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Evan Lieb wrote: btowntech, that’s interesting. I’ll have to check up on that. the_Grinch, I’ve been told by a couple former Navymen and my own recruiters that you can enlist and become an officer within two years if your transcripts were solid and you have proven yourself in your discipline (in terms of responsibilities of the job and in terms of leadership). Do you think it’s realistic to expect to be made an officer within two years of enlisting? Also, I’ve heard that it really helps to get a letter of recommendation from someone in the Navy, like a captain or lieutenant, if you want to become an officer. Is this true?
Evan Lieb wrote: learningtofly22, is it pretty hard to fail your training? I assume you'd have to do pretty bad for them to force you to do something else. I also find it puzzling that they'd send Navy soldiers to the Middle East, you'd figure they'd prioritize Army and Marines soldiers before Navy. Also, I wasn't aware of frequent stints (I assume during active duty only), so I'll have to ask my recruiter later today.
famosbrown wrote: Again...I will speak from the Army standpoint. It is VERY, VERY, VERY easy to go from enlisted to officer in the Army. They are BEGGING enlisted soldiers with 4 year degrees to accept a Direct Commission. The best officers in my experience are the officer who were prior enlisted, or officers from Westpoint. Those ROTC guys are a different breed and have a lot to learn about the military after they finish college.
Evan Lieb wrote: You guys are awesome, thanks for all the replies. I only have a few more questions that weren't quite 100% answered at the Navy forums linked here, so just bear with me a little bit longer: 1) Does one's LOR (letter of rec) have to be formatted in a certain way, i.e. should I be telling the people writing the LOR's to be writing them in a certain style, format, etc.? From what other people have said, it's OK if some LOR's are from people in different branches who aren't officers. 2) I've now heard a couple time that officers do not get to use G.I. bill funds to take tests like the CISSP? Does this mean I can't, for example, subsidize continuing education courses by using G.I. bill funds because they just aren't available to officers period? 3) And finally, what kinds of bonuses do officers get, if any? Thanks again for any help at all that you guys can give! P.S. I've been told by one IWO (Information Warfare Officer) that the military cannot call you back for life if you simply do not re-enlist at the end of your contract. This confirms what I've been told by several other recruiters and attorneys. So networker050184, I still don't see how they could call back an officer (though not enlisted men) unless you mean they could *potentially* do so if you're still on reserve and a world war breaks out or something?
networker050184 wrote: famosbrown wrote: Again...if you agree to a specialty, you get that specialty and go to school for it...period. That is not always the case. I knew quite a few people that signed up for a certain MOS and then got switched to another due to needs of the military. I know two people currently serving that went through this. One signed up for MP and got a signal job, another signed up for EOD and got switched to NBC. Once you sign the dotted line you are theirs... period.
famosbrown wrote: Again...if you agree to a specialty, you get that specialty and go to school for it...period.
Vassago68 wrote: networker050184 wrote: famosbrown wrote: Again...if you agree to a specialty, you get that specialty and go to school for it...period. That is not always the case. I knew quite a few people that signed up for a certain MOS and then got switched to another due to needs of the military. I know two people currently serving that went through this. One signed up for MP and got a signal job, another signed up for EOD and got switched to NBC. Once you sign the dotted line you are theirs... period. This actually ISNT the case at all. If they pull this on you, which I have heard many stories where they did, you can contact your Congressman. My cousin had this happen, and they told him tough, deal with it. He called his Senator, and 4 days later he was discharged. It is still a breach of contract and they have to honor their end of the deal. If they don't, then you are no longer obligated to your end of the contract. I have been in the Army for 12 years. I will say this about the Army, and other branches from what I have heard. You don't get that much training. They skim over subjects just so y ou get an idea for them, and don't really explain anything to you. I know when I went through the 25B course for the Army, they basically said "Here is how to configure a router and switch. Copy this down." And the test was basically a repeat of the crap they showed you step for step. It wasn't like Cisco where they just tell you what they need and you tried to do it. Also, for Exchange, AD, Linux, we basically got the "Here's how to install it, and here are some basic commands" That was it. Every training on I have is stuff that I have gone ahead and pursued in my off time. I am currently working on my Linux Certs, and when I get back will take the CCNA certs. All of this is stuff I do on a daily baises but never actually got trained on. The persons that do the best in our field are persons that like to learn in their off time.
