HELP! Trapped at NNPTC, I want out!

[Flooznie]

I'm with RCLCPO on his comments about those 2 goons.  You guys don't have the slightest idea of what you are talking about.  They set up the program like this for a reason.  When you been on the boat for about 4 years and you get nubs with attitudes like yourself now, you will understand why you want to hit them with a tire iron.  Unfortunately in today's Navy, that behavior has recently been frowned upon.  So, the shitbags end up getting the good deals.  They are the ones that never do any work or collateral duties because simply put......you don't trust them.  Please do not be the nubs that report to the ships with the attitudes and think you have it all figured out.  You do not, I can assure you of this.

ET1 (SS)

[HydroDave63]

right on!  It gets old hearing from soon to be wannabe nukes whining that they get panic attacks, parking is hard to find or the Chief doesn't give them enough time to read the next Harry Potter book.

If you dont like it, get out, and quit wasting our tax dollars and time.

[Already Gone]

I admit that I jumped right on the originator of this thread.  I slapped him around a little for being a whiner, but that's not his worst quality.
Lately, a lot of Navy nukes (still larvae as far as nuke power is concerned) have taken advantage of this site. It's good that they can come here and get in touch with the larger world.
But, a couple of these youngsters have decided that they are too good to be bothered with keeping their commitment.  There always have been zeros like this in the program (as RCLCPO has pointed out), and the program is pretty good at weeding them out before they can do any damage.
I have no doubt that anyone STUPID enough to come HERE and bitch about being too good for a program that produced many of us, is too stupid to make it through.  Really!!!  If these losers think that they will find any symapathy here, they are seriously f^~ked up.
We have been doing pretty well at giving them advice and encouragement, but I think we are drawing the line at commiserating with them because they are just too smart for NPS, or because it turned out to be work.

[taterhead]

You guys are crackin me up!

Benefits have only gotten better, while the job is the same.  I am going to school full time and finishing up my degree on shore duty (graduate in spring), at no expense to me.  It's not an officer program, it's enlisted guy shore duty, and I came here as an E6.

Power school guys have no perspective.  Do your six (or whatever) and get out and bitch all you want.  If you haven't even gotten your feet wet, cry me a river, I'm not listening, but I am laughing, and hoping you don't end up working for me (for your sake)!

Taylor (MMC/SW/AW)

[Already Gone]

Get out while you can. If you have less than 90 days, you can get discharged without it really looking all that bad. I would do that if I were you. Don't listen to any of these other clowns. It doesn't ever get any better or anything. GET OUT!!!!There are so many ways that you can get out, you just have to take the time to do the research and the time to follow threw with it. It might seem hard at first but it is well worth it. It isn't too late!!! Do it while you still can.

This is one of those guys I'm talkin' about.  He's a real brain-trust waiting to be discovered.  I really admire someone who is so determined to be a loser that he is willing to do the research and follow "threw" with it.

[Already Gone]

I dunno.... ME, perhaps?  I've had a tough time with everything from NPS all the way through.  Been fired from most of the jobs I've ever had.  But I have NEVER advised someone that "you can QUIT if you try hard enough."

[johnigma]

BeerCourt and others, I've read your posts on the quality of personnel coming out of NPS via graduation and success or otherwise, and it's kind of disheartening.

Now I recently finished the pipeline myself (0402) and like EVERYONE else in my class, I struggled with parts.  I do find it hard to believe, however, that when you all went through, that a substantial number of the people you went with didn't want to get out.  In fact, from reading other posts, apparently it was much easier to do, i.e. being overweight, rainbow chit, etc...  So perhaps some of the attitudes and whiners were weeded out because it was easier to do.  But, the majority of the people coming through now are hard working and DO NOT have the attitude that seems to be what has become expected.. that of expecting what isn't deserved.

I'm sure you knew some people like that... 

That said, dude.. finish the program.. you signed up for it.

