Cascade Crew

[JohnnyIROC-Z]

Hey all you People In the Navy or Out of the Navy, So I was thinking of enlisting in the Navy. So Tell me about your experience in Boot and after boot in Skills training! I still need to talk to a recruiter but I'd like to find out your take on Naval Life.

[Kage87Z]

I'm actually Army... but here's an accurate discription.

How to simulate being a sailor:

1. Buy a steel dumpster, paint it gray inside and out, and live in it for six months.

2. Run all the pipes and wires in your house exposed on the walls.

3. Repaint your entire house every month.

4. Renovate your bathroom. Build a wall across the middle of the bathtub and move the shower head to chest level. When you take showers, make sure you turn off the water while you soap down.

5. Put lube oil in your humidifier and set it on high.

6. Once a week, blow compressed air up your chimney, making sure the wind carries the soot onto your neighbor's house. Ignore his complaints.

7. Once a month, take all major appliances apart and then reassemble them.

8. Raise the thresholds and lower the headers of your front and back doors, so that you either trip or bang your head every time you pass through them.

9. Disassemble and inspect your lawnmower every week.

10. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, turn your water heater temperature up to 200 degrees. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, turn the water heater off. On Saturdays and Sundays tell your family they use too much water during the week, so no bathing will be allowed.

11. Raise your bed to within 6 inches of the ceiling, so you can't turn over without getting out and then getting back in.

12. Sleep on the shelf in your closet. Replace the closet door with a curtain. Have your spouse whip open the curtain about 3 hours after you go to sleep, shine a flashlight in your eyes, and say "Sorry, wrong rack."

13. Make your family qualify to operate each appliance in your house dishwasher operator, blender technician, etc.

14. Have your neighbor come over each day at 5 am, blow a whistle so loud Helen Keller could hear it, and shout "Reveille, reveille, all hands heave out and trice up."

15. Have your mother-in-law write down everything she's going to do the following day, then have her make y! ou stand in your back yard at 6 am while she reads it to you.

16. Submit a request chit to your father-in-law requesting permission to leave your house before 3 PM.

17. Empty all the garbage bins in your house and sweep the driveway three times a day, whether it needs it or not. (Now sweepers, sweepers, man your brooms, give the ship a clean sweep down fore and aft, empty all shitcans over the fantail.)

18. Have your neighbor collect all your mail for a month, read your magazines, and randomly lose every 5th item before delivering it to you.

19. Watch no TV except for movies played in the middle of the night. Have your family vote on which movie to watch, then show a different one.

20. When your children are in bed, run into their room with a megaphone shouting that your home is under attack and ordering them to their battle stations. (Now general quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations.)

21. Make your family menu a week ahead of time wit! hout consulting the pantry or refr igerator.

22. Post a menu on the kitchen door informing your family that they are having steak for dinner. Then make them wait in line for an hour. When they finally get to the kitchen, tell them you are out of steak, but they can have dried ham or hot dogs. Repeat daily until they ignore the menu and just ask for hot dogs.

23. Bake a cake. Prop up one side of the pan so the cake bakes unevenly. Spread icing real thick to level it off.

24. Get up every night around midnight and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on stale bread. (midrats)

25. Set your alarm clock to go off at random during the night. At the alarm, jump up and dress as fast as you can, making sure to button your top shirt button and tuck your pants into your socks. Run out into the backyard and uncoil the garden hose.

26. Every week or so, throw your cat or dog in the pool and shout "Man overboard port side!" Rate your family members on how fast they respond.
27. Put the headphones from your stereo on your head, but don't plug them in. Hang a paper cup around your neck on a string. Stand in front of the stove, and speak into the paper cup "Stove manned and ready." After an hour or so, speak into the cup again 'Stove secured." Roll up the headphones and paper cup and stow them in a shoebox.

28. Place a podium at the end of your driveway. Have your family stand watches at the podium, rotating at 4 hour intervals. This is best done when the weather is worst. January is a good time.

29. When there is a thunderstorm in your area, get a wobbly rocking chair, sit in it and rock as hard as you can until you become nauseous. Make sure to have a supply of stale *******s in your shirt pocket.

30. For former engineers: bring your lawn mower into the living room, and run it all day long.

31. Make coffee using eighteen scoops of budget priced coffee grounds per pot, and allow the pot to simmer for 5 hours before drinking.

32. Have someone under the age of ten give you a haircut with sheep shears.

33. Sew the back pockets of your jeans on the front.

34. Every couple of weeks, dress up in your best clothes and go to the scummiest part of town. Find the most run down, trashiest bar, and drink beer until you are hammered. Then walk all the way home.

35. Lock yourself and your family in the house for six weeks. Tell them that at the end of the 6th week you are going to take them to Disney World for "liberty." At the end of the 6th week, inform them the trip to Disney World has been canceled because they need to get ready for an inspection, and it will be another week before they can leave the house.

[JohnnyIROC-Z]

Hahaha Sounds like a good time!

