If I Fail Nuke School

[moormane]

I am currently in the delayed entry program awaiting to ship out as a navy nuke. I've heard many different things about the nuke program some of which is good some of which is bad. I am ready for the challenges of school and i am also ready to put in the hours it takes to pass. From what i understand schooling goes in this order

1. A School (MM,ET,EM)
2. Power School
3. Prototype

In my mind failure is not an option but in the case i do give my all and am not able to make it i'd like to know where i'll be. For example if i pass A school and fail power school where will i be? Will i be at the mercy of the navy and be chipping paint for the remainder of my career or do i have a say in where i go. I have talked to people that have failed out of school but after talking to them they had a negative mindset. Also what does it take to get complete all of the schooling? An off the chart IQ? Complete Dedication of your time?
As you might be able to tell i'm a little bit nervous. I would appreciate any information.

[Smart People]

if you fail A school you will most likely go to the fleet as a striker.

if you pass A school but fail power school or prototype you will become part of the conventional side of the rating you received in A school (MM, EM, ET)

since you passed the Nuke entrance exam, IQ is probably not an issue. if you were the smartest kid in your class, be prepared, all your new classmates will have been also.

Determination.

Learn to study, take it seriously.

these were lessons i had to learn. even so, grades aren't the only thing that can get you. I got in trouble, got kicked out of power school, got an early honorable discharge and eventually found myself in the world of commercial nuke.

[NukeLDO]

The threat of duty on an oiler in the Persian Gulf was enough to keep me putting in hours above and beyong the "suggested' number.  Once you join and get in the pipeline, learning becomes your job...treat it as such.

[Marlin]

The threat of duty on an oiler in the Persian Gulf was enough to keep me putting in hours above and beyong the "suggested' number.  Once you join and get in the pipeline, learning becomes your job...treat it as such.

I guess it never really changes, we were threatened with a river boat in Nam if we failed. 

[LT Dan]

I think the threat today should be a ticket to the front line in either Afghanistan or Iraq if you fail.....

That would provide sufficient motivation!

[TJ Nuke]

I don't believe they make such threats currently as long as there is a reasonable effort.  I'm sure if you treat A School as some college freshmen do - "I'm away from home and all I want to do is party," or "Gee, I wish I had gone into patrolling tropical beaches instead of studying so let me do something more fun," then you may become an augmentee or clean heads.
It sounds like the question comes from someone who should and wants to succeed.  He just analyzes all possibilities.  If he works hard he should have make a good nuke.  Isn't it good for a nuke to know what to do AND consider the consequences of everything that might go wrong?

[HockeyFan]

I am ready for the challenges of school and i am also ready to put in the hours it takes to pass.

Expect 40 hours in class plus 15-30 hours outside class.  You have the right attitude, and you'll do fine.  The material isn't hard; there is just a ton of volume.  Few wash out through academic board.  Most that I remember washed out because of missing hours, alcohol, or sleeping in.

Will i be at the mercy of the navy and be chipping paint for the remainder of my career or do i have a say in where i go.

All enlisted in the Navy chip paint, clean toilets, wax floors, and make coffee, including nukes.  That being said, the folks who wash out and try hard are generally taken care of (in accordance with the needs of the Navy).  I had a friend who failed his academic board and got picked up as an OS, made second class, and qualified SW.  He was an OS2(SW) and as happy as can be.  He would have been a happy nuclear operator with the same great attitude -- he just couldn't pass the tests.  Another friend became a corpsman.  As with most everything, attitude matters.

Dave

[Gamecock]

[NukeLDO]

Like it or not, the threat of duty on an oiler in the Persian Gulf is still and incentive.  And, I'm sure the sandbox needs some good electricians to figure out how our soldiers keep getting electocuted in Halliburton provided showers.
But, as already stated, if you try, put in the hours, seek out extra help, etc, and your section advisor see's you putting in the effort, you'll probably be taken care of.....I hear conventional rates on a carrier isn't a bad life....scary....but not bad.  (Mail, phones, real cows, fruits and vegetables, etc)

[Already Gone]

Think about this for a minute.  Why would the Navy take one of its brightest bulbs and toss him in the bilge just because he didn't make it through their toughest academic program?  Well, if he was a lazy slug who distinguished himself not at all during his "audition".  That would do it.

There are two parallel sets of standards by which you will be judged during your nuclear training phase.  1) Your grades.  2) Your level of commitment toward your assignment.

