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I was Army & Navy. It depends on what you want to do in the Navy. I had a blast, but was upper NCO rank when I transferred. Met alot of good people. 30 is not too old. I met a 42 year old in training. I was 27 at the time. I would suggest checking out the Air Force first. They may have more to offer. Just my opinion.
MAKE SURE YOU GET A RATE!!!! Meaning an A school right after boot camp. This will depend on your scores as well as what you are more interested in. DO NOT go in as a deck seaman. That means you have no rate and will go right to a ship and work your a@@ off....
I joined the Navy in my 30's. I would go to several recruiters, just to compare. If you are serious, the recruiter will offer you to take the ASVAB test which will determine where your strengths are. Based on your score, you will be able to choose from different jobs. Your job is referred to as a "rating" in the Navy (I believe at age 30, you are too old for the Air Force, the Navy limit is 34, unless it has changed). Beware, the higher your ASVAB score, the more they will try to "sweet" talk you. Not just to join, but to take a rating you might be less interested in if you do. There are only a few jobs limited to men only, and truthfully, those are not very desirable, and do not pay any better. The time period the recruiter will recommend you to join will depend on the time your A-school will begin.
When I joined I wanted to be a corpsmen, which is kind of a masculine name for a "nurse". Since my ASVAB score was a 95, the recruiter at the recruiter station, where the physical is performed tried to talk me into going into electrical engineering, which they refer to as "firecontrolman" and I took the bait, and was bored stiff. So don't make the same mistake. And don't be enticed by higher rank offered.
The biggest fear most people have about boot camp is being yelled at, but really boot camp is about endurance. You will go to bed at about 10pm, and wake up at around 4am every day. Your entire day will be spent doing physical training, classroom learning, and a few other excursions they will put you on. In the Navy, the barracks you sleep in is called a "BEQ" which means bachelor enlisted quarters I believe. The only time you will be with all women is when you are in your BEQ. When you leave the building, you will always be with men. Your division will be divided in half, and will be paired up with a male division. There are approximately 10 men to every 1 woman in the Navy. So many of the divisions are all male from the time they enter until the time they leave. Your boot camp will be 10 weeks. The recruiter will tell you it is only 8 weeks, but don't believe him. Your first week is refered to as "in-processing" and is mostly going around having the same physical you just had when you left home. At 30, you will notice a lot of the younger recruits will screw up a lot, and be punished by doing push-ups. They are a little easier on the women, but not much. Realize that boot camp is only temporary, your worsed week might be your fifth week. That is the week you have to work all day, and most people work in the galley serving food. Great Lakes can be a gloomy place, a lot of lake effect overcast from Lake Michigan.
there are some good reads in here... but here is my thoughts.
are you ready for a change? i mean ARE YOU READY FOR A CHANGE? because believe me, its a big one.
i served for 4 years and got out recently. i came into the navy as undesignated, no A school. they send you to a ship and they place you wherever they need you, deck, personnel if youre lucky, etc. they ONLY good thing about that is that you get to find out what rates/jobs have the greatest advancement percentages and see if youd even like them. thats what i did. i got lucky and only had to go undesignated for 1 year and got selected to go to school because our ship was retired(decommissioned).
you want to discuss with your recruiter which rate has the best advancement, which will bring you the better bonus, and sea/shore rotation. those are the big three.
you can get lucky and go to shore right from boot camp, but plan on being sent to a ship for your whole time because most sea/shore rotation is 5yrs ship then youre eligible for 2 yrs shore (5-2). that doesnt mean you cant get shore for your career, just depends...
if you are overweight, have any medical issues, let it be known and the recruiter will help you fix yourself.
ask questions... if youre unsure or feel like there is more you need to know, ask ask ask... i signed up thinking i was going to be a firefighter on the ship which is a Damage Controlman, but i signed up for an undesignated Fireman... when i saw fireman, im like that is what i want. i didnt realize a fireman was a rank (e-3) not a job...
the only problem about boot camp is your fellow recruits... they tend to screw it up for everyone... thats what happens when you have 80-90 people in the room that are used to being jokers, loners, and center of attention...
if you sit back, do what you are told, try hard during PT, and have great attention to detail, you will survive and could be the model recruit... they have collateral duties too.. id suggest being any of the yeomans, which do secretary stuff... do NOT be the R POC or ARPOC. i think thats what they are called... those guys get beat down more than any of the recruits because they are the leaders and tend to mess up quite a bit...
the only problem about boot camp is your fellow recruits... they tend to screw it up for everyone... thats what happens when you have 80-90 people in the room that are used to being jokers, loners, and center of attention...
if you sit back, do what you are told, try hard during PT, and have great attention to detail, you will survive and could be the model recruit... they have collateral duties too.. id suggest being any of the yeomans, which do secretary stuff... do NOT be the R POC or ARPOC. i think thats what they are called... those guys get beat down more than any of the recruits because they are the leaders and tend to mess up quite a bit...
good luck...
fair winds and following seas!!!
LOL..I ended up as the MAA! go figure, but being OSVET, I didn't have to do much and I was good at yelling at people!
MAKE SURE YOU GET A RATE!!!! Meaning an A school right after boot camp. This will depend on your scores as well as what you are more interested in. DO NOT go in as a deck seaman. That means you have no rate and will go right to a ship and work your a@@ off....
You 're too old for the air force they do make exceptions for prior service. Check the USAF first maybe there is a waiver you could sign. Being stuck on a navy ship at months at a time would really be hard I think.
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