<p>Hi, I’m a senior in college and thinking of joining the Navy. Does anybody have experience with this? What are some things I should know? Is it true it’s the safest of all military branches?</p>
<p>Are you thinking of enlisting or applying for OCS? S1 is an '09 college grad (NROTC) and is currently an Ensign in the Navy. What would you like to know?</p>
<p>I sent you a PM, nychomie. All the best to you, whatever path you choose for your life.</p>
<p>What are the benefits? How long is the commitment usually? What do I need to do to get in?</p>
<p>The Air Force is a relatively safe branch as well but you’d be joining the military so you can’t expect to necessarily avoid going to war zone areas or not end up with a potentially dangerous job (fliers, the people on the flight deck, and any number of other jobs). </p>
<p>One thing to know is that you won’t necessarily be accepted as an officer - make sure you check on this point very well if that’s your expectation. Another thing to know if that you’ll go where you’re assigned which could be anywhere in the world. You need to be ready to make a commitment and possibly get assigned anywhere and then reassigned perhaps in 3 years and then reasigned again and again if you stay in long enough.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think one of the things I have to do is take the ASVAB test so they can determined if I’m qualified. </p>
<p>A question though: Can I just quit after my contract is over? Or will I be forever be on the reserve once I sign up the first time?</p>
<p>What are the most dangerous sites that I could possibly be assigned to (for the Navy specifically)?</p>
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<li><p>Officer or Enlisted?</p></li>
<li><p>What kind of job do you want?</p></li>
</ol>
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</p>
<p>Afghanistan. I am almost positive there are some sailors on the ground there, though obviously not that many.</p>
<p>Know that if you go officer you can’t guarantee a specific MOS.</p>
<p>The ASVAB is for enlisted personnel. Since you are about to graduate from college, you would be better off pursuing a commission as an Officer. To be honest, starting out as enlisted gets you very little money. There is a pretty big difference between enlisted and officer. Of course, if you already know this and still want to enlist, that’s fine. Your committment would generally last for four years.</p>
<p>The years of active service are followed by a certain number of years in the reserves, though, during which you CAN be called back to active duty. Make sure you know exactly what you’re committing to. These days, guard and reserves can and do get called up to serve.</p>
<p>OCS does mean better pay, and may mean better career prospects in and out of the military. But do be aware that if you have a college degree and go in as regular enlisted, you start at a higher pay grade than those who don’t have a degree. Nowhere near as much as officer pay, but higher than non-degreed peers. </p>
<p>Also bear in mind that whether you’re OCS or enlisted, the base salary is only part of military compensation. You also get a housing allowance and subsistence (food) allowance, both of which are non-taxable. </p>
<p>(My 39-year-old husband has just enlisted in the Army after being unemployed for 18 months. So I’ve been doing a crash course in all things military!)</p>
<p>Every service member has an 8 year contract. When you sign a 4 year contract you agree to 4 years Active and 4 years Reserve or IRR (Individual Ready Reserve) from which you can be recalled to AD if they need you.
Keep in mind you will need to pass a medical exam, meet height/weight standards and pass a PT test. The standards are the same for officer and enlisted - though some find the enlisted medical exam easier to qualify.</p>
<p>nychomie - The Navy is not “safe”. even on a ship in the middle of the ocean it is dangerous work, so don’t join because it’s “safe”. </p>
<p>You need to go to the Navy website and look at the opportunities. If you want to be an officer then you need to see an Officer recruiter. You will go to OCS. If you want to enlist, you will take the ASVAB, go to basic and then be assigned a job. As a college grad you will enlist at a higher pay grade.
Many college grads do enlist in all services for a variety of reasons. Usually it is because the job they want is only available to enlisted personnel. This is pretty common in the Army - my daughter who graduated from college in 2005 has several classmates who enlisted. </p>
<p>Afghanistan - has a number of sailors and airmen on the ground in addition to army and Mairne personnel.</p>
<p>One of the biggest benefits is the New GI Bill. After serving for three years Active Duty you are eligible for three years of college plus housing (E-5 rate). This can be used for graduate school. So, say you graduate from college in 2010 and spend at least 3years in the Navy - either officer or enlisted. When you resign your commission or your contract is up you can go to graduate school - FREE. Thanks for considering to serve your country!</p>
<p>Just curious, what kind of starting pay is there for someone out of OCS? How does it compare to the private sector?</p>
<p>[2010</a> Military Pay Chart](<a href=“http://www.navycs.com/2010-military-pay-chart.html]2010”>2010 Military Pay Chart)</p>
<p>If your main concern is how safe it is, then do something else.</p>
<p>post #13 - that would be the base pay. add to that BAH which is Basic Allowance for Housing (if you live on the economy) and this varies by geography and is non-taxable.</p>
<p>sorghum - I would agree but; there are many jobs in the military that are not inherently dangerous.</p>
<p>Yes, BAH will go up and down depending on where stationed. In the Navy, unmarried enlisted live on base. If assigned to a ship, some live on the ship full-time when not deployed. Lots get married to get off the base and receive extra benefits. S just finished Dive Sch. In the nine weeks he was there, five enlisted guys (the class had 5 officers and 25 enlisted) got married!</p>
<p>I suggest you consider reading Nathaniel Fick’s book about entering the USMC after Dartmouth. I think the title is “One Bullet Away.” He entered the military before 9/11, but fought in Afghanistan & Iraq.</p>
<p>I think the majority of positions in the Navy and AF are relatively safe. There are some jobs that have some possibility of danger associated with them, for example flight deck operations, but they seem to manage to operate those fairly safely regardless. If you look at any of the numbers of casualties it’s not really that bad. Given that, both branches do sometimes have members on the ground in areas that would be deemed war zones. They also both have special forces that definitely can be dangerous but those people volunteer (and need to qualify) for those positions.</p>
<p>Consolation, thanks for the referral. I just read some excerpts and was impressed. S is an avid reader (well, not right now…needs of the Navy) who would prob. appreciate this writer’s point of view. S will likely be in a similiar situation in the future.</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad, S is one of those training for dangerous detail. He is SpecOps.</p>
<p>^^ I respect your S for his duty and willingness to take on the dangerous duty to protect us all. I wonder if he’s been to San Diego yet?</p>