NukeWorker Forum
Career Path => Navy Nuke => Navy:Staying In => Topic started by: Caz on Feb 24, 2011, 11:39
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I'm a prior enlisted JO about to head from prototype to my first sub. I'm about 90% sure I'll be getting out after my first tour for various family reasons, but at that point I'll have about 10-11 years active duty in, and I was wondering if the Navy reserves is a legitimate alternative to getting out completely. The idea of retaining some military benefits, opportunities for supplementary income and still working towards a pension is tempting, but I'm not entirely sure what kind of jobs will be available and how demanding of an obligation it will be. I can imagine them drooling over an already nuke Engineer qualified LT and essentially activating me and sending me back to subs to augment the fleet anytime we get into a new engagement. That's obviously not what I'm looking for, otherwise I'd be better off staying in.
I'm just wondering if anyone here has experience in the reserves, or with reservists on subs, or perhaps any insight into other reserve jobs that might be available after I leave active duty. In a perfect world, I'd love to sit back and do my 2 weeks a year + one weekend a month, then every now and then activate myself for a 6-12 month overseas billet to Korea (or somewhere else of my choosing) to break up the monotony of working from home and taking care of the fam. Is that fantasy just a ruse to trick people like me into committing more time to the military serving at their whim and essentially defeating the purpose of getting out in the first place? Or is there enough flexibility and control over your reserve career to spend a lot more time with your family and pick and choose your active billets?
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I'm a prior enlisted JO about to head from prototype to my first sub. I'm about 90% sure I'll be getting out after my first tour for various family reasons, but at that point I'll have about 10-11 years active duty in, and I was wondering if the Navy reserves is a legitimate alternative to getting out completely. The idea of retaining some military benefits, opportunities for supplementary income and still working towards a pension is tempting, but I'm not entirely sure what kind of jobs will be available and how demanding of an obligation it will be. I can imagine them drooling over an already nuke Engineer qualified LT and essentially activating me and sending me back to subs to augment the fleet anytime we get into a new engagement. That's obviously not what I'm looking for, otherwise I'd be better off staying in.
I'm just wondering if anyone here has experience in the reserves, or with reservists on subs, or perhaps any insight into other reserve jobs that might be available after I leave active duty. In a perfect world, I'd love to sit back and do my 2 weeks a year + one weekend a month, then every now and then activate myself for a 6-12 month overseas billet to Korea (or somewhere else of my choosing) to break up the monotony of working from home and taking care of the fam. Is that fantasy just a ruse to trick people like me into committing more time to the military serving at their whim and essentially defeating the purpose of getting out in the first place? Or is there enough flexibility and control over your reserve career to spend a lot more time with your family and pick and choose your active billets?
Don't go into the reserves. If you don't know what an IA is, I suggest you research that. You will go on them as a reservist.
Note that I've never heard of a reservist being activated to go to sea on a sub. We have enough department heads that we don't need to recall folks to do those jobs.
Do your time and punch, or stay in.
Note that if you get a federal job after getting out, you can "Buy" your military time into federal service time. Much better deal then reserves.
Cheers,
GC
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I also got out after my JO tour, did reserves for ~6 months and found it to be too tough to manage around my civilian job. There are lots of guys who do it, though and since you're halfway there already you may have more motivation to stick it out than I did.
I would recommend doing a shore duty though, it really is a win-win situation in my opinion. You get an "easy" job for a couple years (at good pay) and generally you'll have a lot more time to search for jobs than you're going to have on the boat. You do open yourself up to a possible IA however.
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I'm a prior enlisted JO about to head from prototype to my first sub. I'm about 90% sure I'll be getting out after my first tour for various family reasons, but at that point I'll have about 10-11 years active duty in, and I was wondering if the Navy reserves is a legitimate alternative to getting out completely. The idea of retaining some military benefits, opportunities for supplementary income and still working towards a pension is tempting, but I'm not entirely sure what kind of jobs will be available and how demanding of an obligation it will be. I can imagine them drooling over an already nuke Engineer qualified LT and essentially activating me and sending me back to subs to augment the fleet anytime we get into a new engagement. That's obviously not what I'm looking for, otherwise I'd be better off staying in.
I'm just wondering if anyone here has experience in the reserves, or with reservists on subs, or perhaps any insight into other reserve jobs that might be available after I leave active duty. In a perfect world, I'd love to sit back and do my 2 weeks a year + one weekend a month, then every now and then activate myself for a 6-12 month overseas billet to Korea (or somewhere else of my choosing) to break up the monotony of working from home and taking care of the fam. Is that fantasy just a ruse to trick people like me into committing more time to the military serving at their whim and essentially defeating the purpose of getting out in the first place? Or is there enough flexibility and control over your reserve career to spend a lot more time with your family and pick and choose your active billets?
If you get out and get into the reserves what do you plan to do for a living?
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I would recommend doing a shore duty though, it really is a win-win situation in my opinion. You get an "easy" job for a couple years (at good pay) and generally you'll have a lot more time to search for jobs than you're going to have on the boat. You do open yourself up to a possible IA however.
Or worse...a spot on some Admiral's staff working 16 hours a day + weekends.
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Or worse...a spot on some Admiral's staff working 16 hours a day + weekends.
Transmission garbled...was that "a spot on some Admiral's staff standing front of the chowline and ship's store 16 hours a day + weekends." ?...over