w4nn4b1337 wrote: networker050184 wrote: famosbrown wrote: Again...if you agree to a specialty, you get that specialty and go to school for it...period. That is not always the case. I knew quite a few people that signed up for a certain MOS and then got switched to another due to needs of the military. I know two people currently serving that went through this. One signed up for MP and got a signal job, another signed up for EOD and got switched to NBC. Once you sign the dotted line you are theirs... period. I second this! I signed up for 0311 Infantry in the USMC. I guess I was to much of a dork or something because right out of boot camp I was changed to 2651 Special Intelligence Communications. I suppose that led to my IT carerr but I digress. 8 years is a really really long time to contract your life out to the military. Especially the Navy. You need to do some real soul searching before you do it and pay attention to foreign policy of this government. Because you will be enforcing it. If you lose faith in that mission then the chances that you will make it 8 years is pretty slim. I thought I was going to be a lifer since I made the decision to join the Marines when I was 12 years old. From that point on I did all i could to prepare myself including studying history, traditions and exercising, and passing high school (a big challenge from where I came from). However, the reality of it all let me know I didn't belong carrying out the whims of the elite. I am a veteran of the Operations Desert Shield/Storm. I was part of the force that conducted non combatant evacuation ops in Somalia in 91. Was part of Ops provide hope/provide comfort as well as supported NATO surveailance ops in the Adriadic sea during the former yugoslavia crisis. I served under two commanders in Chief and spend most of my time in the Marines at sea chasing conflicts around the globe. I understand you are thinking of your career but you "MUST" put any kind of personal ambition aside when signing up in the military because you are the least important in regards to what the Navy needs. You will serve the foreign policies of this country and if you disagree with them then you will have a very rough 8 years. Take your readings on what those foreign policies are now and figure out if you agree with them or not because it will be you and many like you who will deliver our policy at the tip of a bayonet. That's all the advice I can give. Count the costs -
famosbrown wrote: w4nn4b1337 wrote: networker050184 wrote: famosbrown wrote: Are you sure you signed up for the MOS you thought you did? Did you see it in Black bold letters before you signed and initial the long contract? Again, speaking from the Army standpoint, there is an MOS designation for people who are either undecided or who doesn't get a good enough score to choose what they want. I was in Basic Taining with a few of these soldiers, but they already knew what they signed up for. A couple were assigned Infantry MOS's and a few NBC MOS's. Due to their initial "wildcard" MOS designation, they were all 11B (Infantry) unless they were assigned another MOS through Basic Training. Again, from the Army standpoint, the Army has ways to recruit for the MOS's that they need. I was inprocessing at the post for Basic Training and there was a guy who received 25K bonus for agreeing to go Airborne and Ranger school out of Infantry. They entice recruits to accept a position that they need with bonuses and school money. They entice current enlistees the same way to get trained on a needed MOS. I must stress that a contract is a contract, and for those who decide to join the military, please read the contract and ask questions...they have all day for you!! I am 100% certain my enlisted contract had 0311 infantry in black bold letters. To be fair though what I went through is called special screening. That's the result of the new battery of tests you get after you show up at boot camp. As previously mentioned they decided I would serve the Marines better as a 2651. Considering the move to a "spy" job from being a grunt I didn't fight it.
