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Tips for an enlisted person.

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Beefalo

Registered User
I will leaving for the Navy in June in the AECF field.(ET/FC) I will have my AA by June and hope to earn a degree in information systems and telecommunications. I noticed the Navy has a partnership with Fort Hayes State University and hope to earn it there while active duty. Based on my AA and the credits earned as an ET/FC it looks like ill have about 60-70 percent of transferable credits needed to graduate. If the Navy is really for me id like to be an officer in either SWO or NFO. If not Id be happy being a chief someday.

My question is what are some good points of advice I should take while waiting till June and when in the Navy? Study, word hard, and get good evals are obvious but is there any other specific advice out there? It would really help alot. Id like to have a good plan before I leave in June.
 

Bevo16

Registered User
pilot
Don't retire on active duty. Short timer's disease can really tear down a division, especially when a guy who used to be a top performer gets it.

Make it known to whoever is writing your last eval that you want to return to the Navy as an officer after you complete your degree. Slots in OCS are hard to come by now, it would definately help you if the last word that the Navy said on you was that "Petty Officer XXXXX would make a good officer some day if he chooses to re-enter the service after college."

On the other hand, your chances will not be good if you sand bag the last few months of active duty time and your eval reflects that.
 

fc2spyguy

loving my warm and comfy 214 blanket
pilot
Contributor
Bevo, I think you missed it. He is leaving FOR not from the Navy :D My advice is while in AECF (what I joined under 8 1/2 years ago) make sure you pick what you want to do. There really isn't that big a difference between ET's and FC's despite what we say to each other in the p-ways. We're all techs chasing trons just organized a little different. Really you hit the nail when you said study and work hard. You've got a year and a half of schooling in front of you and make that your focus. The Navy is performance oriented. If you do well in school you'll likely get what you want (not always, needs of the Navy come first).

When you get to the ship make sure you don't have that "know it all" attitude. I had a guy who checked on and a week after he was there told me he was a better tech than I was. I had 4 years of real work with the system to his week of check in on the Ship. Now, granted he may in time have become a better tech but that's just a bad way to start. Be open minded and don't get all pissed when you go to the mess decks for 3-4 months, we all did it and very few of us liked it.

If you decide that you would like to transition to Officer then you have to be a stand out performer as an Enlisted to get a program. By all means apply for STA-21 while in school. The worst that can happen is they say no, and there really isn't a better commissioning program than STA-21. If you have any questions feel free to pm me or post it on the boards, I'm always checking them out.
 

fc2spyguy

loving my warm and comfy 214 blanket
pilot
Contributor
Oh yeah, you're going to hear this one your entire stay in the military. It's all about details. I don't know how many "mishaps" have occured because people didn't pay attention to detail. You'll get this engrained in your head in boot camp. Uniform, details, pms (preventative maintenance system) details...details details details....

Just as an example. About the closest I ever came to losing a limb was becaue of one minor detail. I believe the engineers were doing their checks prior to an underway and had to verify that throttle (can't remember nautical term sorry) for the ship was communicating properly. Well the throttle was left slightly forward of the neutral position. When power was transfered to the pilot house the lee helsman (person controling said throttle on an underway detail) didn't verify that it was indeed in neutral. So power was applied and the ship went forward, with all 6 lines still under tension. I've never seen a tattle-tail (40 inches of line connected to 30 inches of line) so streched out nor heard lines sing like these. Well I was line captain of line 5 and told all my guys to back off the line (which they did in a hurry) while myself watching them went the wrong way. They went behind the 5" gun and I went behind the harpoon launcher. Luckily none of the lines parted and I was saved by God that day. The rest of the evolution went just fine but we were all a little worse on the nerves needless to say. You'll fully understand the gravity of the situation when you see those nifty little videos of parting lines in bootcamp. Not fun...
 

Beefalo

Registered User
Ok cool thanks for the quick response. Im really hoping to get FC. My recruiter is an FC and he told me out of his class only the top 5 people got to choose what they wanted and they all chose FC. Ive been studing a book called "Basic Electricity." Its real simple to understand and hope it gives me an edge in AECF core school.

I heard that A and C school for ET/FC takes almost 2 years to complete. Can you get promoted while in A,C school and do you get performance evals like people do outside of A school? ill be entering as an e-3 because of my college credits. Im hoping to make third class before I get to the fleet and second class before my 6 years is up.

Spyguy do you think there alot of jobs available for ET/FC after they do their 6? If choose to get out after my 6 Id like to apply my skills to a related civilian job. My recruiter told me he got some offers from lockheed-martin and other companies that specialize in military electronics but I dont know if he was just feeding me a line or not.

STA-21 can I apply before I ship out in June?
 

Scamahmrd

Boiler Up!
pilot
ET = "Everything Technician" - FC2, you should appriciate that.

