ELT schools/shore commands

[o.t.]

I just qualified MO(Mechanical Operator) here in Charleston and was selected as an ELT.  I have heard rumors of additional schools that I am able to go to after my sea tour and was wanting some information on those schools.  I am wondering how these schools will affect my quals and which ones are actual shore commands or if they will be a TDY(Temporary Duty) station en route to sea.  I also want to know how these extra schools can affect job opportunities after I get out of the navy.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

[Rad Sponge]

Unless things have changed:

After ELT school you will go to sea or be selected for ELT-Staff Pick Up.

If you go subs you have to qualify Submarine Warfare withing 9-12 mos (no exceptions-usually).

If you go carrier you will need to qualify Surface Warfare within a few years (I'll let a skimmer expand on this one)

Once at sea you will qualify your senior in-rate watchstation: Engine Room Supervisor

Now here comes the other schools part:

While an MM3 or MM2, basically a new guy, you may have the oppurtunity to go to specialized equipment schools for various auxillary equipment, such as:

1. Refrigeration/EPA R-114 cert
2. Distillation System (8K, 12K, etc)
3. HPAC/LPAC
4. Advanced Valve Maintenance
5. Operational Water Chemistry (A pre-Engineer school for Officers, but sometimes they let ELTs go, too)
6. Basic Quality Assurance

There are also Leadership Schools, Advanced Damage Control and Firefighting, etc.

Now if you go Trident Submarines all these schools are done during the Off-Crew (Pre Deployment Training). The billets are shared amongst the other boats and amongst your shipmates, but generally they are first come first serve so ping on your school coordinator during deployment to be ready for school requests as soon as the boat gets back to port.

Now if you go fast attack (according to my buddy from the Hyman G.) you basically are at the mercy of your manpower, schedule, and who is qualified what, meaning unless you are in port, you have to be AUGMENTED off the boat for any of these schools while your crew is deployed.

If you go Carrier I don't know, but I assume it is similar to fast attack, but I also assume there are more people to share the load if a few guys are off in school.

After this you will go into EWS Quals (Engineering Watch Supervisor).

This all takes roughly 1.75--3 years once reporting to the boat depending on OPTEMPO, Ship's Schedule, and most importantly, you.

Now for the schools between commands:

These are special schools if you will be performing a special function at sea/shore-

1. QA if you are going to a QA Billet ashore
2. 3M if you are going to be a 3M coordinator at sea (Chief and above usually)
3. Recruiting School
4. Advanced Radiological Controls if you are going to a shore RADCON billet (this is not just for ELTs, but all nukes)


There is probably more, but that is all I can remember.

It all boils down to:

1. Get to ship
2. Get qualified Warfare and Senior in Rate
3. Then worry about additional schools, unless you are Trident then utilize OFFCREW to go to school since you have roughly 6-12 weeks to train, might as well go to school since you can't do boat quals unless you are sent to another boat at sea to qualify. Oh yeah, if the oppurtunity is ever present to go to sea, while you are in port:

DO IT, unless you have kid or something, but if you are just a NUB single nuke, allow yourself to be short cycled back to sea to qualify your watch stations or Submarines early. You will impress the hell out of your command and pretty much set yourself up for early advancement, top evals, awards, and stuff like that, but most importantly it HELPS YOUR CREW.

[o.t.]

Unless things have changed:

After ELT school you will go to sea or be selected for ELT-Staff Pick Up.

(abbreviated quote)

...



Thanks for the information, it is helpful and will assist me in my career decisions and planning.  One other thing that i have heard is that there is a school in hawaii that elt's can go to.  I believe that they said that it was rad con tech.  I will keep researching and try to find as much information as I can and add it here for any other new elt's to learn.

Mike

[JsonD13]

that radcon school youre refering to is in portsmouth, virginia.  I just came out of there.  maybe whoever you talked to about it was en route to pearl harbor for a job there and got to go to the school before hand.

[o.t.]

that radcon school youre refering to is in portsmouth, virginia.  I just came out of there.  maybe whoever you talked to about it was en route to pearl harbor for a job there and got to go to the school before hand.

Thanks, could you elaborate a little on how you were selected and what it entails.  I am trying to get lots of good information here to plan out my career in the navy.

Appreciate the info, Mike

[Rad Sponge]

There is always a shortage of people needed for RADCON school.

Therefore you maybe able to cut your sea tour short by a year or so (with your Command's permission and your Detailers blessing) if you opt to take a RADCON billet after your sea tour.

The school is like 12-15 weeks or so and is very different from ELT school. This is industrial/NUCLEAR repair level RADCON training, not the wimpy stuff you do on the boat as an ELT.

ELTs normally do well in the RADCON school because it builds upon a preconditioned mindset.

After you complete RADCON school you can go to many of the IMAs such as those in Pearl, Norfolk, Bangor, King's Bay, etc. Basically anywhere there is radiological maintanence performed on subs and carriers, you most problably will find some RADCON billets. You could also go to one of the two Submarine tenders located either in GUAM or ITALY.

If you are planning to be a career ELT/LELT/PLELT or want to do RADCON after you get out, I recommend the school. You will work hard in both school and in the billet.

Now, when you get to your first RADCON billet, you will be the new E-6 in a sea of E-6s aching to make Chief, so you have to start proving your worth early and accept the fact that depending on when you report you may be the sacrificial Promotable your first eval cycle. Thats just the reality of reporting to a place where there are lots of you.

Now, if you have dreams of completing your degree, making Chief, and standing out, may I suggest Prototype Duty, Recruiting Duty or some other kind of arduous duty directly relating to SAILORIZATION: a buzz word that means making useful Sailors/Nukes from scratch.

While at Prototype you can still excel as a LELT via instuction, maybe getting the PLELT billet or a Staff Training Group job or something like that. Prototype is a good shore duty to stay functional as a technician but still do that Command Level Awareness stuff that can make or break careers.

From what I saw and heard, RADCON is not a glamorous billet but that has its merits too: Since there are many bodies and not alot of Sailorization stuff happening, you may have better duty rotations and more time off than you would as a Proto instructor or Recruiter (definitely so).

It all depends on you and what you want out of a 1 shore duty. 

[JsonD13]

I got the school worked into my PCS orders for my first sea command (I was a SPU so I got to negotiate this).  You'd be very lucky to get this school right outta prototype as a student, and if your'e a submariner I hear that you can't get the school en route to a sub (anyone correct me if im wrong on that).  simply put, if you are looking to get it, look for it while TAD on your ship or en route to a shore command/tender/ima/etc...