getting ready

[SR Earls]

i joined the navy a few weeks ago and im just wondering  if there is any thing i should do to prepare such as studying up(if it will help) or working out or anything else.i have untill july 2006 bfore i ship off.any imput would help.also i would like to know some of the things i will go through from those more experienced.

[Rad Sponge]

1. Study? For Nuclear Power? No, but for basic Navy knowledge, it would serve you well to know this. Get involved with you DEP Leader for this. You have a year, you have plenty of time to learn orders of a sentry, basic rank structure, uniforms, Navy terms, etc. If you went to boot with this knowledge you would be ahead of the game and probably find yourself in a leadership oppurtunity for your division. Eventhough your boot camp record won't follow you to Nuke school, your experiences and your leadership ability, does, which over time will make you into good Sailor and so on.

2. Exercise? Yes, plenty of running, push-ups, crunches, basically work on your calesthenics. Don't go crazy,  but being able to run for 2-3 miles, 3-4 times per week would be good. Your DEP leader can help you.

3. Don't worry about nuke school yet. If you were smart enough to get into the program, you are smart enough to start Day 1 without any prior knowledge.

4. Don't forget to enjoy your civilian life now.

R/

MM1(SS) Sponge

[SR Earls]

Thanks for the advice,id also like to know what ill be looking forward to  and what kind of experinces i will have.

[cincinnatinuke]

Have you considered the Navy's CASH program??  It was something I got to do back in 1999 or so , so it may still exist.  Essentially it was program that allowed you to go to school for up to a year and get paid doing it as an E-2, 3, or 4 depending on your accumulated college credits.  When I did it the program was only available for nuke wannabe's and was a great way to get some credits under your belt towards one of those many degree programs that credit your nuc school experience.  This way you get some schooling under your belt and up to a year of service is done, though you will have to extend for whatever time you did in college to meet your nuc program requirement of 6 years.  i have heard of others who went from this to the NUPOC or similar programs since they did so well.

Even if if this not the route you take I would recommend going to college just to stay out of trouble and give you something productive to do in DEP.  Many of the people i saw in DEP got into trouble and pulled from programs for stupid stuff.

[Rad Sponge]

Excellent advice Cincy:

On college i would recommend your local community college. Doesn't take as long to get accepted.

I would also recommend going full time for as many semesters as possible and getting your math to at least Calculus II and a full year of Science (Physics, Chem, Bio, etc)

I would also recommend a full year of English Composition

Basically try and knock out general education requirements. Once you do this, combined with any CLEP/DANTES exams, and your military trainining, you would easily be able to earn a Bachelors degree later in your enlistment.

On math, physics, and other engineering topics: Whatever you learned in HS, whatever you learn in college is great; just realize the Nuclear Program has a certain way of explaining concepts. Don't buck the system. Just do it as you are instructed. Nuclear School is no place for academic debate.

[irmechanek]

as far as PT is concerned... some good standards (depending on one's age): 60 pushups, 60 situps, 11:30 mile and a half. If you can do that, boot camp will be easy, if not boring.  The navy will teach you the way they want you to learn. I will tell you that those who succeed (at least those in my class) the most, were a)knowledgable in car mechanics, b) overachievers, c)obsessive memorizers. The conceptual stuff is easy, but is a lot of information. And word for word is important. I would worry most about PT. The Navy is REALLY starting to emphasize it.  You'll see when you get here that some of the staff is a little overweight, and they are blaming it on the new guys. Heh. It's fun times here.

[taterhead]

All of this info is useful.  Being in decent shape will get you through.  You start out pretty slow on this physical side. 
I am pretty sure that when I arrived at boot camp I couldn't run 1.5 miles in any appreciable time.  At graduation, I ran it in 10:20 (I haven't since been close to that mark  ).

I think it was more mentally challenging than anything else.  If your head is in the game, the rest will come together.  The people we lost were not in bad shape...they were in a bad state of mind. 

Resign yourself to thinking that everything you have learned up until the moment you get off the bus (or van) at RTC is pretty much useless.  There is a new way of doing business, one that will likely be foreign to you.  Accept it, embrace, deal with it.  The less resistant you are to your new way of life (and it will be your new way of life), the easier it will be for you.

BTW does anyone know if they still stencil their uniforms at RTC?

[cincinnatinuke]

When I was there 5 years ago they did.  We had a guy who's name was Ra and his first two initials were R.A.  So every time his clothes got tossed by a RDC they remarked that this had to be the least amount of stenciling anyone in the navy ever had to do, or that his last name was the same as his initials, or they referred to him as the Sun God.  For a guy under 5ft tall he was the king of 8 count body builders.

[irmechanek]

boot camp, basically is this:

eat 3 times a day
make bed.
make bed again because someone didn't do it fast enough
fold cloths
stencil cloths
clean compartment with dirty rag
group shower
pt
random navy education.
repeating 11 general orders forever and ever
forgetting to call your chief a chief, instead calling him petty officer or sir.
get dropped.
marching.


give or take that's what you do.

oh, you learn how to iron.

[taterhead]

oh, you learn how to iron.

In shifts, after taps.

You learn how to iron in the dark.