My .02 cents would be to take advantage of the school that the Navy gives you. I ran through it as quickly as I could to get to the fleet, and because of that, didn't learn as much as I could have. It all worked out for me in the end, but I was through boot camp, A shcool and C school in 11 months. 13 months from when I joined the Navy I was an ET in the middle of the Adriatic. Also, its amazing how far keeping your uniform squared away will get you. Always look sharp and show up on time. Those two things will impress people more than you know. Good luck with everything, and PM me if you have any other questions.

-OC Scameheorn

4 days and a wake up 'till COMMISSIONING!!!
 

Beefalo

Registered User
Ok ill make sure to iron press my uniform every chance I get. On a unrelated topic how is life out at sea?
 

Scamahmrd

Boiler Up!
pilot
It can be good and bad, stressfull and relaxing, exciting and dull, etc. Really it is what you make of it. More than likely you will have your fair share of time out at sea. Personally, I couldn't wait to go to sea, and I had a blast when I got the chance. At the same time, there were things about it that I didn't like (leaving the girlfriend and basic luxeries of life.) Of course, most of my time at sea was before the USS Cole was bombed, so life was a little bit more relaxed. My advice is to use the time at sea to the best of your abilities. Knock out as much PQS as humanly possible, gain knowledge about your rate, study for advancement exams, and continue to work out (many people, including myself, got really out of shape at sea. You just have to make yourself stay on top of it). Also, try to learn about all of the other rates on the ship. That knowledge is really indespensible when your trying to get things done, and you'll also make a lot of friends who can help you out when you need it.

If you haven't noticed, I love giving advice to those who are enlisting. It was the best thing I could have ever done, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Like I said in my previous post, just work hard at everything you do, and you'll do great.

A closing quote: "Good enough... Never is!!!" ~ ADC (AW/NAC) See - RDC
 

kaiangel

Registered User
I was an ET and loved it. However, the ET promotion sucks right now. So I would pick FC if I was in your shoes. Also, it seemed like the CIWS and MK 86 guys did the best on rating exams. Then again I never worked with any SPY techs. Ships life is great as an ET or an FC. There are few, if any, enlisted jobs that I think are better on the boat. Some people have it pretty hard and you will definitely appreciate what you picked later on.
 

Scamahmrd

Boiler Up!
pilot
ET promotion has been really slow since I first took the 2nd class exam (MAR01) so it may be getting better sometime in the near future. I remember during PO indoc in A school, they showed us a chart of promotion rates. Basically it looked like a sine wave, and we were at the bottom. There's no crystal ball, but I would say choose the job that you think you would enjoy more, and promotion will follow.
 

JEEPER1219

Registered User
I am an FC1 (prior DS) and FC has been great for me. I really could not complain at all. I would not do anything differently. I would suggest that if you get a chance go Tomahawk or Q70 if you can. The re-enlistment bonuses are higher and I think that their jobs are more glorious. That is if you decide to stay enlisted. Shipboard life for me is what I live for. I have been on shore duty for 2.5 years now and am ready to go to sea. I love deployments, yes I said LOVE IT. Now I will telll you this though. Workups the time testing the ship up to the day that you leave for deployment are not very fun at all. They are a lot of small outings just far enough off the coast to see it. I am a carrier sailor and probably will do everything in my power to stay carrier. Having to ride liberty boats to all ports is a bit daunting, but out to sea is great. I am sure that the small boy guys will definitely sing a different song, but all I know is Carrier, so I am a bit bias.

As for excelling in the enlisted ranks...find a way to stick out. Take the hard jobs, volunteer for things, but not everything. Don't let them walk on you, but be easy going. I know it sounds impossible, but there has to be a balance. If I were to tell you one thing and one thing only though is...DO NOT TRY TO BUCK THE SYSTEM. Do not be that guy that tries to get out of things. You will have to do crap work in the beginning, but as soon as you make PO3 that will stop, well you may have to wait until PO2 on some platforms. As far as making E5 in 6 years, you had better as an FC. I made E6 in 6 years, so E5 is shooting a bit low. You have expressed your desire to excell and that says a lot about you. Good luck.
 

twidget

Deskaholic
Great info from everyone so far. It's no surprise that there's so much support from the ET and FC prior enlisted. You really can't go wrong with either and I think more priors get commissioned from these two than from any other rates; lots of intelligent motivated people in each.

From my experience I'd have to say ET's the way to go. Like Scamahmrd said, ETs are "Everything Techs". We work on Radar, IFF, Communications, Navigation, and everything else that comes our way. Whereas FCs are a bit more specialized. The FCs work on search and fire-control radars and their related weapons and support systems, much like Sonar Techs focus only on Sonar. This may be the way to go if you're are looking to become an expert at one system, and to be employed by a defense contractor like Lockheed if/when you get out. However, if you want a broader range of knowledge and familiarity with many types of equipment and concepts, go for ET.

