiter has a monthly quota of enlistments.  If he misses that quota, the command may require him to work longer hours.  They may even send him back to sea duty early.  Recruiting is a cushy job (compared to a lot of other types of duty) with almost no direct supervision.  They will do ANYTHING they can legally do to get those contracts signed.  If that includes not telling you about other ways to go... well, that's not his job is it?  Recruiters get no credit for people who receive NROTC scholarships.  They get extra points for finding nukes.  As luck would have it, both programs are after the same people.  He showed that stuff about finding jobs after college to scare you away from college.  Besides, if you get an ROTC scholarship, you will have a job - you'll be an officer in the US Military.  (Don't limit yourself to Navy Rotc.  Give Army and Air Force a chance too.)
The STA-21 program keeps you on Active Duty pay, but it only pays $10k/year toward all your college costs.  You have to make up the rest out of the salary of an enlisted sailor.  Good luck trying that.  Have you looked at tuition rates lately?
ROTC pays:
Four-year Scholarship:  
 o Full tuition at one of the listed college or universities
 o All colleges/university educational fees
 o Stipend for text books
 o Provide all uniforms
 o Subsistance allowance each academic month

 
YEAR  CURRENT  EFFECTIVE
                       1 OCT 2002  
Freshmen    $250  
Sophomore  $300  
Junior          $350  
Senior          $400  

You also get paid for you summer duty tours.  

Go here:    https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/index.cfm
 Ask your school counsellor and/or college admissions office.  Books can be bought used and resold.  Living expenses can come from part time jobs, the subsistence allowance you receive from nrotc (He didn't tell you about that either, did he?), and your loving parents.  Together, these can put a huge dent in the costs.  You can also do things like; stay on your parents' medical insurance, live on campus or join a fraternity, get on the meal plan, sell your car and take mass transit (assuming you have a good reason to go anywhere anyway).
In any case, if you can swing a free college education, don't get stalled by minor money problems.

[dep759]

Thanks alot for all the info guys. Its going to take me awhile to absorb most of this information but I think it will pay off in the end. Im still probably going to pursue the nuke field in the navy however I will try to get officer status with a 4 year degree (after all thats that much more money between enlisted and officer ratings.) My recruiter did point out the fact though that the navy is the only branch that has nukes. Like I said I appreciate the advice. the only reason Im even still considering the navy program is  so I can travel plus the retirement plan looked really good to me.

[Already Gone]

I guess your recruiter just loves to tell you things that aren't true.  The Army has a nuclear program too.  Of course it is nowhere near the scale of the Navy's.  They don't use nuclear reactors to propel vehicles, while the Navy uses them for nothing else. 

By the way, a nuke who becomes an officer is not a nuke officer.  The programs are entirely different.  If you want to be a nuke officer, you gotta be an officer first.

[Roll Tide]

By the way, a nuke who becomes an officer is not a nuke officer.  The programs are entirely different.  If you want to be a nuke officer, you gotta be an officer first.

Look at NUPOC under the NROTC program for a really nice ride through college followed by guaranteed Nuke Officer!

[Already Gone]

How do they "guarantee" them NPS?  Don't they still do the interview and the academic review?  I know Rickover's dead, but they can't have gotten that soft, can they?

[RCLCPO]

If you fax me a copy of your transcripts, including your SAT scores, and your return address (or e-mail), I'll see to it that you get the information for the programs you're eligible for.

e-mail:  Nuke1_port@cnrc.navy.mil
fax: 503-258-2179

You may indeed be a fine candidate for NROTC, and/or NUPOC.  If you decide to stay in the enlisted Navy Nuke program, and do well, you could very well be picked up for an officer program, including the Nuclear Officer option.  I've seen it happen, and more than once.

As for the Army, the last time I was at the US Army Nuclear Chemical Agency at FT. Belvoir in northern Virginia it was 1980.  They were the guys who had fun spinning their round slide rules figuring out the kill radius for various megatons of warheads, NOT nuclear engineering.  They fooled around with the idea of pulling a small reactor plant on the back of a flat-bed truck out into the field to provide power to the troops.  Hmmm......just think about that.....one incoming mortar round could ruin a lot of people's day......

[dep759]

Hmmmm Talk about information overload My heads still spinning! However I do appreciate all the advice. Tommorrow im going to my recruiters office to see the nuke coordinator for our area about some of the programs you guys told me about. I will have to think hard about some of the options. If theres a good chance that I may be picked up at nps for an officer position I may just look into that. (I read somewhere that if you are really high in your nps class and  a few other things that you have  a good chance of being picked, this is what the recruiters are telling me to go for) However as was said earlier they need to meet a quota. Also is the army nuclear field really as good a bet as what the navy offers? (if its still around)

[Roll Tide]

Also is the army nuclear field really as good a bet as what the navy offers? (if its still around)

Nuclear power is the exclusive domain of the USN today. Yeah, the Army talked about portable Nuclear power and the Air Force studied Nuclear powered planes. They don't even talk about them anymore!

Nuclear weapons are within the realm of each branch. The Navy also has plenty of weapons officer positions.

If you really want to get a useful education, Naval Nuclear Power is the way to go. I would suggest NROTC / NUPOC and go through NNPS as an officer unless there is some grand reason to be enlisted. (For the record, I had a reason I thought was grand, so I chose enlisted nuke. It is great training and worth a million $ over the course of my life!)

[Already Gone]

Young person, I do not intend to confuse you.  All I am trying is to tell you that you have a lot of good options.  In my opinion, enlisted NPS should be no higher than Plan B. 
If someone gave you a voucher for a free car, the Ford dealer would try to get to you before you found out about Mercedes.  What I'm telling you is that NNPS is a top of the line Ford.  NROTC is a Lincoln Navigator.  Who knows, you might find that Mercedes somewhere in the process.
THe Army program is about defunct.  Their biggest achievement with a reactor was to pin an operator to the ceiling with a control rod.  They have operated reactors,but I don't know if they still do.  The only portable plant I know of was the PM-3A that the Navy operated in Antarctica in the 60's.

http://www.atomicinsights.com/nov95/ANPPSum.html

Naturally, we here can only speak within the limits of Nuclear power.  Though you have expressed a desire to enter this field, your options are so much wider than that.
Remember that the recruiter has his interests to serve.  He has no obligation to you at all.  Sure, he'll tell you that you can get picked out of NPS for some officer program.  But that is like reaching for the brass ring.  Someone with your grades and potential should not have to rely on a gamble to get where he wants to be.  At least give yourself the benefit of investigating the other options fully before you lock into this one.  Then, if you end up in enlisted NPS, you still have all those other opportunities.

[Roll Tide]

So do you think that I should pursue the officers position? Right now Im a senior in high school with slightly above a 4.0 gpa and live in florida.

Can you say bright scholar (or is it bright future scholars) ? I thought you could.

If you aren't about to get married or some other thing like that, then figure out a way to go to college.