Will going to a ship that is stuck in port limit which watch quals I can get?

[apricohtyl]

I'm currently in the navy nuke pipeline,  and I'm closely considering requesting a shop that is decommissioning or refueling in order to avoid going to sea (close family member is sick).

What I'm wondering is if being on a decommissioning or refueling ship would negatively affect which watch quals I can receive. Specifically I have been told that a certain supervisory watch qual can only be attained  at sea.

Any info on this matter would be helpful.

[GLW]

...What I'm wondering is if being on a decommissioning or refueling ship would negatively affect which watch quals I can receive...

Yes,...

...and I'm closely considering requesting a shop that is decommissioning or refueling in order to avoid going to sea (close family member is sick)....

you can't have it all, pick what you want more and live with it,...

[apricohtyl]

Fair enough. But how drastically would missing out on some of those quals affect my future job prospects? I'm not looking to make the navy a career, but would I still be qualified and desired in the civilian world?

[HydroDave63]

Fair enough. But how drastically would missing out on some of those quals affect my future job prospects? I'm not looking to make the navy a career, but would I still be qualified and desired in the civilian world?

In a former lifetime, I encountered HR recruiters, when reviewing ex-Nuke resumes that lacked EWS/EOOW quals, give a reply along these lines:

YMMV

[Tylor]

I'm not sure about quals, I just graduated prototype, and I'm yet to go to the fleet. Based off the orders my class received, if you're looking for a ship in drydock, it would be very easy to get sent to one. I'm new to OPSEC and all, but there is a ship in drydock in norfolk for about the next 5 years, and a good portion of my mechanic friends got dumped on it.

As someone with a family member in a possibly similar situation, I'd recommend going where you can benefit the most. You won't be able to there for them as much, but I know if it were my family, they would understand and wouldn't want me to hold back my career. If things get really bad, emergency leave is a thing, and as long of your chain of command is aware of what's going on, they can help out a lot.

It will definitely limit you with being qualified for chief, though (correct me if I'm wrong) you obviously won't be able to qualify LPO at sea, and from what I've heard, qualifying EWS on your first sea tour requires a lot of hard work and luck. That might not be terrible though, as from what I see employers in the civillian world don't just look for quals, they want to see you standing those watchstations (for at least 2 yrs?), so one sea duty where you were qualified EWS for 2 months before leaving the command isn't necessarily helpful.

If you want to get all the quals that make you competitive in the civillian world, you're already looking at multiple sea tours/prototype instructor tours, so your first sea tour being in drydock wouldn't necessarily be a bad move. Again, if any of this seems wrong, I'm sure the more experienced posters on here will correct me, and thank you in advance.

Best of luck, boat partner.

[MMM]

Here's some good/bad news. As a student, you have little to no say in where you go. It is almost 100% needs of the navy, so if there's a ship in drydock that needs bodies, that's where you go.

If you're looking to make chief, it will take at least 6 more years, and that's assuming you're really $hit-hot (or an ET). You will be able to provisionally qualify all your required watches, or they'll send you out on another ship to get your quals (it depends on ship schedules). As far as that affecting your ability to qualify PPWS/EWS, it's doubtful your supervision would endorse that until you've stood an actual steaming watch.

There is no "LPO qualification." It's assigned by the LCPO with some input from the Div-O. The usual progression is: Worker, Assistant WCS, WCS, ALPO, then LPO. If you're on a carrier, the WCS is a senior 2nd class (or 1st class, depending on the ship), and the ALPO/LPO are both 1st classes.

As far as EWS/PPWS go, on a carrier, you're not likely to qualify on your first ship unless you're there for 5 years. I've heard on subs, it happens fairly often though. If you're looking at chief, there's no requirement for how long you were qualified, as long as it happened at some point. If you're looking at going commercial D-SRO, then you have to stand the watch for 2 years (that means 24 months, not "almost 2 years").

[Tylor]

As a student, you have little to no say in where you go. It is almost 100% needs of the navy, so if there's a ship in drydock that needs bodies, that's where you go.

Correct, although if your class gets thrown onto a ship in drydock, and you don't go to that ship/boat, it would be really easy to find someone to switch orders with you. No matter how many people say you cannot switch orders, it is completely possible. You just need someone else who is willing to take your orders, and talk to your CCC.

