Dad of son about to join.

[CRF230dad]

Hi,

My 19 yr. old son wants to join the navy. One minute he was getting ready to transfer as a junior at CSLA and the next he wants to joint he Navy. He has 63 college units so far so he would go in as E-3. He wants to get into law enforcement when he gets out but is now looking at Naval intelligence to give him more opportunities when he gets out since MA is pretty limiting. He hopes to work for a federal agency after the service and thinks Intel would be better.
If he gets to MEPS and the field and or job he wants is not available I don't want him to settle or feel pressured to join. It's a big commitment after all.
He is quite smart and wants to make officer before he gets out. He is going to finish his BA degree while in. What is the best path to become an officer if he goes in as E-3? Is it possible to make officer in 6 years from E-3? I know he could finish school in NROTC and then go in delayed entry but he's all fired up and wants to sail tomorrow.
For Intelligence Specialist (IS) it's 6 years, First Sea Tour: 36 months and First Shore Tour: 36 months. How much of that first 3 years are they actually at sea and how often? Do they spend it in the same base or rotate?
The last question applies the shore tour also. He is taking his ASVEB in 3 days and goes to MEPS on June 30th. This is happening so fast I want my son to put on the brakes. I've been reading like a mad man trying to get as much info as possible so he makes the best decision. Don't get me wrong I am a flag waving patriot who just wants his son to use his full potential. I just don't want him to follow his recruiter blindly and have all the facts first.
I would really appreciate any and all the input I can get.
Thank you!

[KYmom]

Welcome, and have your son joins us on the forum also.

Yes, he needs to go in with a contract of what he wants only. If what he wants is not available he needs to wait till it is. 4-6 years is a long time to be in something that won't help your future.
I strongly encourage all future military to make sure you sign up for something that will help you after the military, and not take whatever you can get.
The sea time will vary depending upon what he is assigned to. Someone should be along shortly that can answer those questions. We have a couple sailors on here that are in that area.

[DK3]

As far as officer programs, you have the Seaman to Admiral Program. https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/

I served with a few IS's on the Caron. When on sea duty, you go with the operational/training schedule for the ship. This is a sea going Navy which means, he will see plenty of open seas when assigned to a ship, in other words, haze gray and underway.

When the ship deploys, in general that will be for a minimum of 6 months. When the ship is back at homeport the ship will get underway for periods of day's to weeks at a time, again depending upon the operational and training schedules.

As KYmom pointed out, advise him to NOT sign any contract for a job that he is not interested.

Welcome to the site, ask whatever questions you may have, we will try to answer them. Will your son be the first in your family to serve in the military?

[Seth]

In what way is MA limiting? you mean limited getting into it? or limited opportunities when out of the Navy?

[sketch]

Sounds to me like you are doing a damned good job of keeping informed. You are doing a lot more than most parents ive met. This is good stuff. As for some of your questions...

I am still relatively new myself but I think a few things I can help with.

In regards to officer..In all truth I think he would have a much easier time becoming an officer if he has an existing degree. If i were in his position with his credits, I would finish college to get a Bachelor's, then apply to OCS. Granted that can be hard due to finances and such. The navy is a great way to finish college, but its going to take awhile. He is going to be very very busy with A school, OPS, and any other classes needed for his rate. Not to mention after hes done with that they will immediately send him to his next command (likely sea tour).

He can take some classes while on a boat, but not all. It depends on what proffessors/courses are taken in with the fleet for that deployment.
However if he does decide to enlist before graduation, He will recieve a lot of benifits. Great healthcare, great dental, housing, food and a steady paycheck.

Joining at E3 would be outstanding. Its a lot of money for a starting job.

When it comes to getting his rate, he has to be patient. Joining the Navy is a pain in the ass sometimes. They rush you and rush you and rush you and then suddenly you are stuck waiting for 6 months because there is nothing available for your expertise level (they will not offer low asvap scoring rates to people with higher scores and vice versa.) As such when a rate DOES open up, it can be hard not to just say "yes lets go!" even if its not what you want.

He will have to stay patient and level headed. I for one got extremely lucky landing STG. It was number 3 on my list of rates (IT, Air Traffic Controller being 1 and 2. AO being 4.)

If he does get in, do everything you can to make sure he understands the significance of his choice. Once your in the government owns you. You have a new set of laws to obide by, you are representing your nation at all times.

Let him know, that while it seems like (and some will say it is like..) the Navy tells you what to eat, when to sleep, what to wear, how to act, etc....Its more like a guiding force making you a better person. If you are squared away, they will never bother you. If you are a Shipwreck they will always bein on your case. All you have to do is be squared away. Look nice, act proud, stand tall, be respectful and polite and dont quit.

When you really boil all the regulations down to what they really mean, the above is what you see.

All in all its a great idea to enlist. Just be smart about it. Make sure he works out and stays positive. Being positive and motivated helps a great deal in the whole process (from MEPS through DEP through Boot camp.) And once hes in, make sure he understands its a job, a career. When they say jump, he jumps (and asks how high.) Dont buck the system because theres no need and you would only make things worse by doing so.

[sketch]

Man i was so confused as to why i didnt see my gigantor post to this thread. Then i realised ther are two of them lol

[Kristie]

Welcome....I took the liberty of merging the 2 posts so that there was not any confusion....

As KYmom said...have him join us. There is a lot of wisdom here on the board! I think all of us would agree that he NOT settle for any job other than what he wants. That is the advise we gave both of ours when they went to MEPS.

[CRF230dad]

He was thinking MA because of more exposure to law enforcement stuff (weapons training, tactics etc.) but I thought intelligence because it gives him more opportunity to to go further (detective, US Marshall, Homeland Security) when he get out. I know he wants to chase down bad guys now but I told him when he's my age he will not want to be jumping out of a patrol car and running down a dark alley and scaling a chain link fence after some 14 yr. old punk. I want him to think long term and use his brain more than his back, it will hold out much longer.

[DK3]

Seth is an MA, he will be able to fill you in on what kind of training he could possibly receive and the possible opportunities.

He has told other folks that MA's aren't cop's per se, more force protection than law enforcement. If I'm in left field, he will correct me when he check in later.

[Seth]

He was thinking MA because of more exposure to law enforcement stuff (weapons training, tactics etc.) but I thought intelligence because it gives him more opportunity to to go further (detective, US Marshall, Homeland Security) when he get out. I know he wants to chase down bad guys now but I told him when he's my age he will not want to be jumping out of a patrol car and running down a dark alley and scaling a chain link fence after some 14 yr. old punk. I want him to think long term and use his brain more than his back, it will hold out much longer.

Intel will not make his experience anymore appealing than it would be if he was to be an MA, if anything it will be less.

You cant just jump into any of those positions. in order to be a detective you have to serve on the police force than pass an exam. in order to be a US marshall you need a degree and have to pass there training program. Military police experience will be more lucrative than intel.

With that being said, it all depends how he works, he can work at CID for his command, he can work in the brig, he can do almost any type of law enforcement as long as he has the will and the work ethic.


and with THAT being said lol, MA is about 60/40 to force protection and law enforcement. Force protection is basically guarding high value assets. he will be a swat type training, he will get to do investigations and case's. There are tons of options for C schools and things like that.

IMO it would not be a good idea to go to a whole separate field just because of 1 good aspect when really it might not be the aspect you thought it was.