Career Path > Navy:Getting In

guaranteed station base????

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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:
lol, 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:

--- Quote from: Adidas2806 on Oct 18, 2004, 07:44 ---
    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.
--- End quote ---

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!

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