[Already Gone]

I'm a little confused by that last post.
When I went through NPS, it was anything but easy.  HALF of my section was dropped at the three week cut.  Some of those were guys who really wanted to make it, but couldn't.  BAM!  It's over for you.
There were some jerks who tried to get dropped back then too, because it was hard and they would rather spend their weekends at the beach,
To go along with those losers were the superbrains from section 13 who NEVER studied after hours and cried like babies for a regrade of the one and only test where they got one point less than perfect.  Those were the guys who hit reality awful hard at NPTU or the fleet.
One guy from three classes ahead of me decided that NPS was not "challenging enough" for his superior intellect.  He just stopped showing up for class.  By the time I met him he was an ETSR on restriction.  He was too good for that too, and flagrantly disregarded his restriction by going home to an off-base apartment every night.  When I caught him, he threatened me and my family.  The XO put his "superior" ass into the Orange County Jail for that one.

It all comes down to this:  If you don't like NPS, welcome to the club.  We all hated it for one reason or another.  It was too hard; It wasn't hard enough; The weather and the off-base recreation was too good to waste time studying; It wasn't what we thought it would be like; etc.  etc.
So what if you don't like it?  Big Deal!  We didn't like it either, but we did it.  We kept our word,a nd we knew friends who wish they had another chance to suffer through it.
It's not exactly like a life sentence in a Turkish prison.  Just do it and shut up.  In the end, you will have accomplished a respectable and very employable goal.

[SGFAL21]

Wow... Now I just graduated from NPS about a week ago and really I can see where you are coming from.  Now it looks like all these guys are being hard on you but they really arent.  That school sucked... and Im not talking about the regular kind but the kind thats like a black whole trying to destroy the universe suck.  But when you walk across that stage in Rickover circle and knowing that theres only 6 months standing between you and some crazy ass adventures you realize that it is and was worth it.  You know why we cant cross rate if we decide that this isnt for us... the same reason the "non nuclear navy" cant cross into our domain.  Do you realize how many nukes there would be if we could just quite like the seals can.  Would you really want someone who couldnt possibly understand why the atom splits when its hit by the neutron.  I dont know but like the other people on here that are telling you to quit whinning and suck it up... quit whinning and suck it up. It gets better.
mm3

[senimor]

Wow, I believe alot of people have came here bashing a kid for making a decision he doesnt feel he can live with.  Just because all of you "sucked" it up and dealt with it, doesnt mean he has to.  Im still in the navy, and i love being a nuke, but i understand its not for everyone.  I saw several people at NNPTC get out of nuke field most lost a chevron or stripe for it though.  I am not at NPTU in NY, and i can say here, if you dont want in, all it takes is a talk to the masterchief.  They will encourage you to talk to the MC if your not feeling up to the job/challenge, they dont want incapable operators, not matter what the cause. 

The navy is a volunteer service guys, and for you to scold someone because they signed a piece of paper at 18 yrs old directly out of high school, and tell them to just "live" with it.  He still wishes to serve his country, but he feels he would be more useful as something other than a nuke.

I believe the "grow up" statements may directed towards the wrong person.

And my 2 cents on the what is harder/easier, old nuke pipeline vs. new nuke pipeline.  Well, before bowman the drop rate at NNPTC and NPS were significantly higher, but this makes me curious about something.  Supposedly, the navy REALLY needs operators, and i dont think we have commisioned that many ships in the last 15 yrs.  If back in the 'old' days, everyone was booted out, and classes only graduated 30%, which now is about 100 ppl/NPS class, how did the navy man their ships?  We are on a shortage right now, putting 300 ppl out every 2 months, and 15 yrs ago you only put out 100? so the nuclear navy has over tripled in size?  Im sorry, i dont mean to be that 1.5 yr in nub that fits the profile so nicely provided previously, but if you could explain it to me, would be appreciated, because in the back of my mind i still think its the same as my father walking to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways kinda story.

[Already Gone]

Gee, let'sn try a complicated concept that you may need to use your computer for.  So, just open up the calcuator program in another window and try to keep up.  Here goes. - When the classes dropped large percentages of students, they were LARGER classes.  There used to be at least seven prototype reactors at one time, maybe more.  Therefore, the classes at NPS could pump out many more bodies and still have somewhere to send them.  Of course, the drop rates were never in the vicinity of 70%.  Depending on the section you started in, the drop rate was anywhere from 100% to 0%.  Naturally, the drop rate in section 13 was nowhere near the number dropped from section 1.  Many times section 1 no longer existed at graduation time.
Not all drops were academic.  Getting busted with beer in your room, or a girl in your room, or a DWI, and you were gone.  Show up late for a watch too many times (perhaps even once) and you were gone.
Almost nobody got dropped from prototype, but there were a few.

