guaranteed station base????

[Adidas2806]

i have definetly learned not to trust my recruiter with anything, especially since ive had 3 while in the DEP program(they keep transferring around). i ran into someone yesterday who just got out of the navy and he told me to make sure when i get to meps before swearing in that i demand a guaranteed station base. he said that you can have that put right into your contract before you sign it, saying that once i finish nuke school that i will be stationed at whichever base i chose at meps.
    has anyone here had that put into their contract? is it even true?(i assumed it was, but im sure once i get to meps ill get some lame excuse that b/c im a nuke and have 18 months school that it doesnt apply to us, or something like that). and if so, which would be the best base for a nuke to be stationed at? i wanted tto get yalls input before asking my recruiter.
      also for the naval academy, if someone wantwed to put in an application to be transferred there, when does one first start that process? at boot camp or once at nps? or do they copme hunting for you?
     thanks everyone for the info and helping me wiht all this!
sean

[Already Gone]

Let's start wit the last question first.  You don't get "transferred" to the Naval Academy - you get accepted for a scholarship to be a student there.  The selection process is rigorous and competitive.  You should start This Very Minute!!! if you hope to get in.

Now, let's get to that guarantee crap.  They're gonna tell you no.  They have absolutely no control over what the Navy's needs will be 18-24 months after they ship you to RTC.  You don't have the right to "demand" anything, and you have already signed a contract which you are required by law to fulfill.  Sure. you can refuse to sign, or put your hand in your pocket when it is time to take the oath.  They have no obligation at that point to drive you home to mommy if you do, so bring bus fare.  They will also be pretty tired of you when you come back later asking for another chance to enlist.  Who knows, they may discharge you from DEP with a negative recommendation for future enlistment.  Try getting into Annapolis after pulling that stunt.

But here's the best thing... thay can give you what you want and send you of smiling to boot camp, only to tell you later that they don't really have to do it 'cause the fine print ALWAYS says that the needs of the Navy come first.  Or they can even transfer you to your desired duty station.... and transfer you somewhere else ninety days later.

I think this friend of yours is shining you on a lot more than your recruiters have.  If you look back objectively, you'll find that they may have been "artful dodgers" but they never actually told a lie.  Your sea-lawyer friend however, is feeding you a line of crap.

Here's the deal... you go into the Navy a boy and come out a man.  Better for you if you start making that transformation sooner rather than later.  You're not leasing a car, signing up for a gym membership, or picking a college.  You are volunteering to serve your country.  You are not shopping around to see what your country has to offer you.  Other than marriage and parenthood, this is the most serious and binding commitment you will ever make. 

Now for the good part.  For all the hardship of family separation, bad duty stations, difficult cliving and working conditions, hard work and sacrifice, you will be rewarded with the greatest character-building experience known to mankind.  You will acquire skills far beyond technical training.  You will learn and practice leadership, decision-making, flexibility, endurance of body and spirit, self-reliance and teamwork.  You will be a member of the world's most honored fraternity, and you will have earned the right to do with confidence things that others are too timid to try.

So, go where they send you, do what they tell you and don't end up a whining sack of crap like your moaning, game-playing, sea-lawyering friend. 

[Adidas2806]

, hes not my sea lawyering friend as you put it, i only met him yesterday and will probably never see him again. that is exactly what he told me and i had absolutely no idea if he was right or not. i fully undertsand that i cant demand anything once in the navy and that the needs of the navy come first. im not afraid of commitment or hard work, im not being forced to join the navy, i am doing so willingly. this is exactly why i came here to ask that question to see if he was right or not. i do trust the judgement here more.
    im sorry if i worded the question to sound like i was "shopping around", as you put it, for the best opportunity. if they want to station me in antartica i am fully aware that they can and i wouldnt be one to whine about it. but in the end ive only enlisted for 6 years and i have my life back after that if everything turned to crap(which i dont believe would happen anyway). but if there was something i could do to make the transition easier im going to at least look into it. you'd be foolish not to.

[Roll Tide]

    im sorry if i worded the question to sound like i was "shopping around", as you put it, for the best opportunity. if they want to station me in antartica i am fully aware that they can and i wouldnt be one to whine about it.

Prime Power Plant Specialist (school in preparation for a particular assignment on "Operation Deep Freeze") is a year long in Ft. Belvoir. Nukes need not apply!

There is nothing they would rather have you do than be a nuke, so your options are all pretty good. You may be disappointed when you go to Bangor and wanted Kings Bay, but they both have many positives.

[damad1]

The only thing you are garaunteed in the Navy is you will clean stuff.....non stop. You can demand all you want, and all that will happen is the people you are dealing with will think " this guys is gonna get a big reality check soon!".

Not to sound negative, but if the Military bent over backward for one guy, they'd have to do it for every person who walked through the door.You pretty much have to take everything anyone says with a grain of salt, and with some people you better go straight to the salt factory and sit down for a long ingestion process! I will say, though, that most folks here give the straight talk about 99% of the time.

