Thinking of Navy (home, employment, transfer)

[Callmemom]

Son is thinking of Navy Officer Training Program. He's a college grad, but is having a hard time finding employment that has a future. Does anyone have any feedback on what kind of life one has with this career?

[Erma]

Navy Officer Training program is a good career. Has he thought about the Air Force as well? My son was in the same spot and loves the Air Force.

[GeorgiaTransplant]

Originally Posted by Callmemom

Son is thinking of Navy Officer Training Program. He's a college grad, but is having a hard time finding employment that has a future. Does anyone have any feedback on what kind of life one has with this career?

Probably ought to go to military issues, but I'll bite. For record, I was Army but it's pretty similar across the services, I actually know the Navy fairly well and I'll keep it general enough to apply.

Services have officers, (usually) warrant officers, and enlisted members.

Officers provide overall group leadership and planning. Warrants are technical experts. Enlisted do the work, NCOs/petty officers (enlisted who have been in for awhile) provide individual leadership to enlisted.

There is overlap between all groups, a little. No sane O-1 (lowest ranking officer) thinks he is more of a 'leader' than a senior E-9 (highest ranking enlisted member)-even though the NCO must salute him and is 'outranked', the NCO has more direct impact and influence than the O-1 will see for a very long while, and probably also has the trust and confidence of an O-5/O-6 or higher that will eat an O-1/O-2 alive for not listening to the E-9.

Each service has a different primary mission. Navy's mission is to train, maintain, and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring agression, and maintaining freedom of the seas. Practically, that means running these big honkin' ships that can make things go boom using a variety of means-carriers, destroyer, frigates, etc. that can launch and recover planes and helicopters, naval gunfire, and missiles, and can carry Marines to do amphibious assaults.

Simplistically, Army = basic heavy and light ground combat, Marines = amphibious assault (taking beaches) and the ability to operate as a completely packaged force, self sufficient, for short periods on ground, Navy = sea forces and carrying Marines, Air Force = planes and missiles.

Navy officer career is like any other service. First, be medically, mentally, and morally qualified. The Navy has no use for someone in a wheelchair, who thinks child porn is awesome, or who is a meth addict, for instance. Pass some 'commissioning source'-a training program from 4 years to several months. If your son is going into a officer training program, probably a few months-and it is pure-D hell. It has to provide basic leadership skills and assess him in a period an Academy or ROTC has several years, so there is no slack time and high attrition.

If commissioned and assigned a specialty, sent to a technical school of some sort for a period of months to learn a skill. Then, given a first assignment, worldwide-no telling where unless you already know the specialty. 'Choose your rate, choose your fate.' Supply corps officers have very, very different lives than pilots, commo officers have very, very different lives than nuclear engineering officers. No single specialty is 'better' than others-but it's just a different environment, and discussing them all is not going to be possible here. He should try for what he wants-but take what he gets, and embrace it.

From the beginning, they will probably supervise petty officers, who then directly supervise sailors. Supervision in the military is different than in the civilian world. You *must* be into your subordinate's lives. They don't get to leave when they want, the mission must be accomplished even at personal suffering, and yes, you have to know about their problems family situation and career goals in a way that you just don't see in the civilian world. With the exception of things protected by law, a sailor doesn't get to tell an officer they don't want to tell them something or do something-period.

Navy officers typically do shore-sea alternations early in their career. For instance, first tour might be on a ship and they will be gone half of a 3-year tour doing cruises or deploying to hot spots-and the other half, training in home port. Second tour might be at a shore billet, no constant deployment but sailors are sea going and that's what gets them promoted. Each career field has a different path and no two careers are precisely identical. Flat out, no job in the military is completely without danger. Some are just more dangerous than others...

Promotion in first 5-6 grades is a *strict* meritocracy. You get a series of evaluations, at least once a year, from your immediate supervisor, and usually (in Army anyway) his immediate supervisor. Your evaluations, assignment history, physical fitness, and general 'file' are racked and stacked against others who have been in roughly as long as you have, and the top section is picked and promoted. For officers, promotions are timed. For instance, O-1 to O-2 is about 2 years and is pretty certain. O-2 to O-3 is about 4 years, same. O-3 to O-4, people start stripping off-they do something bad or stupid and get a bad report card, and the board puts them at the bottom of the pile. You *can* get promoted early after O-3, but it's pretty rare and only one year early per rank. You *can* get promoted late if you get 'passed over', but it's less certain. Usually when you make O-4, you're okay-you'll probably 'make 20'. When you make O-5, you're pretty set. After O-6, you'll know for sure if you're competitive-you'll have built an 'unofficial file' and the board will know you personally. Few people make O-6 and it's no shame not to, a miniscule amount make O-7 or higher.

'Make 20' is a military term. Retirement is an all-or-nothing proposition. Either you make 20 good years of duty and retire, or you make under 20 years-and don't. Each good year is worth 2.5% of your base salary, multiplied times your monthly salary of your highest three years (usually your last). The more time you stay, the better the monthly paycheck is.
For instance, O-5, over 25, will be 62.5% times about $8000 a month = $5000 a month. WHILE IN, you will also get a quarters allowance or be provide quarters, a food allowance, and various other bennies that can often add 50% to your pay. People who are not in drool over the retirement plan, which IS generous-but not overly so when you consider what service members are required to do.

The Navy eats its young, which is good. A commanding officer is responsible for everything their subordinates do or fail to do-not everyone thinks that last bit is right or fair, but obviously it's what happens. The Navy has a history of relieving-which is removing authority and transferring-commanders who screw up or whose units screw up.

Overall, it's a great life in the service. It's a good retirement plan. They will travel, a LOT and it can be tough to buy a home. It is tough to start and keep a family together with the pressures I described.


I wish your son the best if that's what he wants to do.

[Callmemom]

Thank you, GeorgiaTransplant, for your very thorough and thought-provoking response! A person obviously has to go into this knowing, not guessing, that this is what they want to do. It's difficult to know what it's all about unless you ask people who have been there and done that.

[diamondback13]

Georgia Transplant - not being military myself, but knowing plenty of military/ex-military folks, your explanation is the best one I've EVER seen or heard of those mechanizations - thank you so much for sharing!!