[HeavyD]

I'm new to OPSEC and all, but there is a ship in drydock in norfolk for about the next 5 years

RCOH (Refueling and Carrier Overhaul) is a 39 month project.  Do they get delayed?  Almost all the time.  However, the Navy has gotten to the point where they get them out close to schedule.  The Navy, meaning you and your shipmates, will just end up being part of the workforce that does what work was "re-prioritized" to post-overhaul instead of the shipyard.

Another thing to keep in mind is that more and more carriers are sending their junior sailors out to sea on other carriers.  This gets them valuable time on an operational plant.  While I was on both the EISENHOWER and the THEODORE ROOSEVELT, we actually sent some sailors on deployment with another carrier.  The deployment was voluntary, but 2 and 3 week underways were not.  We picked who was going and they went.



As far as OPSEC, visting a ship's website will show that it is the current carrier undergoing refueling.  That and the fact that you can see the carrier in the dry dock in downtown Newport News from both I64 and I664 make this not an OPSEC issue. 

AS for not wanting to go to sea, I'm going to sound like a d!ck, but you joined the United States Navy.  I know you said you have a close family member who is sick.  If that is the case, maybe you should consider a hardship discharge. Not being there for family and friends comes with the contract, unfortunately.  This sounds incredibly harsh, I know.  It's also the truth.

Best of luck to you.

[GLW]

.....AS for not wanting to go to sea, I'm going to sound like a d!ck, but you joined the United States Navy.  I know you said you have a close family member who is sick.  If that is the case, maybe you should consider a hardship discharge. Not being there for family and friends comes with the contract, unfortunately.  This sounds incredibly harsh, I know.  It's also the truth.....

contemporaneously, you sound more like this:



Enjoy the Day!! 

[GLW]

Fair enough. But how drastically would missing out on some of those quals affect my future job prospects? I'm not looking to make the navy a career, but would I still be qualified and desired in the civilian world?

depends on what you mean by drastic,...

if you fall into this category:

it's the USN that keeps telling these guys that if they go nuke there's a guaranteed 6 figure salary waiting for them, no strike that, there's a six figure salary hunting them down with gold paved streets and fuzzy bunny rainbow bonus machines after they EAOS,...

then you've been lied to,...

I would suggest you peruse the thread the above post appears in (and other related threads) to get your CIVLANT or CIVPAC (not many commercial options left in CIVPAC) expectations in line with reality,...

if you expect to 6 and out, then getting out with your NEC intact is going to be about as good as you can expect regardless if you spend 93 days at sea or 1293 days at sea,...

if you expect to make a career out of the Navy,... the Navy goes to sea,... going to sea is where to make a Navy career,...

[HeavyD]

contemporaneously, you sound more like this:



Enjoy the Day!! 

Well played GLW 

[holicisms]

you'll get provisionally qualified up through your senior in rate if you end up in RCOH

[JsonD13]

My only "sea" tour was on a carrier during RCOH.

Prior to that, I was a staff-pickup.

I did 8 years and saw 10 whole days of sea time.  I was sent on the Ike for a short underway for quals.

I was able to get warfare qualified, CRW qualified, and was in EWS quals at the end of my enlistment.  SIR and EWS quals were provisional quals.

I was LPO of my division (RL) at times (there were quite a few first classes, so it changed between us).

I got out, and made close to 6 figures my first year out.  I made 6 figures my second or third year out.

A large part of my income when getting out was my overtime earnings. 

I recieved a couple degrees while I was in.  While helpful in getting my job, it wasnt required.  The 3 years in RCOH gave me enough to qualify me as an ANSI 18.1 tech.

RCOH work schedule does end up sucking.  Alot of people would say its an easy gig, because you are in the shipyard.  But there are plenty of long hours involved.  I recall quite a few 36 hour days before being able to get some sleep.  In contrast, the underway I did (while probably not representative), felt like vacation except for missing my kids all the time.

If you plan accordingly, life on the outside can be great getting out.  But what youll find is alot of people wont want to put in the time or effort while working a more than full time job to prepare for being on the outside.