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I understand that there are separate boards for career milestones and promotion in grade, but it sounds like you're speaking as if they don't depend on each other when you said that vacancies aren't filled by designators/billets. I have never heard of someone selecting for the next career...

I am a bit confused by the connection between promotions to say, a sub O-4 and a pilot O-4. Are you saying that if we fail to screen the next career milestone (XO for subs, DH for aviators), then we go into a general category which selects O-4s and that a person who has done a DH tour stands a...

Derive the volume of a sphere is a popular question. As a math minor you can expect something significantly more complex than that.

Better than a commissioned officer telling the Admiral that he doesn't have a job after 6 months of being on the boat. It was cringe worthy. Just from brief interactions, it's obvious that ADM Richardson is very different than ADM Donald. Mostly in a good way. I only say mostly because I did...

The technical interviews will solely be based on problem solving. The interviewer may or may not ask you any side questions to break the ice, but they are not evaluating you on traditional interview skills. Admiral Richardson may ask a traditional interview question or two, but you most likely...

Because the U.S. doesn't live in a world full of unicorns and rainbows like college would have you believe. The U.S. has national interests abroad that conflict with other nations, and I like being able to contribute to keeping us on top. The job satisfaction of doing something that you know was...

Yes, really. While it would cost hundreds of millions to rebuild the infrastructure needed to make more F-22s, part of the risk calculus for canexing the program was that it was feesible to make more if a potential adversary ever mass produced a next-gen fighter that required the F-22's...

Yes, versions of the JSF are also going to be sold to allies. But that only underscores the apples to oranges comparison. It's not just about cost overruns -- if it were, the Navy wouldn't have nearly as many ships. It's also about mission requirements, how good the platform is at fulfilling...

I'm with you there. I had an XO run command PT once a week...why bother? You cannot get into shape and stay in shape without working out 4x+ a week, and for a nuke eng dept trying to getting through a maintenance availability while standing 3 section duty, PT becomes a low priority. On the one...

I equate failing 3 PRTs with smoking weed in Colorado. No one had to raise their right hand, but when they did they knew what the terms of their agreements with the military were and in both cases fail to live up to them. It's also no secret to a servicemember what will happen to him over the...

What part do you find uninformed? The JSF and F-22 were created to fulfill different mission requirements. The JSF is also being created for 3 different services. The F-22 is costly as far as maintenance and the JSF flies when the Lockheed Martin actually builds it right, hence my comment that...

Apples and oranges. The only similarity is that both programs built something that flies... sometimes.

The GI bill is a powerful recruiting tool, so I wouldn't think that too many reforms would come to it. I think that transferability might be axed if it is shown that its goal of being a carrot on the stick for people to obliserv up to 10 years is only working for people who planned on staying in...

No one's weeping over the F-35. At this point, cuts to the JSF program are simply not negotiable, and my bet is that cuts to the JSF won't even be in one of the 20 something analyses that Brett alluded to. The Navy is also cutting operations costs by homeporting some more units overseas and...

I think that YMMV depending on the local culture. After all, you are going to be tried in front of a jury of your peers, if it goes that far.

I think that they should tour some enlisted base housing to recalibrate themselves to the fact that not all servicemembers pull O-7+ pay and don't have mansions before they start making across the board cuts to pay and benefits. And those servicemembers deal with whatever they get because E4-E6...

Look, this is something your command is going to help everyone out with, so don't worry too much about the logistics of getting to the ship the day you leave for deployment. They will most likely find a long-term lot for you and utilize a duty van or bus to get you to the ship. If you don't like...

That is strange that they would tell you something was not covered under standard. I was under the understanding that prime/standard covered the exact same medical procedures, it's just a matter of whether or not you owe a percentage of the cost and whether or not you are obligated to maximize...

I don't know. What I do know is that the biggest driver in healthcare costs are wounded/disabled servicemembers missing appointments. When that happens, the treatment period is exponentially longer as is the period that they have to stay on a cocktail of expensive drugs, but the member does not...

What I got out of the article is that you won't enroll in Prime or Standard. The spouse will either choose to continue utilizing MTFs for free, or will utilize doctors out in town for double the out of pocket expenses with no admin circle-jerk to 'declare' which option you want to use. It...

In order to "save" $2.25 billion/year, or 0.35% of the DoD budget. Proposed changes would take effect for all military personnel in 2015 if it gets through Congress. This circle-jerking is getting old. Supposedly the DoD is making 'tough choices,' except when it comes to reconsidering bloated...

http://www.duffelblog.com/2013/12/admiral-michelle-howard-nomination/#!xLOcy

I think that the article was speaking more broadly than that, even though it used DoD contractors as an example. The Navy will gladly thrust people into higher positions and give them wiggle-room to 'figure it out.' As a new DIVO, I had no idea how ship's maintenance was supposed to work or...

Well, you get articles like this one... Can't say it applies to all companies, but the first reason given kind of tells it all: A private organization is going to be leery of hiring someone into a position that makes decisions when he/she doesn't know much about the ins and outs of the...