[Schultzy89GTA]

Boot camp really isn't that big of a deal. There is the physical conditioning and discipline but most of it is designed to put you in close quarters with a bunch of people that you probably wouldn't associate with under any other circumstances, cut you off from the outside world and see how you deal. Read: simulates being at sea. I think any young man would benefit from the discipline. There are fun parts of the training, firefighting (who ya gonna call), small arms and of course learning to use a gas mask for real (and the thrill of experiencing being gassed!).

Training afterward really depends on what line of work you get into. I would absolutely recommend that if you are going to go in that you pick a line of work that you are interested in or think you might want a career in and get guaranteed schooling as you go in. The only way that they take that away from you is if you fail out of your schooling. If you don't get guaranteed schooling (rating), you go to the fleet as an undesignated seaman, airman or fireman (don't think fire dept, think weapons). If you do that there are big odds that you will spend your enlistment chocking planes or chipping paint (everyone gets to chip, red lead and paint but don't think I would want to make it a career). So there are tremendous opportunities.

Are you thinking about joining in order to gain skills/career or enter and serve an entire 30 years then retire? My advice might take a little different flavor depending on what you are planning.

Another important thing to remember is that like most things in life you get out what you put into it. I saw a LOT of guys that went into the Navy, bitched about it for 3-5 years, and walked away with precious little to show for the sacrifice (well there were the tattoos and STD's but I digress). There is tremendous opportunity for anyone who applies themselves. The responsibility and leadership opportunities in the military for a young person is probably unparalleled in the civilian community. There is also a lot of world class training available and more becomes available as you demonstrate initiative and drive.

I don't want to leave out the aspect of service to your country. I am not looking for political stances and don't want to start any crap. Suffice to say I am very proud to be an American and I considered it an obligation and honor to serve. As it turned out for me, I believe that it was a mutually beneficial situation.

Finally John, you have to know with all honesty that Navy life is hell on families and most do not survive the separation. Sailors go to sea. Those that don't in their enlistment are a very very small minority. This is absolutely something that you need to consider.

I served for two years in a Joint Service Command that was stationed at an Air Force Base. Promotion in the Air Force was always a bit slower for promotion (a lot of people competing for few positions) but other than that seemed to have a lot of advantages over other branches of service in terms of family life and facilities. You may want to look into that as an option if you are serious as well. May want to explore all branches to better understand pros/cons.

I have rambled here but this is something that I actually know about. If you would like to discuss any of this or my experiences hit me up on PM... I would be glad to talk with you.

I have always described my Navy career as 'The greatest experience that I would never care to repeat'

Besides my career, I was able to see things and visit places that I probably would never had the opportunity to otherwise. Australia, Africa, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Phillipines - oh - and Hawaii about 6 times!

-Schultzy

[Schultzy89GTA]

Oh, and Kelly's list above is far closer to home for a sailor than you probably think

I'm sending you a 'You're number one' hand signal now Kage

-Schultzy

[Kage87Z]

[JohnnyIROC-Z]

Well guys, My waivers all came through and I go to MEPS tommorrow to take my oath of enlistment, reserve my job, and find out when I go to boot camp! I'm a bit nervous, It's always hard to commit your life to somethign for such a long time. Six years for myself. 2 of which will be spent at the naval base in Great Lakes, IL. If my luck holds I'll ship out in the next few weeks! But probably not until beginning of the year.

[Schultzy89GTA]

Anchors away Johnny!

hehe - don't worry about the commitment... you already got married

Good luck with the schools.

-Schultzy

[JohnnyIROC-Z]

lol, this is true! A little worried about the billion vaccinations cause i hate needles hehe. But Tommorrows the big day! Will they get made if i say stuff like "ARRRRGGGHHH ME MATEY"

[Fc_Soldier]

Im in the Navy right now as a fire controlmen Im about to head out to everett very soon. I think the navy is a great place to go to get on your feet. If you have questions email me unknownfcsoldier@yahoo.com. All I say is make sure you get a job with some schooling behind it.

[JohnnyIROC-Z]

Welp I am now officially in the Navy. I ship out on november 15th. I'm gunna miss my wife and kids so so much but it will be good in the long run. I have my job AECF YOu know all about that FCsoldier. I think im gunna go ET though. But I may do FC. Not sure yet but i have time to decide.

[Fc_Soldier]

Yeah I know all about that rate I was a Et until I requested Fc. I wanted to be a Aegis Fc cause when you get out you make $$$$! I just got finished all the schooling I just graduated C school. I could tell you all the facts if you want to Ill give you my number its in your PM box. You picked the right rate and you must be smart to make it. If you want to know anything about it I have answers to anything.

[JohnnyIROC-Z]

So you're saying your like radio shack? hehe, Cool cool, I'll check my pm's. I leave exactly 2 months from now!

[Fc_Soldier]

Hey I used to work there I still got the skills

[Schultzy89GTA]

Godspeed Johnny and goodluck on the shellback initiation

[Fc_Soldier]

African or European?

[BigDaddyVu]

Remember don't ask and don't tell

[Dewey316]

[Schultzy89GTA]

[rjmcgee]