w4nn4b1337 wrote: networker050184 wrote: famosbrown wrote: Are you sure you signed up for the MOS you thought you did? Did you see it in Black bold letters before you signed and initial the long contract? Again, speaking from the Army standpoint, there is an MOS designation for people who are either undecided or who doesn't get a good enough score to choose what they want. I was in Basic Taining with a few of these soldiers, but they already knew what they signed up for. A couple were assigned Infantry MOS's and a few NBC MOS's. Due to their initial "wildcard" MOS designation, they were all 11B (Infantry) unless they were assigned another MOS through Basic Training. Again, from the Army standpoint, the Army has ways to recruit for the MOS's that they need. I was inprocessing at the post for Basic Training and there was a guy who received 25K bonus for agreeing to go Airborne and Ranger school out of Infantry. They entice recruits to accept a position that they need with bonuses and school money. They entice current enlistees the same way to get trained on a needed MOS. I must stress that a contract is a contract, and for those who decide to join the military, please read the contract and ask questions...they have all day for you!! I am 100% certain my enlisted contract had 0311 infantry in black bold letters. To be fair though what I went through is called special screening. That's the result of the new battery of tests you get after you show up at boot camp. As previously mentioned they decided I would serve the Marines better as a 2651. Considering the move to a "spy" job from being a grunt I didn't fight it.
networker050184 wrote: famosbrown wrote: Are you sure you signed up for the MOS you thought you did? Did you see it in Black bold letters before you signed and initial the long contract? Again, speaking from the Army standpoint, there is an MOS designation for people who are either undecided or who doesn't get a good enough score to choose what they want. I was in Basic Taining with a few of these soldiers, but they already knew what they signed up for. A couple were assigned Infantry MOS's and a few NBC MOS's. Due to their initial "wildcard" MOS designation, they were all 11B (Infantry) unless they were assigned another MOS through Basic Training. Again, from the Army standpoint, the Army has ways to recruit for the MOS's that they need. I was inprocessing at the post for Basic Training and there was a guy who received 25K bonus for agreeing to go Airborne and Ranger school out of Infantry. They entice recruits to accept a position that they need with bonuses and school money. They entice current enlistees the same way to get trained on a needed MOS. I must stress that a contract is a contract, and for those who decide to join the military, please read the contract and ask questions...they have all day for you!! I am 100% certain my enlisted contract had 0311 infantry in black bold letters. To be fair though what I went through is called special screening. That's the result of the new battery of tests you get after you show up at boot camp. As previously mentioned they decided I would serve the Marines better as a 2651. Considering the move to a "spy" job from being a grunt I didn't fight it.
famosbrown wrote: Are you sure you signed up for the MOS you thought you did? Did you see it in Black bold letters before you signed and initial the long contract? Again, speaking from the Army standpoint, there is an MOS designation for people who are either undecided or who doesn't get a good enough score to choose what they want. I was in Basic Taining with a few of these soldiers, but they already knew what they signed up for. A couple were assigned Infantry MOS's and a few NBC MOS's. Due to their initial "wildcard" MOS designation, they were all 11B (Infantry) unless they were assigned another MOS through Basic Training. Again, from the Army standpoint, the Army has ways to recruit for the MOS's that they need. I was inprocessing at the post for Basic Training and there was a guy who received 25K bonus for agreeing to go Airborne and Ranger school out of Infantry. They entice recruits to accept a position that they need with bonuses and school money. They entice current enlistees the same way to get trained on a needed MOS. I must stress that a contract is a contract, and for those who decide to join the military, please read the contract and ask questions...they have all day for you!!
Vassago68 wrote: I wish I could say the same about my 25B experience. I've got hands on, but it was on everything I already knew prior to getting here. I was working in the XVIII ABC Server Room as a 25Q for Hands on training before my reclass, and after the reclass, Ive been stuck in a CSSAMO as an E-6. Needless to say, I will be getting out in 2 years just shy of 14 in since they won't move me to a new post, or at least move me to a more productive job. Swapping out hard drives and ram is a little beneath me. I didn't bust my ass for a degree in this field just to do low end computer repair. It's cool though, when I get back from Iraq in dec, I will be scheduling a few tests, and trying to knock out about 3-4 Certs in the time that I am home before BNCOC and redeployment.
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