Is my future as a 'Navy Nuke' realistic?

[taterhead]

Life ain't as great as it used to be, OPTEMPO-wise, on a carrier.

In the good old days (pre 9/11), there was a predictable 24 month cycle.  As many of you remember, you were in the yards for 6 months (avg), then in and out for 2-3 weeks at a time doing CQ for the pilots for a year, then a 6 month deployment.  Very predictable.

Not anymore.

Now, following a yard period, there is anywhere from 6-8 months for the same number of workups and CQ's, which means for that period of time you are out to sea quite a bit more.  Then comes the deployment, but wait, 6 months is now just a guideline.  Many go for 7+ months.  Now, you might think that you are coming home to enjoy a 6 month yard period, but not so much.  There might be a month to a month and a half of yard time, then back out on a "surge", or as we called it, REployment for 4-6 months.  So, for those of you counting at home, that means 2 overseas deployments between full yard periods.

Gone are the days of 1:1 sea to shore ratios.  It's more like 1.5:1 nowdays.

What was that I heard about grains of sand on the beach?

[Gamecock]

Note about the DDG's and CG's and any other non-nuke, gas burning ship we have......

The cost of fuel is outrageous and our ships burn a lot of it.  The powers that be have put limits on the amount of underway time in a given quarter, outside of deployment. 

Optempo is less then what it was back in the day. 

Suffice it to say, in today's navy, life ain't that bad on a CG or DDG. 

[rumrunner]

Wow.  I guess things HAVE changed!  If the Navy brings back nuke cruisers I sure wouldn't want to be on one unless I loved being at sea a lot.

[Cycoticpenguin]

Wow.  I guess things HAVE changed!  If the Navy brings back nuke cruisers I sure wouldn't want to be on one unless I loved being at sea a lot.

where can i get info on what the different ships do(rotations and etc info)? NKO?

[93-383]

where can i get info on what the different ships do(rotations and etc info)? NKO?

Rotations are a relative tearm in todays Navy. The old cold war surface craft deployment and workup skeds are all up in the air now. As for the actual sked for the ships that information is classified.

[Cycoticpenguin]

Rotations are a relative tearm in todays Navy. The old cold war surface craft deployment and workup skeds are all up in the air now. As for the actual sked for the ships that information is classified.

gotcha, Im gonna make a new post to clarify somewhat what I mean

[withroaj]

where can i get info on what the different ships do(rotations and etc info)? NKO?

I can tell you that on a fast attack submarine, affectionately designated SSN (Saturday, Sunday and Night), your OP Tempo will be at or above 70%.  That means that you spend 70% of your time poking holes in the ocean.  On an interesting side note, it costs 1/10 to keep a submarine at sea than it does to have it in port.  Not that that has anything to do with the amount of sea time.  Someone has to combat the Kooftan Navy (Hawaii training ops opponents).  The "Surge" deployment thing happens on a boat, too.  Get back from Westpac, have a few BRUTAL upkeep periods and head out on "Mini-Pac."

I heard Trident guys don't have it too bad, but every time I have asked a detailer for a Trident (only twice now), they have actually laughed at me.  You might want to check it out, though.  Married people don't need to visit southeast Asia.

Having been on both the East Coast and West Coast I would have to recommend a West Coast Ship/Boat.  The weather's nicer and besides, what Master Chief/Captain/Admiral really goes to Groton or Norfolk to finish out his retirement while working on his golf game?  If you can pull Pearl Harbor (which you can, for some reason people don't want to go there) you can avoid most of the Big Navy garbage and live in a more human environment.East Coast boats seem to be in either rotten (Groton) areas or big AND rotten (Norfolk) areas.

Fortunately for you, you are older and have worked a full time job before.  You will see a lot of kids fresh out of mom's basement complaining the whole time that they got screwed and wish they could turn back time (insert '80s pop ballad here).  You should have the experience to know that maybe this job sucks, but jobs suck and that's why we get paid.

Either way have fun.

[Cycoticpenguin]

withroaj- I love your outlook on things... I feel like im going to need to pick your brain thank you for the clarification!  I think how you handle the navy is more based on your up bringing then your job after high school. Im married too, so im not just working for myself.