That thing costed like $8 when I went through a few years ago. If you have to ask...

Yea, that's kind of my point. During the 6 months of power school you'll do some undergrad-level introductory engineering courses, but at a much much faster pace than if you took them in college. But past that, the focus shifts entirely to operations and the bar for theory is set at a high...

Subs is not engineering any more than conventional SWO divo working for the cheng is. The stakes and standard of knowledge are higher because it's a nuclear reactor instead of a gas turbine engines.

This. I scratch my head wondering why mustaches are considered more 'professional' than beards.

The rank criteria is also partially to prevent award inflation for giving someone an 'attaboy.' It sometimes screws people over when they do something truly exceptional, but for the most part it serves its intention. Oh, you risked your life going inside a burning steel tube multiple times...

Not sure how long ago you went through the pipeline, but throughput issues due to aging prototypes along with fleet manning challenges has lowered the bar during nuke training. The civilian utility job market has taken notice. I personally found it challenging from the sheer volume of...

When it comes to EOT and other non-combat awards, wouldn't it be fair to say that the responsibility of, say, an O-4 is significantly higher than that of an E-4? Would it also not be fair to say that an O-4 generally needs to do more to go 'above and beyond' for an award than an E-4?

Oh stop with the sky is falling bs. You know which awards mean something and which don't, and so do selection boards. A LCDR with the standard 2-3 NAMs and 1-2 COMs and a slew of campaign ribbons is standard, but a LCDR with MSM is probably a hot-runner. I have seen senior officers get...

Well, just think about how long it takes them to pin all of those things in the proper position, and be thankful you don't have to do that for your next CoC or formal dinner event.

Really? Sorry for the bad gouge then.

Well, there are a lot of more senior officers who would have to become incapacitated for a nub JO to be conning the ship in a situation that involved ordinance. However, being an expert at the rules of the road (and target motion analysis techniques for subs), navigation procedures, ship's...

Yes, and it's about $640. If you subtract the cost of NWUs, which is about $800 for everything, plus dress shoes, the service khaki top, and now the ike jacket that he already has, it's probably in the ballpark of what his costs will be.

Oh, if you're a prior you don't get the $1850 initial clothing allowance. You already got it at boot camp.

Yes

The initial allowance is $1850, so you'll pay around $500-700 out of pocket depending on if you splurge on dress uniforms (don't). My final bill was $2100 ish, but NWUs are more expensive than wash khakis were, especially thanks to that $300 jacket and $30 surcharge to get all the nametapes/rank...

Has anyone had success starting the paperwork for transfer of benefits just prior to 6YCS? I asked the VA if you could start it a few months early so you can get it done by the time your 6th year anniversary hits and I got a 'dunno, just try it and see what happens.'

I think discussing the way different communities do things has some merit, especially when the surface/sub community have had more mishaps than they'd like lately and one of the root causes is always poorly trained watchstander(s) on watch at the wrong time. The solution is always more CO...

What Brett said is spot on. The law gives a lot of leeway in many states for what landlords and tenants can agree to in their lease. So, my advice to you is to review your lease and give your landlord a heads up about what you want to do. If he/she agrees to something that is not in the lease...

I neither brought my recruiter coffee nor ever interacted with his processor. I can also say that the military positively contributed to my personal and professional development, ie I 'benefitted from the rigors of OCS.' I truly feel sorry for DIVOs applicants if the ones she recommends highest...

They perform just fine in a fire. If you're in a situation where your NWUs are in flames, you probably weren't going to make it anyway. There are a lot of equipment items that didn't work as well as the Navy thought, such as the Bates boots melting to the deck and getting 2nd degree burns...

Oh, as for the shoes question: I brought one pair of running shoes and they lasted just fine. If you want to bring a second in case your shoes get all wet and nasty and need to dry out, you can do that. I did buy a cheap second pair from the NEX to display during RLP, despite the fact our DI...

Submariners wear coveralls underway, but the NWU is supposed to be the 'principal working uniform ashore.' That's why they're issued to everyone, even if some communities choose to wear other working uniforms in port like flight suits. Strange that you are only issued 3 sets when you are...

Asterisk to the above: It depends on the base's availability, your marital status, the number of dependants you have, and the type of orders you receive. If you are on TAD orders, they will generally stick you in a "BOQ," which is Navy speak for a hotel room. You get per diem which is supposed...

I agree that being put into stressful situations and learning to do things properly, even if it's as simple as eating, is an integral part of training, but once OCS decided to stop allowing class team members to kick over your gatorade/water or make you eat by holding your tray out for doing the...

You won't have someone forcing you to take a 10 min shower after the first week, but you generally won't have the time for lolly-gagging. When I was there, most people hopped into the shower at like 2100-2200, only because you were supposed to be asleep after 2200. This was purely a Navy OCS...

You don't really see a 'clean' bill for anything, just for the reasons you state: It is easy for one side to 'compromise' while still appearing that it gained something to placate the 'base,' even if both sides actually agree on the main issue. In this case, I don't think that most members of...