Enlistment Nuke, not sure if recruiter is being honest

[HighOctane23]

Here's a link to a short little FAQ about DEP. It's pretty standard stuff, but somewhat informative in case anyone wants to take a look at it.

http://www.delayedentryprogram.com/

[frazcom21]

Your recruiter is not lying to you. When I went to MEPS I was told the same thing. "Sign  a contract under a different rate and we will re-rate you to nuke while you are in DEP" I literally told me recruiter "I will not sign a contract unless it is nuke because I will not ship out if I dont have the job I want" I then confirmed with my father, husband, and sister who are all in the navy that if I sign a contract in dep im not obligated to it. You are only oblogated when you sign a SECOND contract right before you ship to basic. So I did as my recruited asked and signed a contract for AECF and am in the process of waiting on my nuke paperwork to come back to tell me if ive been accepted. My recruiter is well aware that I will not be shipping if I do not get a nuke contract and he is still working with me to get what I want. I havent run into any issues at all thus far.

HighOctane is correct in what hes saying. Things have changed over time especially in  regards to enlisting.

[GLW]

....Things have changed over time especially in  regards to enlisting.

from the webpage:

http://www.delayedentryprogram.com/Navy_DEP.htm

Why should I join the Navy Delayed Entry Program first?

By joining via the Delayed Entry Program, you give yourself up to an entire year to research, think about, and decide if you made the right choice in joining the military; while ensuring that you get locked in for the training, tour length and duty station of your choice.

Well it would appear things have changed;

We were never locked in for the training, we got the rate the Navy gave us not our ensured choice,....

We went to school as long as they made us, not how long we ensured we chose to go,....

and we got the ship and port we were assigned to, not the ones we ensured we chose to go to,...

 

[Hilariousity]

My original contract was SECF then I passed the NFQT and signed a contract to become a nuke. I would say that there is a good chance that you could sign a contract for nuke. There are two things you should pay attention to before you sign up for another rate if you are waiting for a nuke contract. Do you qualify for the job? If not, how many waivers will you need in order to qualify for the job. The more waivers you need, the less likely you are to obtain a nuke contract... obviously! For example, I looked at my contract around 7 weeks ago and it said I had three waivers on my contract.

PS I just graduated from RTC recently

[NukaTex]

  Thanks for the input about this. It seems so awkward that they would have you sign a contract for something you don't want. I'm currently waiting for my eyesight waiver (MEPS exam diagnosed me for something I don't even have, but now it's on my record & I needed a waiver  ) from Big Navy. If I go to MEPS & NF isn't available that day, The only options I see are:

-Threaten to go to a different service if you don't get NF
-Hope the recruiter isn't being sneaky & sign up for something
-Ask your recruiter to confirm with MEPS that a spot will be open that day

  The first option is probably not going to work, since no spots means no spots. The second will leave me second-guessing everything I do involving the Navy until my contract is changed. I don't think my recruiter is willing to go through the trouble of the third option, since he seems to have a lot on his plate, going to high school cafeterias & whatnot.
  What is the likelihood that NF will be available on the day I go? I've heard there's no telling, but I've also heard that they're dying to get Nukes, SEALs, & other high qualification rates. If I have to sign onto something else, even if only as an interim spot, I'd prefer to make it something that I might not mind being in too much.

P.S. This is my first Nukeworker question. I've managed to go without asking redundant questions since August, due to the community's entertaining & informative posts  

[AbidingProduce]

We were never locked in for the training, we got the rate the Navy gave us not our ensured choice,....

To be fair, they do let you choose your top three, and guarantee you one of those.

We went to school as long as they made us, not how long we ensured we chose to go,....

Some people choose a shorter school length by asking for happy pills, others get on their work hard and get SPU/ ELT/ ETMS/ J-NETCORE (or however you spell that one) for longer ones.

and we got the ship and port we were assigned to, not the ones we ensured we chose to go to,...

Uh... well some people... that is you have to option to... I mean you can always...

Alright, I give up. I guess I should learn that while trying to defend the Navy can be a good mental exercise, it's turns out being in vein most of the time.

[HeavyD]

You can pick any of the three rates you want to.  The Navy decides what rate you get based on the needs of the Navy.

The ONLY rate you can get guaranteed, unless they changed it in the last 10 months, is MM.

You go to school when and where they tell you to because those are considered ORDERS 

You put in your "dream sheet" of which ships/boats you want to go to.  Then the needs of the Navy decide where you get assigned to.

EVERYONE who volunteers to join the military needs to remember that the military follows orders.  Period.  You are contractually obligated for a certain time period.  There are a great number of things that are NOT guaranteed in your contract.  I would recommend that each person take the time to read before signing.  I did and yes, it did frustrate my recruiter 20 years ago.  I didn't care though.  I was not signing for something I didn't fully read and understand.

