<p>Navyasw: the unfortunate failure of the former mids and retired Navy personnel who post on these threads is to note share the perspective that you do above. [Instead, it seems, they frequently only want to demonstrate how much more knowledgeable they are than anybody else about everything Navy.]</p>
<p>Visit the AF thread sometime; you will see a number of threads by Bullet and BulletandPima [I think I have that right]. 20+ year service member [maybe retired now] and his wife who consistently offer advice on career-related issues. They offer perspective on choosing bases and, recently, how the RIF might affect new graduates. They do so in an encouraging way that seems to spring forth from a genuine desire to help. [As compared to a desire to merely demonstrate their superior knowledge on everything and always, ALWAYS, have the last word.]</p>
<p>You are absolutely correct: “owning [your] career” is an important lesson. These young people are making decisions that will affect the rest of their career. Senior officers ar eno different than other career-oriented individuals, they are going to do what is best [or needed] to further their own careers. [Yes, I get “ship, shipmate, self” but when your marching orders are to meet selection goals, well, you are going to meet seleciton goals, the wishes of a new mid be darned.] So, real life issues come up and, you are right, these young people are not prepared in the way that a “normal” college graduate is sort of prepared.</p>
<p>I don’t know how long you were in, but PLEASE take a different road [since I see that you are a relatively new participant] than some of your colleagues and give these young people some true advice on how to navigate the road [waters?] ahead. Give them some advice. You say you “learned you can say no to anyone regardelss of rank when it comes to career issues.” What doe sthi smean. Share the expeirence. Do you think a mid could, reasonably, turn down the interview? Good to hear from you.</p>