Career Path > Navy:Getting Out

Question About Getting Denuked at Prototype?

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Marlin:

--- Quote from: Druid on Jul 13, 2015, 09:15 ---Only you can determine the value of your hard work. The value of mine didn't become apparent until sometime later.

Skip the next part if you want to avoid some lame-a$$d story by an old phart.

I consider Prototype to be my opus magnum. Prior to joining and getting into the program by background was that of white trailer trash, sub-class Single Wide. I made it into the program with the minimum NFQT score which earned me the 6 week version of Pre-school. I completed NNPS and stood somewhere in the middle of my class, but got held back in Orlando for two classses post-graduation. I was fortunate and got assigned to Admin where I help to out-process academic drops, security drops, alcohol drops, and the like. I eventually made it to Idaho and struggled through prototype. I don't even know why I kept an apartment the last two months - I was living on-site in the bunkroom. Eventually, I got notice that I was on the list for an Ac Board. I knew ALL of the details involved in a Ac drop having been on the processing side. I knew this wasn't where I wanted to be. The odds were stacked unfavorably. I said "screw it" and took the bus back into IF. While moping on the back bench, an instructor from another shift came up to me and asked what the problem was and for the next hour I spilled my guts. It was cathartic. He gave me a little guidance, but mostly moral support. I got a good night sleep in my own bed and turned right back around the next day and went back out to the site.

The Ac Board took place in the middle of the night. I saw the morning sun and found that I was the only one of those who went before it to survive. With that in my pocket, I kept at it. I was the last person on my crew to qualify - but dammit, I did it.

Fast forward a dozen years to a few weeks before Christmas. I'm off active duty but still in the reserves while working on my Bachelors. I'm taking a full load while working a 40 hr/wk job. I have a wife and two lovely daughters- one a newborn. The week of finals our newborn girl dies suddenly of an undiagnosed heart defect. Oooof! My marriage, my school, my job, and life in general started sucking really bad. What got me through it was mentally going back to prototype and I knew I could keep going and make it thorough this rough time. The following Spring and Summer semesters I continued dealing with the loss, continued working full time, being a Dad while going through marriage counseling and personal counseling. Over the two semesters I took 34 credit hours so that I could graduate as quickly as possible. And I did that too. I got my degree and I'm still married to my wonderful wife.

What is your crappy Prototype time worth? It has one value today but may mean something completely different in one year, five, or twenty-five. Who knows....


That is asked like a question, but the underlying tone comes off as someone looking for justifications for their decisions.

Its your decision and so to should it be your justification. No one elses.

Best, D

--- End quote ---

No need to chime in, your lame-a$$d story sounds just like one by us old pharts  :old:    ;)

spekkio:

--- Quote from: Punnett on Jul 12, 2015, 07:40 ---I don't want to live to work. I want to work to live. Am I being unreasonable here?
--- End quote ---
No, you're not being unreasonable.

Unfortunately, to get to the point in your life where you get to work to live, you have to live to work first. The harder you work early in your career, the sooner you can work less later in your career.

As Judge Judy (my wife loves her for some reason) said: "The mark of success is being paid more to work less."
Or a more prominent Bill Gates if you prefer: "I never took a day off in my twenties."

Here's the rub: I checked back in the other thread and numerous people (including me) said that you will hate life if you chase nuke for the $$$$. Well here you are. My personal opinion is you should sack up, do the job you raised your right hand to do, and when the time comes you can go your merry way.

Keep in mind that your other option - failing - could result in 'separate member within 10 days' and you are working 0 hours a week... and broke. And if not, here's a little secret: there are very few jobs in the Navy that works 40 hours a week. You just happen to get paid a good salary to learn a skill that you will take with you when you leave and more rapid advancement. "Sailors belong on ships, and ships belong at sea."

Fluffy Bunny:

--- Quote from: GLW on Jul 12, 2015, 06:46 ---you see the Navy has the luxury of owning all your time, and that's a lot of time to come up with as many fuzzy bunny tactics as it takes to "help" someone succeed,...
or not so fuzzy bunny,...
but there's a much bigger world out there where "fuzzy, bunny", "unicorns and rainbows" are platitudes,...

--- End quote ---

I feel like my IP has been violated.

oldtimer:
I qualified at S3G in March of 1966 with a 3.25, midpoint of our class. , at that time they were sending more people through school than billets were available. They told us we would be very disappointed when orders came through, I went to a WW2 destroyer

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