USN Break in service recommendations

[ActionJackson(IS2)]

Hello All,

I'm quickly approaching my EAOS. I've decided to go for broke and submit for STA-21 before I exit. My thought process is that not many people get picked up their first time although I feel i have a decent package. However if that does not come through I will take a break in service to finish my degree. As a prior enlisted guy does it favor me to go the NROTC route or just hit up the recruiter for OCS once I graduate? Thanks gents.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Hello All,

I'm quickly approaching my EAOS. I've decided to go for broke and submit for STA-21 before I exit. My thought process is that not many people get picked up their first time although I feel i have a decent package. However if that does not come through I will take a break in service to finish my degree. As a prior enlisted guy does it favor me to go the NROTC route or just hit up the recruiter for OCS once I graduate? Thanks gents.

Use your GI Bill to get you through college and then apply for either BDCP or the direct OCS route.

NROTC is not a bad route but being that the GI Bill covers tuition and a decent living allowance, there’s not really a need to do NROTC.

Whatever route you do, use common sense - ie don’t do drugs, get in trouble, etc.

 

[Whiskeyrice]

OCS while working to at least some degree in the field of the designator(s) you are applying for will likely be your best bet. At the very least obtaining certifications in said field prior to applying. Not sure if you have taken the OAR yet but it plays a big role in selection. Study up!

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Hello All,

I'm quickly approaching my EAOS. I've decided to go for broke and submit for STA-21 before I exit. My thought process is that not many people get picked up their first time although I feel i have a decent package. However if that does not come through I will take a break in service to finish my degree. As a prior enlisted guy does it favor me to go the NROTC route or just hit up the recruiter for OCS once I graduate? Thanks gents.

STA-21 favors nukes almost exclusively, so plan for OCS.

I don't know how long you have been in, but one piece of advice is make sure you don't let your IRR time expire, if you do then medically you will be looked at as if any issues you had a new issues, if you are inside your IRR or affiliate with the reserves any medical issues you have been diagnosed with should go much smoother.

 

[ActionJackson(IS2)]

OCS while working to at least some degree in the field of the designator(s) you are applying for will likely be your best bet. At the very least obtaining certifications in said field prior to applying. Not sure if you have taken the OAR yet but it plays a big role in selection. Study up!

What kind of certs did you have in mind? And already took ASTB. Just a matter if I decide to retest later on for a better score.

 

[ea6bflyr]

Hello All,

I'm quickly approaching my EAOS. I've decided to go for broke and submit for STA-21 before I exit. My thought process is that not many people get picked up their first time although I feel i have a decent package. However if that does not come through I will take a break in service to finish my degree. As a prior enlisted guy does it favor me to go the NROTC route or just hit up the recruiter for OCS once I graduate? Thanks gents.

A college classmate of mine walked into the NROTC his first year of University, and got picked up for a full ride scholarship, He was an AW2 when he got out. He’s now a retired Commander. He used the GI Bill his entire time he was at the University. If you decide to go the NROTC path, it’s pretty easy to pick up a scholarship and NROTC adds about 10-15 hours of extra stuff per week. You might want to look into BDCP as well.

Your choice, a little bit of pain spread out over 4 years, or 13 weeks of pain post degree.

 

[Whiskeyrice]

What kind of certs did you have in mind? And already took ASTB. Just a matter if I decide to retest later on for a better score.

Well that depends on your field. For 1820, security+ from COMPTIA is a good starting point but ultimately something like CISSP would look much better. For Intel, foreign languages are valued so having something that states you're proficient in another language helps.

What designators do you have your eyes on primarily? Looking at those job descriptions and running with that should help shine some light on what civilian certifications are offered to those attempting to do similar jobs in the civilian field, which translate nicely often enough to be worth looking into.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

OCS while working to at least some degree in the field of the designator(s) you are applying for will likely be your best bet. At the very least obtaining certifications in said field prior to applying. Not sure if you have taken the OAR yet but it plays a big role in selection. Study up!

I think OP has said in the past he's interested in aviation.

 

[Flash]

If you decide to go the NROTC path, it’s pretty easy to pick up a scholarship and NROTC adds about 10-15 hours of extra stuff per week.

That much?! I know my unit was an odd duck but I rarely spent more than an hour a week on ROTC outside of class which was at most 3-4 hours a week.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

That much?! I know my unit was an odd duck but I rarely spent more than an hour a week on ROTC outside of class which was at most 3-4 hours a week.

Did y’all ever do PT, naval science courses, drill period and maybe some community service / fundraising events?

 

[Flash]

Did y’all ever do PT, naval science courses, drill period and maybe some community service / fundraising events?

Only class and some NROTC-specific meetings once every few weeks along with once a month Saturday 'military training' sessions that were usually sitting in a classroom or on the occasional field trip. Definitely no fundraising, didn't know that was a thing. I went to a military college though where much of the stuff mentioned was already done through the school so it would have been redundant to do with the unit. We didn't even get issued Navy uniforms much less wear them, except for summer cruises, and our midshipmen 'command structure' was at best semi-formal. Being a Marine-dominated unit probably helped with much of the focus on them, we were one of the few commanded by a Marine Colonel and usually commissioned more Marines than Navy.

The 10-15 hours a week just surprises me a little, seems like a lot more than I had heard about from my more normal ROTC grads.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

The 10-15 hours a week just surprises me a little, seems like a lot more than I had heard about from my more normal ROTC grads.

Unit PT: 2-3x week (3rd PT usually for marines and FEP) = 1 hour each
Naval science class: 3 hours
NSI drill/lab: 3 hours

Other team building events (fundraising, drill team, voluntary / involuntary events): 0-5 hours

When you peel it back it’s not that bad and normally time commitments would be closer to 10 hours than 15. Aside from lab and naval science courses, the other commitments usually took part outside of normal class schedules.

 

[BarryD]

The 10-15 hours a week just surprises me a little, seems like a lot more than I had heard about from my more normal ROTC grads.

Recent ROTC grad here -- would say it was about 6-8 hours a week.

Guess the moral here for anyone is it varies from school to school, as we've had a half dozen different answers from ROTC grads/instructors.

That being said, generally in agreement with:

When you peel it back it’s not that bad and normally time commitments would be closer to 10 hours than 15. Aside from lab and naval science courses, the other commitments usually took part outside of normal class schedules.

 

[ea6bflyr]

That much?! I know my unit was an odd duck but I rarely spent more than an hour a week on ROTC outside of class which was at most 3-4 hours a week.

When I was the Freshman NROTC advisor at a large university, the 10-15 hour per week was based on weekly NROTC classes, mandatory study hall, weekly PT, weekly lab, and any addition clubs they participated in (2-3 meetings per week- Drill Team/color guard). Yes, the unit did fundraising.

As you become an upperclassman, the time requirement goes way down.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Well that depends on your field. For 1820, security+ from COMPTIA is a good starting point but ultimately something like CISSP would look much better. For Intel, foreign languages are valued so having something that states you're proficient in another language helps.

What designators do you have your eyes on primarily? Looking at those job descriptions and running with that should help shine some light on what civilian certifications are offered to those attempting to do similar jobs in the civilian field, which translate nicely often enough to be worth looking into.

FYI for officer Intel doesn't care about foreign languages, they have the CTI's to take care of that. They are more concerned about a good GPA and great degree.