Your grades can make you a nuke, or an ex-nuke candidate (a drop).  Your level of effort and dedication to the duty that is assigned to you (study hard and long) may or may not be an issue.  If you pass the course by breezing through it with no effort at all, you will still be a nuke.  If you bust your ass and pass, again you will be a nuke.  But if you don't pass, that is when #2 becomes the more important standard.  A drop who consistently put in as many hours as humanly possible, participated in the classroom, sought out instructors , formed study groups, etc. will get prime consideration for orders over the guy who put in 10 hours a week with an average just above passing until it got hard then kicked it up just a little too little and a little too late.  Of course, even he will get better orders than the guy who just gave up, or spent all his time at the beach, or gave excuses why the work was too hard for him though he frequently skipped study hours or did the bare minimum hours.

The point?  If you are sure that you will fail, try harder.  If it is hopeless, still try harder.  If it is a sure lock that you will pass, try even harder still (you never know what is going to be on the comp).  Lots of guys got half way through with their brains tied behind their back.  When they got into the deep end, and couldn't cut it anymore all those hours they didn't put in during first half came back to haunt them.  Yeah, a 3.8 on a test is good, but a 3.85 would have helped the average more when it became a problem later.  The lack of logged hours early on will reflect badly if you fail by a hair in the end.

The people who matter will notice the difference.  There is some pretty decent duty for nukes who were academically dropped but gave good effort.  What you do on day one will still matter six months later, but by then it will be too late to go back and put the time in.

Just remember, this is NOT college.  Passing or failing is not up to you.  Your duty is to study and learn.  You do your duty and the result is secondary.

[Duke Nuker]

I hate to sound a bit negative, but every once in a while failure is the result, whether it was an option or not.  I passed Power School, and was medically dropped between Power School and Prototype.  Same as failing to me because my career was taking an unannounced turn to port.  I got into Submarine School (volunteer) and passed that with flying colors.  Went to the boat as a MM3 A ganger, loved it.  Went to the tender, assigned to the R-5 division (Rad Con), worked through that , and have been in nuclear power (my original goal) since. 

I think you can make your own path to get where you want to go.  Sometimes you can't follow your original road, but there are almost always opportunities to make your goal if you work towards them with a purpose.

[Samabby]

" The people who matter will notice the difference.  There is some pretty decent duty for nukes who were academically dropped but gave good effort.  "

This was the case for a friend of my son. Great kid, hard worker, great attitude. Power school put him down, but not out. He got sweet orders as a conventional EM. The Navy really does look out for it's own.

[Bullnuke]

Currently the Navy has been "right sizing" all of its rating.

I also see all the records of those sailors who do not make it through the pipeline.

Currently nuke drops are sent to the Conversions Desk in Millington.

The conversions package includes ASVAB scores, evaluations, and reason for being dropped fro the nuclear pipeline. There are always several ratings that are in need and the community managers will review each package  for potential candidates. Contrary to what may have happened in the past, the Navy does not have room for strikers anymore. Everyone has a rating.

As NukeLDO said below, if you qualified to be a nuke in the first place and are not lazy, several other advanced ratings will be looking to pick you up. 

[rsl1489]

I dont know if you've left already or not but Iam currently in the nuke pipe line and I can tell you. Its not as hard as people think. There is not as high a academic drop rate as you would think. Mostly its if you F up and its real easy to on this base, highest masting record in the navy as far as A schooling goes. Get used t 2.5 stay alive. Dont worry, if u fail out honestly u go to DTP and choose another job if u fail out during A-school. After A-school u just become a conventional whatever you are. F up and get bumped out, chippin paint.

[Fermi2]

I dont know if you've left already or not but Iam currently in the nuke pipe line and I can tell you. Its not as hard as people think. There is not as high a academic drop rate as you would think. Mostly its if you F up and its real easy to on this base, highest masting record in the navy as far as A schooling goes. Get used t 2.5 stay alive. Dont worry, if u fail out honestly u go to DTP and choose another job if u fail out during A-school. After A-school u just become a conventional whatever you are. F up and get bumped out, chippin paint.

Proof the Navy is in need of some higher level thinkers....

Mike

[HydroDave63]

Proof the Navy is in need of some higher level thinkers....

Mike

I weep for the future.....

http://dilettantescurse.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-weep-for-future.html

[Jester]

Potential nuke here, and I want to thank you guys for answering that question, I had the exact same one in mind. I'm glad to hear there's potential still, if it comes to pass that I DO join and (somehow) DO fail out of nuke school.

Also posting this so noone on this board can yell at me for not doing research, when I ask questions   

As for my question, how tough is nuke school REALLY? I've personally taken classes up to calc-based physics 2, general chem 2, calculus 3, statics and dynamics.

Second question: what is prototype school like in terms of class subjects and difficulty? Also, I HAVE done research on this, but I haven't gotten enough information yet.