All the "grow up" advice might seem a little more on point to you if you go back and read the little whiner's post.  He's not claiming in any way that he isn't up to the job.  In fact, he's claiming that he's too good.  Well, that's too bad.

Signing a contract brings upon a person (even an 18 year-old person) a responsibility to uphold the provisions of the contract.  It may be an all-volunteer Navy, but that doesn't mean that you have to be asked to volunteer every single day.  You volunteer once, and only once.  After that you are bound to do the duty that you swore to do. PERIOD!!!

If that oath means nothing to you... do the United States, the United States Navy, the People of the United States, and the world a favor and GET OUT!!!  We don't need people protecting our country when they feel like it.  We don't need to be protected by people whose idea of Duty, Honor, and Country are second to your own personal preferences.
If that oath you took still reflects your committment, then let me thank you personally for your service and encourage you to perservere even when it gets to be difficult.

[mattrev]

Just as a point of reference. I looked up my standing in my service record. In class 8206, we graduated 448. That doesn't count all the people who flunked out. I think we started with 520 - 550 or so.

[M1Ark]

Just as a point of reference. I looked up my standing in my service record. In class 8206, we graduated 448. That doesn't count all the people who flunked out. I think we started with 520 - 550 or so.

8808 graduated 335 Mechanics.  Lots dropped out to support the conventional MM's in the fleet.

I've heard someone say once that the nuke pipeline used to be a filter.  Now it's a positive displacement pump with a little bit of gland leakoff.

[stormgoalie]

Normally I would stay out of a discussion such as this and limit my posts to "professional" topics but I found that I must throw my opinion in the pile.

When I read the entire string of posts for this topic I started to think back on my time in the Navy and my attitude.  Now granted I was not a Nuke, BT by rate although it has since been removed, and never got the "pleasure" of going to Nuke school.   I found my attitude was very similar to some of the people's posts.  I too found that whining and griping about everything was the easy way out.  But I will tell you where it got me and what it took for me to finally realize that the only person that can make a situation better is me.

When I signed up my recruiter had me take the nuke test, my ASVAB score was a 96 so he figured I was a shoe-in to pass the test.  What he, and myself at the time, didn't fully appreciate was how lazy and conceited I was.  I was the guy in school that got straight C's because I wouldn't put in the effort to get anything higher.  I had a teacher tell me she would have loved to fail me, but I got A's on all her tests so she couldn't.  Of course I didn't pass the Nuke test so that isn't the path I took, instead I started my career trying to become an ET.  I rocked out on the last module of BEEP school.  WHY?  Lemme see, drinking, going to Chicago all weekend instead of studying, you know the usual.  Studying and voluntary extra study where for whimps, or so I would have told you.  Imagine my surprise when I had to go and basically beg not to be dropped from the program.  I think I might have stood a chance had I not shown up hung over or possibly still drunk from a weekend bender.  Oh yeah that makes the right impression.  This attitude didn't stop for the entire time I was in!!  I went from E-2 to E-5, first increment on all promotions, and right back down to E-1 in a 4 year period (I started as a 6yo but didn't make it that long).  Why?  Piss poor attitude!!  I wouldn't listen to a Chief that saw a potential that I refused to realize.  I thought that there was nothing I could do but drink and bitch about being in.  In the end my attitude bought me a 60 day stay in the brig at Jacksonville NAS for deciding that I needed a "vacation" and I didn't need their permission.  And the real kicker to this was I had been really trying to get my act together for 6 months or so and my command had noticed the improvement.  My CO had an amnesty program that should my chain of command feel that I had learned my lesson they would expunge my record and restore my highest rank attained.  I took my "vacation" the day before I was to be notified of my reinstatement to BT2!!