Some other items to consider are advancement opportunity, sea/shore rotation, and reenlistment bonuses. The bonuses will entirely depend on what "C" schools you get. A CIWS tech probably doesn't get the same amount as a SPY-1 Tech. For a tech with no "C" schools, FCs have a slight edge in SRBs, but neither rating really gets much without a "C" school. The latest Career Reenlistment Objectives message lists both ET and FC as overmanned with below average advancement opportunity to E-5. FC has traditionally been a more sea intensive rating with less in-rate opportunity for shore duty, meaning you'd be more likely to do non-rate specific work while on shore-duty (security/brig duty, recruiting, recruit division commander, etc). FCs initial assignment to sea-duty is normally 5 years compared to 4 years for ETs. Like someone said already, sea-duty can be really good at times, but most the guys on my ship seemed to start getting burned out after about 3 years on the same ship doing the same job.

OK, I'll stop rambling now. If you've got any more questions, don't be afraid to ask. As you can see, there are plenty of prior ETs and FCs here to help.

I know you're applying for OCS is still a ways off, if you go that way, but you might want to check out this thread just to get an idea about the process: http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5895

Good Luck!
Twidget
 

Beefalo

Registered User
Ok sounds good. Sounds like ET's receive alot more work in their field and are more qualified in many different systems Im glad to hear ship life isnt so bad after all. I mean its better then sleeping in a tent cleaning the sand out of your boots. :)

How much time do you spend in your homeport and how much say do you get in going where you want? I live in WA and would love to have Naval Station Everett as my homeport.

Also is it difficult to take distance learning courses aboard a ship? How long does it usually take to earn your enlisted surface warfare pin?
 

Tuckster

MIF HUNTER
None
I got a bit of experience to throw in so here goes.

I am an FC1 CIWS/Harpoon guy currently working at SIMA Norfolk in the CIWS shop repairing guns and also flushing cooling skids for VLS, SPY, and pretty much every ship that has a skid that they want to get cleaned..I have to say that there are both fun times and some hard times that come along. I am on ships practically every other week so I get alot of fleet interaction. The life at sea really depends on the type of ship, and the chain of command. For example, the DDG's seem to always seem to be playing catch up, so they have things pretty busy, and you know if one part of the department is working every one is working. BUt on larger ships, things get done, but with so much to keep track of, you dont have as many people breathing down your neck to get them done.

I agree with Jeeper in respect to picking a NEC when it comes time. I was fortunate enough to be able to be the TOMAHAWK workcenter supervisor my last year on my ship. Thats a whole other story, but my point is that that is a high vis job, and they are pretty much the only ones left who get any kind of bonus, and my friend who was a FC3 got automatically promoted to FC2 in addition to the bonus for reenlisting at his 4 year mark.

Advqancement for both ET and FC is really tight right now. Our shop just lost 3 great techs to high year tenure( max time in the navy for a PO3 is 8 years) one of which is getting like 45000 to cross over to the Coast Guard.

I will also stop rambling, but if you have any question for me feel free to ask.
 

JEEPER1219

Registered User
As for getting to be stationed where you want, it is really a toss up. For example...when I was finishing DS "C" school we were given 7 billets. 3 were for the George Washington, 3 were for the Nimitz and 1 was for the Stennis. Well being that all 3 wee in Norfolk I was none too happy about that. I wasn't from Cali but wanted to go there something badly. Well when I expressed my concerns about going to the west coast my instructor stated that there was word that the stennis was making a world cruise at the time and would be homeported in SD. Well being that I was 1st in my class I was able to pick that billet. The #2 guy actually offered me $5k to change orders with him. So, the 2 biggest things that factor in is what is available and then your ranking in the class. I do know that the Stennis is making its way up that way very soon to be homeported.

As for time in and time out. The rotations seemed at least for me to be pretty regular. Our deployment on Stennis was bumped up 4 months due to 911, but other than that it seemed like clockwork. But I think that carriers must keep to a more regimented schedule than do smaller ships due to the shear time that it takes to get it out to sea.

Long distance courses onboard a carrier was so freakin easy it is laughable. the program is called PACE. Can't remember what it stands for, but the professors come to the ship for the entire deployment and teach classes. They are from Central Texas College. I will tell you this as well the difficulty level as compared to "real" college is significantly lowered. The professors claim that it is because of our demanding schedule. As an ACDS tech LPO, I couldn't find enough work to keep me busy enough that I couldn't get straight A's in my classes.

It should only take you about 2 months max if your ship has a good warfare program in place. Stennis offered classes every day on a different subject matter. They would also anounce when there were opportunities to get your tasks signed off. They had also changed the way the board was given so that actually made it easier. We had to have a separate board with each department subject matter expert. Getting your pin should be one of the very first things that you work on. It is mandatory now, so it shouldn't be a problem. If you go to anything with some sort of airwing, get you air pin as well. I found that this one was by far easier yet more rewarding. In general it was harder but because it was so interesting it made it fun to learn.
 
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