heero,
No offense to my fellow board members, enlisted, civilian, commissioned, whatever...but while a commission is the goal of many, it's not necessarily the best fit for all who want to serve in the military.
Almost every reservist I've met in both the Intel. and Seabee communities in the past 5 years has had a degree and there were numerous enlisted persons I knew when I was on active duty that had their degrees. Some of these people do want a commission, others desire to stay enlisted and become a member of the Chief Community.
Some want the hands on experience that being enlisted provides since officers frequently work as the Navy's managers. Of course there are exceptions to this, but it's the enlisted who get the majority of the work done.
I think that enlisted experience is invaluable regardless of your education. There are many people with degrees who enlist, be it for the hands-on experience, loan repayment and/or Navy College Fund (to use for grad. school). Some of those w/ degrees do apply to OCS and others are perfectly content as an enlisted person.
I'm not dissing getting a commission (particularly since I've applied for one myself!) but there are vast differences, both positive and negative b/w the communities and it's all about what the best fit is for a particular person.
Just my .02
IS2(SCW)
http://www.geocities.com/califchick1175/USN/navy.html
