Richard,
First off, I have to say that it is great to see that you have set your goals early on, and are trying to develop a plan to get there. I think you will get a wide range of responses on how to make that goal a reality, especially with the varying backgrounds of many of the prior enlisted on this forum. Or heck, those currently going through the application process. (hint hint, guys, this is a good one to respond to!)
Anways, the primary thing is to perform well in your job that you currently have, and get the support of the commands you are in. Do your best at A school, score well. Get to the Fleet, and tackle as many responsibilities, and knock out those quals/pqs as quickly as you can. Don't overburden yourself, but quite frankly, you won't find it hard to excel. Many of your peers you will find are either marking time, enjoying or maybe not! what they are doing, whereas you can tackle and help to build your package. The keystone to this is of course doing well in your rate, and at the command, you won't get that STA pacakge and selection if you don't do your job, and get a good evaluation.
The simple things matter:
- show up to work on time
- iron that uniform! look sharp, and you WILL be noticed, amazing the number of ppl that their uniform only "gets ironed by a rock"
- take on responsibility, get the job done, don't shirk (hide from the chiefs or avoid the "tough job")
- be positive, if you have a can do attitude, ppl will remeber it
- tackle your quals, don't get behind on them, knock out the pqs in short order, ie be the "hot runner" at the command
These are just an initial starting point, but will definitely get you noticed above your peers. You are already talking to a career counselor, make your goals known, and set the plan to get there. Will college help, yes, it will look good on the package, but (correct me if I am wrong anyone, not up to speed on STA) I don't believe that the college IS a requirement. Where will your energies be best spent? Don't sacrifice the present for hurdles down the road.
Shore duty of sea? Well, I started off at shore duty on a staff command, it helped me, allowed me to go to college and get recommendations from officers that I normally would not have had the opportunity to get. But, I did not get a warfare pin till I got to my submarine. Warfare pins mean a lot to any board, you have "been there, done that", and shows that you took the time and motivation to get it done. Well, you kind of have to in the submarine community, is ESWS still optional? Basically, I guess your class will have orders selecetion coming up, find something you are interested in doing, talk to others (instructors, career counselor) and get their view point for your rate. Make an educated call.
Vision, if it falls off, then NFO might be the option for you. I can't answer the question accurately, I would have to look at the STA instruction, do you get picked up for a specific community off the bat, or do you go through selection at the end of college? I honestly dont know. In the end, it took me two tries to get selected through ECP, and one attempt at STA (original program). Keep trying, the board notices that also!
Whew, that is pretty much everything I can think of off the top of my head, I am sure others will have good advice to follow. Best of luck in your pursuit of that commission and getting the wings of gold. Having the plan and setting the goal is half the battle. Best of luck!
