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My son is joining the Navy in June and has been told that he is going in to SECF. Is this a good career field?
Yes.
Quote:
... I hope that he will stay in for 20 years but if not I hope that he is getting in a field that transfers to civilian life. Can anyone calm a mother's fears.
Not everyone is the right fit to stay on subs for 20 years. If he is, great! If he is not, that is great too!
Very few of us, can hold on for that long. It is a lot of time deployed. No phone, no mail, no internet, no contact, on average for 7 months every year.
Guys who can stay in for 20 are not any 'better', then those who can not. There were many times when I really hated lived underwater.
I am not aware of any method of predicting who will become a career submariner, or who will not.
I got out after 6 years. It took me 4 years as a veteran attending college, for me to change my attitude, to try again.
Once he hits the fleet; you need to urge him to do a couple of things.
Maximize his use of the CLEP program. [He can knockout at least one B.S. and usually a M.S. degree; if he does not put it on a back-burner. One CLEP each month will add up quickly]
Volunteer for the IRS' VITA program. [He can also amass a large portfolio, if he masters his tax-filing and investment plan]
Every off-crew he needs to track his CREO grouping and SRB levels, to schedule the optimum timing for each re-enlistment.
The crew will tend to be very focused on the boat's schedule and training; as individuals they need to be reminded of their personal goals
Hey everyone! I was looking through my threads started on here and forgot about this one. Now I am 13 months in, 47 to go lol. Still in school. I went to bootcamp May 24th, and by June 13th they were trying to send me home. I had to get a waiver for my vision before I went in and MEPS messed it up. Basically, the wording on it was incorrect for what I needed and the LT at bootcamp caught it and had to resubmit to big Navy. Well they declined it so they put in a separations division. I faught it and spent 2 1/2 months there before they brought me back to training. Oct 5th I graduated and got the hell out of there lol.
Spent a month in build waiting to class up to BESS. Was informed I would be a Sonarmen. It was my 2nd pick, first being ET radio, mainly because it's easy lol. Atleast in the sense your not incharge of keeping the boat from crashing into ****. Finished up BESS early Jan of this year. Reported to ACU (awaiting class up), and they informed all the STS, FTs, and ET Nav's from my class that we were classing up straight to A school. Usually SECF will attend ATT and TCNO classes before A school. Went and completed A school. Did fairly well even though I am terrified of doing it for real underway. Right now I am just about to finish ATT and will be classed up to TCNO almost immediately. Then out of here sometime very soon after that. We don't have our orders yet, hopefully we will get them in the next couple weeks atleast. I should class up for TCNO July 8th or the following Monday and graduate a month after and SHOULD be on my way. Hopefully going West coast because my fiance is in the SF Bay area. Try to keep some updates on here.
Hey everyone! I was looking through my threads started on here and forgot about this one. Now I am 13 months in, 47 to go lol. Still in school. I went to bootcamp May 24th, and by June 13th they were trying to send me home. I had to get a waiver for my vision before I went in and MEPS messed it up. Basically, the wording on it was incorrect for what I needed and the LT at bootcamp caught it and had to resubmit to big Navy. Well they declined it so they put in a separations division. I faught it and spent 2 1/2 months there before they brought me back to training. Oct 5th I graduated and got the hell out of there lol.
Spent a month in build waiting to class up to BESS. Was informed I would be a Sonarmen. It was my 2nd pick, first being ET radio, mainly because it's easy lol. Atleast in the sense your not incharge of keeping the boat from crashing into ****. Finished up BESS early Jan of this year. Reported to ACU (awaiting class up), and they informed all the STS, FTs, and ET Nav's from my class that we were classing up straight to A school. Usually SECF will attend ATT and TCNO classes before A school. Went and completed A school. Did fairly well even though I am terrified of doing it for real underway. Right now I am just about to finish ATT and will be classed up to TCNO almost immediately. Then out of here sometime very soon after that. We don't have our orders yet, hopefully we will get them in the next couple weeks atleast. I should class up for TCNO July 8th or the following Monday and graduate a month after and SHOULD be on my way. Hopefully going West coast because my fiance is in the SF Bay area. Try to keep some updates on here.