[HydroDave63]

Also posting this so noone on this board can yell at me for not doing research, when I ask questions   

Sure we can. You are asking a question with a variable answer, it is like asking "will the salsa be too hot for my taste?" You may love it and want to bathe in it, or you may gag and fail out. Nuclear power isn't a place for rhetorical questions and abstract answers.

Welcome to Nukeworker! 

[thenukeman]

Aw  yes,  As a XO Of a Nuclear Training company in the Army.  My First Seageant told one soldier he would be grave registrations if he failed.  Sure enough he failed.  I told my First Seargeant it does not work that way.  He says LT I got faith in you make him grave registration.  Since my Dad was a first Seargeant I knew I needed to try my best.  I got Student Military on the line and told them I am just a new LT and I want to make my First Seargeant happy.  LO and Behold I got this Private a Grave Registration spot.  Seeing the Happiness in my First Seargeants eyes was priceless!!! Then when he had this private come forward and He told the Company , All about 200 of the trainees that this failure was going to be grave Registrations,  and the dance and happiness he had when telling this.  Priceless!! I think after this our failure rate went down by half, especialy when he told of the Grave registration final exam.  Basically blowing up  a hog and finding his parts and putting them in a baggy.  OH the HUMANITY!!!!  Don't know if that was true but it was funny!!!!  Basically you can get a failure MOS, a speciality that most recruiters can not lie well enough to get people in!!!

This act I believe saved many failures for me in the future.  The First Seargeant told this story to every new class!!! He then pointed to me  and said he could do it!! Almost made me cry!!!

[JustinHEMI05]

Nuke school is easy peasy lemon squeezy. Don't sweat it.

[Gamecock]

Potential nuke here, and I want to thank you guys for answering that question, I had the exact same one in mind. I'm glad to hear there's potential still, if it comes to pass that I DO join and (somehow) DO fail out of nuke school.

Also posting this so noone on this board can yell at me for not doing research, when I ask questions   

As for my question, how tough is nuke school REALLY? I've personally taken classes up to calc-based physics 2, general chem 2, calculus 3, statics and dynamics.

Second question: what is prototype school like in terms of class subjects and difficulty? Also, I HAVE done research on this, but I haven't gotten enough information yet.

With your background, you SHOULD do well.

I stress the "should" part....because smart, LAZY folks can and do fail out.

[The Inquirer]

Some of what ppl are saying is true, some is not.  If you fail out of A school u are not always sent as a striker. I have had many friends fail out of A school who were sent to a place called DTP. This is a separate location from nnptc. There one of them waited for 9 months until his newly awaited job had a opening, missle tech. After powerschool you are not always sent to the fleet as a conventional. To be perfectly honest i dont know of many that have. There are too many conventionals in the navy, they have too many coming from there own pipeline. They dont have the room to take nukes that fail out.  Most of the time ppl go to DTP and are given a different job. Now this is where ur hard time goes in. If you tried ur best and other noticed you will not be screwed over by the navy,but if u were visibly negative and didnt try very hard then ur in luck to be chippin paint.  The navy is ur choice, whether u make it or fail out get jumpin over every hurdle and life isnt bad. ppl u have talked to that have t bad attitude did it to themselves.

[IPREGEN]

Honest effort is all it takes, thousands have been through it. You can do it too. Merry Christmas.

[Zunyr]

Current numbers are 1% loss due to academics.  As stated, the people who fail out are those who don't take it seriously.  Class 703 followed by staff pickup, I've had more of my friends fail out due to alcohol and drugs then not smart enough or too lazy (myself being on the lazier side, and they kept me as staff).  We currently have a student who is 2 weeks past his classes graduation from prototype, and he's going to stay at prototype until he qualifies by order of the OIC and CO.  Suck it up, take the first month of each phase, figure it out, then figure out what works for you.

Prototype is a pseudo self paced learning environment.  You get a qual card and told make x point today.  Start with the basics, learning the systems, then go on from there to the more advanced stuff(and by advanced, it's not anywhere near as challenging or complex as you'd even begin to imagine.)  Remember, you going to learn about stuff that was built in the 60's, not modern day technology.  Many people work through the program on straight memorization, and for a lot, it works.  The people who do well focus on understanding and interconnecting everything.  Ultimately, the choice is yours.  I spent every weekend partying and weeknights playing World of Warcraft...  well, i still do that.

[Bawb]

My son starts MM "A" school at Charleston tomorrow and the last school day is July 9th.
He has confirmed that his nuke power school has been shortened to 5 months. Same curriculum, but 5 months, not 6. Needs of the fleet. It's gunna be tough. I don't have the dates for that yet.