Just my 2 cents on this.

[AbidingProduce]

Perhaps I forgot my/sarcasm tag.

[GLW]

Okay, this is getting to be a circular discussion,...

All I'm saying is I have been corrected by more than one younger poster here that the historic "needs of the Navy" paradigm has little to do with enlistment and service in the modern era and cautions against high hopes and dreams vis a vis enlistment and service in the modern US Navy are tired old platitudes from a bygone era,...

And I accept that,...

The modern Navy accommodates the sailor as exemplified and codified in this US Navy on-line publication;

http://www.delayedentryprogram.com/Navy_DEP.htm

Why should I join the Navy Delayed Entry Program first?

By joining via the Delayed Entry Program, you give yourself up to an entire year to research, think about, and decide if you made the right choice in joining the military; while ensuring that you get locked in for the training, tour length and duty station of your choice.

It's a better Navy than it was when I enlisted, if your recruiter asserts to you that your training, tour length and choice of duty station is ensured, you should believe your recruiter becasue old timers like me have no clue what service in the modern Navy is like,...

And I'm good with that and hope you all a happy term of service,...

[NukaTex]

I signed my contract as MT & i'm waiting for papers to come back from the Nuke coordinator so that I can make a DAR to reclass for NF. I signed about a month or so ago & I have 5 1/2 months until my ship date. I should have no problem getting a new contract by then. Needs of the Navy is still very relevant & my recruiter made sure that I didn't forget that. I think the reason people are refusing to accept the concept is because they're haven't had the same experience as people who are/were in the Navy. New recruits are just trying to get every piece of info they can & see how they can get the best of what they think they want.

Update: I reclassed to Nuke yesterday, so anyone else will probably have a similar experience. Just remember that you can opt out anytime in DEP if you're only a couple weeks from shipping & they haven't changed your contract to be what you want it. BTW, I got 11,000 as my bonus. less than 24 college credits, which is not significant enough to change anything. Hoping to put in a DAR to ship sooner.

[A Random ETN1]

I really think your best bet is by talking more with the nuke coordinator at meps. Also... make sure if you had a decent amount of college you got your college kicker, when i joined in 2008 I got 25k awarded. (it is not paid all at once you get a certain percentage after A school, power school, prototype) most usually get 15-20k w/o college. Also since you haven't shipped yet. The main focuses I would work on would be :
1. get in shape to meet at least good standards of prt. The prt standards are so low in my opinon. there is no reason a 18-21 year old can't run mile and a half in 10minutes, at least 70 push ups and 80 sit ups.

2. Learn all the general boot camp stuff that you can early like sailors creed, chain of command, rank recognition etc. boot camp is really mostly a mind game.

3. Pay attention during A school and on. Will save you time learning the material vice studying after class. Don't be afraid to ask questions once you get to A school and power school and prototype. People these days are afraid to get help and ask questions, but instructors are there for a reason.

4. Don't go crazy and do stupid stuff with friends. Be smart about it. There are so many people i've seen throughout the pipeline drop out cause of spice, weed, lsd, dui. Seen people get reduced in rank and reduced pay for really stupid stuff. If you are going to a party with a lot of underage people and alchohol is present, do not go to it or at least be smart about it. (can't tell you how many friendships don't work out and someone then rats out everyone there which leads to everyone at the party going to captains mast)

[Fermi2]

I really think your best bet is by talking more with the nuke coordinator at meps. Also... make sure if you had a decent amount of college you got your college kicker, when i joined in 2008 I got 25k awarded. (it is not paid all at once you get a certain percentage after A school, power school, prototype) most usually get 15-20k w/o college. Also since you haven't shipped yet. The main focuses I would work on would be :
1. get in shape to meet at least good standards of prt. The prt standards are so low in my opinon. there is no reason a 18-21 year old can't run mile and a half in 10minutes, at least 70 push ups and 80 sit ups.

2. Learn all the general boot camp stuff that you can early like sailors creed, chain of command, rank recognition etc. boot camp is really mostly a mind game.

3. Pay attention during A school and on. Will save you time learning the material vice studying after class. Don't be afraid to ask questions once you get to A school and power school and prototype. People these days are afraid to get help and ask questions, but instructors are there for a reason.

4. Don't go crazy and do stupid stuff with friends. Be smart about it. There are so many people i've seen throughout the pipeline drop out cause of spice, weed, lsd, dui. Seen people get reduced in rank and reduced pay for really stupid stuff. If you are going to a party with a lot of underage people and alchohol is present, do not go to it or at least be smart about it. (can't tell you how many friendships don't work out and someone then rats out everyone there which leads to everyone at the party going to captains mast)

Superb.

[Marlin]

Superb.

If you were a Gold Member you could have given him Karma.