You can't wait to leave Groton? Too bad
Congratulations on your progress through the pipeline.
Keep in mind that after you have your NECs, and you report to a squadron. That squadron can still swap you to a different boat. It happened to me twice. I had orders to boat X, and squadron swapped me to boat Y. It happens that way some times.
Congratulations on your progress through the pipeline.
Keep in mind that after you have your NECs, and you report to a squadron. That squadron can still swap you to a different boat. It happened to me twice. I had orders to boat X, and squadron swapped me to boat Y. It happens that way some times.
Good luck
I haven't heard of that happening with any of my friends so I don't know how often is happens anymore but hey it's the Navy, wouldn't suprise me a bit. I don't mind Groton since I am from NY and so is my fiance but west coast would definitely make the situation slightly better since she won't be moving with me. She makes too much at her job, and since I'm not making a career of this I don't see a point in dragging her to a new place, making her find a new job and new friends again, then kissing her goodbye for a minimum of 6-9 months a year.
I guess they changed things up a little from when i was in. it use to be you chose the ET rate, then after the basic electronics course, they would tell people they are going to either nav or comms. Then a little later either to a fast boat or ssbn.
I got delayed at boot before bess, sucked but had fun as well, worked as a food runner/bus boy at some restaurant over on the non-boot side.
My boat got switched right before I was to go to the fleet; I had orders to one boat, graduated my pipeline, then they told me to report to squadron, I actually thought I was in trouble at first! But then they held me for about a week then sent me to another boat.
I'm an STS and I've been on subs. I've worked really closely with all 4 ratings.
You're training up until A-school will be the same, Basic submarining, ATT(electronics/circuits/troubleshooting), and then network training.
Once you get to A-school, you learn a broad, basic idea of your specific rating.
STS- all about acoustic data, and what produces it and how to measure it and how to use this info. Oceanography, and the operation and maintenance of the equipment associated with this.
FT- how to track ''things'' and how to form solutions in case you need to fire on a target using high-tech equipment. You do the maintenance on this equipment and also technical maintenance on the weapons that the torpedomen can't do.
ET(NAV)-Navigation of the ship and Interior communications maintenance. Maintenance of navigation electronics.
ET(COMMS)- Communications on and off the ship, some super secret stuff, they are the link to the rest of the world.
any rate you choose, you start off the same and you get your dolphins first, then you start to become whatever rate you are. You're a submariner first and none is better than the other.
Just swore in last week and have an SECF (Submarine Electronics Computer Field) rating. Met a guy at MEPS who had the same rating and loved it but I didn't really get a chance to talk to him much about it. Anyone else do it? Ship out May 24th and I am pretty excited.
I was in the Navy from 1986-1992 as an ET-COM and served on both the fast-attack boat USS-Dallas (SSN-7000) and the missile boat the USS Florida (SSBN-715). I did a total of five patrols in the Atlantic, North Atlantic, Carribean, and Med. I did my basic sub qual school (BESS) in Groton, CN and then my "A" school in Great Lakes, ILL. and then "C" School in Pensacola, Fla. I was an ET2 when I got out after six years. I am a shellback and a bluenose.
"There are two types of ships: submarines and targets."
I was in the Navy from 1986-1992 as an ET-COM and served on both the fast-attack boat USS-Dallas (SSN-7000) and the missile boat the USS Florida (SSBN-715). I did a total of five patrols in the Atlantic, North Atlantic, Carribean, and Med. I did my basic sub qual school (BESS) in Groton, CN and then my "A" school in Great Lakes, ILL. and then "C" School in Pensacola, Fla. I was an ET2 when I got out after six years. I am a shellback and a bluenose.
"There are two types of ships: submarines and targets."
Sorry, got to call that one out., The USS Florida, which is SSBN 728, was always stationed out of Bangor, WA, and never performed any patrols in the Atlantic. What years on the Florida?
If you were meaning the Dallas performed "patrols", I have never heard anyone refer to fast attack "deployments" as "patrols".
Also, regarding your rate, can you clarify? What NEC(s) did you have?
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