It took a lot of growing up before I commited to getting an education and picking a career in a very exciting (and profitable) field.  For any of the young folks just starting this amazing journey on their own, take advantage of anything or anyone who can help you and realize something, besides I had to pay for my education and the Navy is paying you for yours.  There are a lot of individuals on this rock we live on that would give anything for the opportunities that YOU have. 

Sorry for the rant,

J. Rodgers

[Fermi2]

Normally I would stay out of a discussion such as this and limit my posts to "professional" topics but I found that I must throw my opinion in the pile.

When I read the entire string of posts for this topic I started to think back on my time in the Navy and my attitude.  Now granted I was not a Nuke, BT by rate although it has since been removed, and never got the "pleasure" of going to Nuke school.   I found my attitude was very similar to some of the people's posts.  I too found that whining and griping about everything was the easy way out.  But I will tell you where it got me and what it took for me to finally realize that the only person that can make a situation better is me.

When I signed up my recruiter had me take the nuke test, my ASVAB score was a 96 so he figured I was a shoe-in to pass the test.  What he, and myself at the time, didn't fully appreciate was how lazy and conceited I was.  I was the guy in school that got straight C's because I wouldn't put in the effort to get anything higher.  I had a teacher tell me she would have loved to fail me, but I got A's on all her tests so she couldn't.  Of course I didn't pass the Nuke test so that isn't the path I took, instead I started my career trying to become an ET.  I rocked out on the last module of BEEP school.  WHY?  Lemme see, drinking, going to Chicago all weekend instead of studying, you know the usual.  Studying and voluntary extra study where for whimps, or so I would have told you.  Imagine my surprise when I had to go and basically beg not to be dropped from the program.  I think I might have stood a chance had I not shown up hung over or possibly still drunk from a weekend bender.  Oh yeah that makes the right impression.  This attitude didn't stop for the entire time I was in!!  I went from E-2 to E-5, first increment on all promotions, and right back down to E-1 in a 4 year period (I started as a 6yo but didn't make it that long).  Why?  Piss poor attitude!!  I wouldn't listen to a Chief that saw a potential that I refused to realize.  I thought that there was nothing I could do but drink and bitch about being in.  In the end my attitude bought me a 60 day stay in the brig at Jacksonville NAS for deciding that I needed a "vacation" and I didn't need their permission.  And the real kicker to this was I had been really trying to get my act together for 6 months or so and my command had noticed the improvement.  My CO had an amnesty program that should my chain of command feel that I had learned my lesson they would expunge my record and restore my highest rank attained.  I took my "vacation" the day before I was to be notified of my reinstatement to BT2!!

It took a lot of growing up before I commited to getting an education and picking a career in a very exciting (and profitable) field.  For any of the young folks just starting this amazing journey on their own, take advantage of anything or anyone who can help you and realize something, besides I had to pay for my education and the Navy is paying you for yours.  There are a lot of individuals on this rock we live on that would give anything for the opportunities that YOU have. 

Sorry for the rant,

J. Rodgers

This is one awesome post!!

Thanks!

Mike

[visserjr]

Truthfully, if the guy is wanting to give up now, let him be an Turd Chaser on an oiler for those four years as an E-3. Maybe then he'd be happy with his choice to be a nuke. Frankly, maybe a trip to ERLL with the boys could straighten him up.

[SGFAL21]

senimor, well since you are at NPTU Ballston Spa I figure Ill say hello since I start training there Monday.  I dont like to rock boats and would never disagree with a superior out load as my father (a retired MMCM) would shoot me for doing this, but I feel comfortable in being able to do this from the privacy of this site.  I dont think you quite understand the amount of trash coming through NFAS,  now you might have instructed there a while ago but when I went through about 9 or 10 months ago the amout of sh*&bags running through was astonishing.  Not to say I didnt have my days where I wasnt a bit lazy.  But in the limited experiance with the people in my sections (excpecially in power school since I was the section leader) I found the best way to make people stop complaining and start doing their jobs was to belittle them and make them feel like they were lower than us doing the best we could.  Im a strong believer that this new navy BS is yet another thing that is hampering the effectiveness of this Navy.  Tough love is the best thing in my opinion, this way we look out for our shipmates and yet hopefully give them pride in the job thinking I went through hell with them and look at me now, im aces.  That is all.
*m3