Summer Training

[navy_or_bust]

I am hoping to be picked up by BDCP and was wondering if there are summer training opportunities? I don't know too much about the Navy's training programs, but in the Army they have schools like airborne and air assault which, for the most part, are open to everyone. Would it be possible to attend some type of intro dive school or something similar? The only major problem I would see is since I wouldn't have been to basic I would probably lack the proper Naval bearing. I will have 2 summers before I would attend OCS so if I could goto basic this summer and get some slots at various schools the following summer that would still be pretty cool.

 

[Gatordev]

I am hoping to be picked up by BDCP and was wondering if there are summer training opportunities? I don't know too much about the Navy's training programs, but in the Army they have schools like airborne and air assault which, for the most part, are open to everyone. Would it be possible to attend some type of intro dive school or something similar? The only major problem I would see is since I wouldn't have been to basic I would probably lack the proper Naval bearing. I will have 2 summers before I would attend OCS so if I could goto basic this summer and get some slots at various schools the following summer that would still be pretty cool.

In a word, no. Someone has to pay for you to go to the training and that's not in the program's budget that you're a part of. If you're looking for summer cruises (what the Navy calls the summer training), go for NROTC.

 

[WishICouldFly]

It's funny how much this question comes up. I'm glad to see other BDCPers motivated to learn about the Navy before going to OCS...it'd be good to have you guys alongside as we train. As long as we go in knowing that we don't know anything and are ready to learn, I think we'll be fine.

I wish we could go to basic or something beforehand, too, just to get a feel of what enlisted guys go through. I'd feel like it's only fair to know a little bit of the men and women that I'll be potentially leading.

Some people have mentioned talking to local NROTC units and seeing if they'll take you on summer cruises (are they kind of like internships or job-shadowing?) on an individual basis. Haven't heard of it happening, though.

 

[milky-f18]

Everybody's budgets are very tight these days. I cannot imagine that you will be able to 'tag along' on much of anything. The only thing that I have actually seen done is to go on your own to a unit somewhere and just ask to hang out. What do I mean by that? Well, I have seen guys come to the RAG as MIDN even when they weren't tagged to come here as their summer cruise. They just come and hang out and try to glean knowledge from us salty IPs. I'm sure that you could probably talk to the CO of about any organization (ship, squadron, sub, etc) and ask if you could do something similar. You just have to have the appropriate clearance to hang out wherever you are trying to hang out.

I am not that familiar with BDCP, so I don't know if you already have a Secret clearance or not, but that usually is enough to at least get you in the door for most organizations. The other bummer about going to somewhere like a ship, sub, or squadron is that you probably don't have the appropriate training to do anything really fun like going up in the air or actually pulling out of port. But, if you want to hang out and see how a squadron/ship works, you could hang out when they are not deployed and learn a bunch.

Sorry to be so ignorant about BDCP, but do you already have uniforms and all that jazz?

 

[WishICouldFly]

Sorry to be so ignorant about BDCP, but do you already have uniforms and all that jazz?

No, we do not get uniforms, but we do get ID cards and are considered active duty enlisted until finished OCS.

 

[navy_or_bust]

I don't think you get any uniforms until OCS but I am not sure. I guess my though was they are already paying me a salary and if I can still Graduate when I say I will and have free time then it would also be beneficial for the Navy to train me. I guess I forgot about the schools costs to train a student. As, for summer cruises I don't know too much about them but don't think that is exactly what I want. I was thinking more hands on technical training giving me specific knowledge. I keep meaning to ask my recruiter and I will when I get the chance, but I was just seeing if anyone had any knowledge already.

 

[WishICouldFly]

In the Army they have schools like airborne and air assault which, for the most part, are open to everyone.

I don't know if the Navy has schools like these, but I know that for the Army, you can't just go to Airborne or Air Assault. I know of students that have gone, but they were all in the Guard or contracted in Army ROTC...

 

[xmid]

If you want that stuff go NROTC or academy. They get plenty of summer "opportunities"... Including Army air assault and airborne school... Most BDCP'ers I know consider the fact that they don't have any summer responsibilities a plus...

 

[Gatordev]

As, for summer cruises I don't know too much about them but don't think that is exactly what I want. I was thinking more hands on technical training giving me specific knowledge. I keep meaning to ask my recruiter and I will when I get the chance, but I was just seeing if anyone had any knowledge already.

That's basically what a summer cruise is. There's only so much they can teach in a short time to a person that has no real formal training in the area, but there's plenty of guys who've started a PQS and started getting training, be it on the bridge or in a small boat. The problem, once again, is getting you there and paying you to be there. They can't just tell you to show up in Norfolk. Someone has to pay for your travel. There just isn't really a system in place to do that for you guys, on top of which, no one really details you, so no orders can be cut.

As someone else said, you could still show up at a shore based command (like a squadron) and coordinate, but it's going to be a fairly limited experience since you don't have quals to go fly and you don't really know how any of the admin stuff works (and that's all you can really do is paperwork of one kind or another).

Good on you for being proactive, but what you're looking for is pretty much only available to Midshipmen.

 

[wink]

We had a fired up LT Off Recruiter at the NRD I supported that generated great training for our OCS and BDCP kids. He got qualed as a range master at the local AF base and took the guys out and got them qualed on M-16s and 9mms. He acquired a handful of M-1s and taught the rifle manual. He even took a bunch to San Diego and ran them through the wet trainer, ship bridge simulator, got underway on a PC, toured an EOD unit, ran the O course at BUDs, toured a DDG, and I went along to get them a tour of VS-41 and fly the sim. He did all this on a dime. Depending on how convenient military facilities are and how motivated your recruiter is these sort of things can be set up at little cost to the NRD. It just takes a bit of work on the part of the recruiter, and any reservists he can press into service (helps when the reservist is an 0-5).

 

[FastMover]

The only thing that I have actually seen done is to go on your own to a unit somewhere and just ask to hang out. What do I mean by that? Well, I have seen guys come to the RAG as MIDN even when they weren't tagged to come here as their summer cruise. They just come and hang out and try to glean knowledge from us salty IPs.

What are the chances that someone with only a Pro Rec/Final Select for regular OCS could pull something like this off? NAS JAX is just up the road from me and I think it would be interesting to hang around one of the VP or HS squadrons and see what they're like.

 

[wink]

What are the chances that someone with only a Pro Rec/Final Select for regular OCS could pull something like this off? NAS JAX is just up the road from me and I think it would be interesting to hang around one of the VP or HS squadrons and see what they're like.

Very unlikely to impossible. No ID card= no access, and ultra liability in several ways.

 

[PbakerD88]

well if you wanted to do something you could always join the reserves then put your package in. you can pick a rate with a short A school, and attend basic and school over the summer. Thats what i did prior to starting my package and i have got to go on different ATs and drill one weekend a month so i am still getting paid a little by the navy while i am waiting on my package

 

[BackOrdered]

Do what I do and take NROTC classes anyway. You get to meet awesome people, the CO's war stories kick ass, you get invited to stuff and get to use the unit's equipment without being a member, etc etc. I wish I started doing it sooner.

 

[bjalongi]

This may be a farse, But.... My recruiter told me it may be possible to go to OCS in the summer while in BDCP. You just don't get your commission until after you graduate from the university. Is this false? If it was true, its a big gamble, just incase you get roled back for a dumb reason.

Anyone have the real answer?