Finally, keep in mind, you can say you are going to be a nuke, and can have great grades, and huge potential, but you ain't a nuke until you graduate from prototype, which is about 2 years worth, and a ton of things can change by then! The navy loses lots of bucks on drop outs, admin problems, rule breakers, and people who academically fail out. They won't promise anything, because you can't promise you won't be one of the many people mentioned above!

Karma to rolltide and beercourt for shooting the straight dope!

[Adidas2806]

perhaps i used the wrong word.."demand". as you said damad the people here will tell the truth most of the time which is why i rbought the question up toi everyonhe here. i dont know if that guy was just trying to make me look stupid or what, and my original post was out of curiosity to see if he was right. thanks for letting me know that isnt the way things work, but i never imagined, much less expected to be able to go in and demand all these things and for them to comply. im not that naieve. i have absolutely no intentions of trying to be some big hotshot and to try and show anybody uip.  i know its gonna be hard and that ill have to clean, i accept that. but did my original post really sound like im some prodigy and the best thing that could happen to the navy??? i would be the LAST person to try and claim that.

[Roll Tide]

No offense intended,
but many of us that were in the Navy worked with many who thought exactly what Adidas doesn't.

Don't take it personal when the answer is really directed at the most annoying person we ever worked with! In our hearts, we know we missed that opportunity when we got out of the canoe club!

[damad1]

No Sweat! When I was staff at prototype, I had students who thought like that, you know...they were gods gift to nuclear power, so I developed a "head them off at the pass" style, in which I eliminate all the BS and go straight to the dope! it ain't politically correct, but is usually accurate! It ruffled feather then, and probably will in the future, but it is hard to misconstrue plain english!

the best way to get what you want out of the nuke program, or atleast have the best chance at it, is to perfrom good, be a dependable hard worker, and someone may go the extra mile for you! Best advice I can give!

[Already Gone]

Actually, you didn't sound either arrogant or naiive.  Your attitiude isn't the problem.  I was just trying to warn you that someone else was feeding you a line.  I find it is better to be prepared than to have one's hopes crushed - no matter how lofty or unrealistic they might have been.  I'd rather you didn't get a disappointment, and I really resented that guy who tried to set you up for one. 

One rule of thumb that works most of the time is that you almost always get your last choice.  So, when you fill out your dream sheets, do not under any circumstances put down a duty station where you do not want to go.  Pick your top three, and you are likely to get at least one of them.  Nobody in the Navy is out to screw you.  They really will do all they can to send you where you want to go, or somewhere close.  Sometimes it just doesn't work out.  Somebody has to go to the "Rock."  Even bad duty stations have their bright side.  Isolated duty locations with little in the way of scenery, or recreational activity could turn out to be excellent places to finish correspondence courses or save lots of money.  Some times you are better off not having fun.

I'll tell you this much, even if you hate every minute of your time in the Navy, you will always look back on it as an enriching experience - one that will define you as an adult, and shape your future.  You may just want to die for the next six years, but when they are over you will not regret what you chose to do.

Go have some fun with it no matter where you have to go.

[JEBako]

Jest my 2 scents worth.
You will tend to get out of lifes experiences what you've put into them. Others here have said this before and it is still a basic truth.
If you go to a duty station and focus on what an armpit it is, you will see a nasty armpit. Attitude is everything...
I spent a couple years on Guam listening to some people bitch about the living conditions. I learned to dive and enjoyed some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, underwater. Learned to like the jungle too. Most places are home to somebody. See how they live and learn the why. It can be very interesting.
If you think you know what you want in a duty station, and are lucky enough to get it. You may well feel disappointment if it fails to live up to your expectations. You may also miss out on an opportunity to grow. Life is learning, you don't learn much doin the same old thing (ie what you probably think you want).
Probably why so many techs seem dissatisfied, smart people like and need a challenge.

[RCLCPO]

One additional piece of advice:

When I was going up for orders coming out of prototype--granted, that was 15 years ago--the priority to get students their first choice was done in order of performance.  In other words, someone with a 3.8 gpa has much better odds of getting their first choice than someone with a 2.8 gpa.  I don't know if it works the same way now, but I'd be surprised to find out it's otherwise.  There's no one looking at the duty station requests choosing the last choice people have made.....the Navy is well aware that morale will be higher--and it's people more productive--if they are at least OK with where they are.  As has been said, though, not everyone can get a boomer out of Bangor.  So, if 100 students ask for a chance to fill one of the 40 jobs there, how do you think they're picked?  It's good performance that's rewarded. 

So here's what you do:

When you get to Charleston, listen to the way the staff wants you to study.  They will teach you a very effective, and efficient, way to study.  Then use their methods to do well in all the schools, while keeping your military requirements high.  The higher your gpa, and the more squared-away you are militarily, the better your chances of getting the duty station you ask for.