Considering Options Prior to Enlisting

[Mr. Jack]

New here. Found the forum to be informative and straight forward. So, thought to ask for some advice.

22 years old, in college with 45 credits. G.P.A's a 3.6.

I'm about to enlist into the Navy. Want to do Special Warfare (S.E.A.L.S). Been pretty much focused on that. Haven't given much thought to anything else (I figured I know what I want, might as well just go for it).
Easing up on the gung-ho attitude, I did a little research. Now I'm considering different options going in and, more importantly, about life after the 6 year contract.

I want to know 1.) if I'm eligible for any program that promotes me to officer prior enlistment, 2.) how I'd go about applying, and 3.) how would being part of any of these programs affect my trying to become a S.E.A.L. BDCP seems a good way to go, but I haven't taken any serious math courses or declared a major yet.

All advice welcomed. Thanks,
-Jack

(btw - I asked my recruiter about NROTC and was told one has to complete any ROTC program before turning 23. After that, the answers and attitude presented suggested I should enlist first and then promote to officer if I wanted.)

 

[jt71582]

Deleted, bad info.

 

[AJB37]

3.) how would being part of any of these programs affect my trying to become a S.E.A.L. BDCP seems a good way to go, but I haven't taken any serious math courses or declared a major yet.

Unless something has changed from when I was looking into BDCP, you cannot become a SEAL through that program.

 

[jt71582]

Unless something has changed from when I was looking into BDCP, you cannot become a SEAL through that program.

Woops, sorry for the bad gouge then.

 

[BACONATOR]

BECOME AN OFFICER first if you want. You're already in college. Just finish up your degree and apply to be a SEAL the officer way. Talk to an OFFICER recruiter. He should be able to clear all this up for you.

Yes you can enter as an officer and go to BUDS after OCS.

 

[Nikki2184]

Take a look at the career path for enlisted vs officer SEALS. I've heard that officers are usually only in the field in their first couple of tours, where are enlisted can deploy most of their career. If you want to be in the field, you may actually prefer the enlisted route.
Also, just a suggestion, not trying to burst your bubble, but there are a lot of people who think they've got what it takes to make it through BUDS when they sign-up and then have to figure out what to do when they don't make it. Be sure that you have a second choice for a Navy career that you are willing to live with in case you don't make it through BUDS.

 

[Lobster]

(btw - I asked my recruiter about NROTC and was told one has to complete any ROTC program before turning 23. After that, the answers and attitude presented suggested I should enlist first and then promote to officer if I wanted.)

I think that's false I know a few guys I played hockey with in Juniors that are in NROTC programs at various schools and they are 23 years of age going into their junior years of college.

 

[gotta_fly]

Googled NROTC and came up with the following:

"-Not less than 17 years old by Sept. 1 of year starting college and no more than 23 on June 30 of that year

-Must not have reached 27th birthday by June 30 of year in which graduation and commissioning are anticipated"

https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/eligibility.cfm

Never trust someone who gives you an absolute answer and follows it up with "... but if you sign on this dotted line to enlist right now..." I almost fell into that trap myself.

Going through a program like NROTC will help you to network and meet SEALs who will help you train up and test to go to Coronado. A friend of mine commissioned into that program from our NROTC unit and the perspective was that if you worked hard (with guidance from SEAL mentors) and the powers that be deemed you adequately prepared to enter the program, you had a better chance of making through as an officer.

Good luck!

 

[Mr. Jack]

'Gotta_fly,' I googled those exact prerequisites myself last night. Made me raise an eyebrow. I'm in the process of contacting an officer recruiter now and evaluating different options. I have some time. Gonna use it wisely.

Thanks again to all

 

[Spekkio]

New here. Found the forum to be informative and straight forward. So, thought to ask for some advice.

22 years old, in college with 45 credits. G.P.A's a 3.6.

I'm about to enlist into the Navy. Want to do Special Warfare (S.E.A.L.S). Been pretty much focused on that. Haven't given much thought to anything else (I figured I know what I want, might as well just go for it).
Easing up on the gung-ho attitude, I did a little research. Now I'm considering different options going in and, more importantly, about life after the 6 year contract.

I want to know 1.) if I'm eligible for any program that promotes me to officer prior enlistment, 2.) how I'd go about applying, and 3.) how would being part of any of these programs affect my trying to become a S.E.A.L. BDCP seems a good way to go, but I haven't taken any serious math courses or declared a major yet.

All advice welcomed. Thanks,
-Jack

The first decision you need to make, imo, is whether or not you want to be an officer or enlist. Most SEAL recruiters will encourage you to enlist for various reasons. They'll tell you that you have a better chance to make it through BUD/S, that you'll qualify for a bunch of different bonuses, and that you can apply to become an officer later on if you want to.

All of that is true, to a degree -- officers do not get a second shot at BUD/s if they roll out, whereas enlisted guys do after a minimum timeframe has passed (2 years, IIRC). The thing is, let's say that you fail on both ends of the spectrum -- the Navy still owns you, so what would you rather be doing in that case? Have you discussed with your recruiter what would happen if you enlist and attrite from BUD/s? Let's say you pass in both cases -- what role do you want to be playing in the SEAL community? Really, enlisting only helps in this regard if you're planning on attriting the first time and then retrying later on. But considering that both officers and enlisted personnel attend the same BUD/s, you might kick yourself later on if you pass BUD/s knowing that you could have done it just the same as an officer -- if that's what you want to be doing.

You'll get a ton of bonuses as a newly enlisted SEAL, but you'll also pull in about 1/2 the base pay of an officer with a similar amount of time in service.

You can apply for an officer slot down the line, but if you want to be an officer now, and you are qualified, why not apply and see what happens?

The downside is that SEAL officer slots are EXTREMELY competitive. You need to have an exceptional GPA and be able to max the PST, although the Navy is taking more officers now than before. The way to look into this further is to seek an officer recruiter in your area and discuss your future goals.

This is all just food for thought.

 

[gotta_fly]

You need to have an exceptional GPA...

I agree with everything Spekkio said, with the exception of the GPA thing. My friend's GPA was not the worst in our commissioning class, but it certainly wasn't the best either. GPA is less important for a SEAL package than, say, a nuke package. Of course, the higher the better.

 

[Spekkio]

The SEAL designator in our OCS class was a genious who graduated HS at 16 and obtained his BS in Mathematics by 19. It took him until 21 to be accepted into OCS.

 

[gotta_fly]

Okay fair enough, caveat to my last post is that I can only speak for the one person I've seen, which was through ROTC. Anything outside that is purely speculation. Regardless, interested parties should try to max scores in all categories.

 

[Spekkio]

Okay fair enough, caveat to my last post is that I can only speak for the one person I've seen, which was through ROTC.

Me too, but considering that they only take about a dozen SEAL officers a year through OCS, and you can start to see how competitive it is.

 

[BACONATOR]

it's all supply and demand.

Supply is small, demand is HUGE. Obviously competition drives up the requirements. Do you have to be a genius to be a SEAL? Not necessarily, but they take the best of the best, so you probably won't be getting in with average academic records...