STA-21

[PhatFarmer35]

Hello:

My name is Brian and I am new to this site, I've been reading some of the older posts but this is my first post.

I had a few questions about the Seamen to Admiral-21 Program, specficly the Pilot Option.

1. Would prior service people in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps be eligable for the STA-21 Program?

2. If you were accepted for the STA-21 Program with the Pilot Option, would you have guarenteed a pilot slot after you graduate college and are comissioned?

3. If only enlisted Navy sailors are eligible, how long do you need to be in the Navy to be eligable for the program?

Thank you for the help.

-Brian

 

[digger]

1. You have to be active duty and the Navy to be eligible.

2. Yes, if selected for the pilot option.

3. There is no time in service requirement. Prior service would help.

 

[PhatFarmer35]

Thanks for replying.

So if I were in the Army for 4 years, then after my enlistment in the Army is over I could enlist in the Navy and apply for the STA-21 Program right away?

Another thing I was a little bit confused about, does the STA-21 program work with Navy ROTC? Or is a completely differnt thing? Can you attend a civilian college fulltime or would you need to be taking college courses through the Navy?

Thank you again for replying.

 

[digger]

Yes you could apply right away. You must have command approval and some commands are reluctant to give there approval to a new sailor.
I believe the program does work with NROTC so you must go to a college that has a NROTC.

You can find the instructions and administrative information at this web site https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/

 

[PhatFarmer35]

If I was say in a two year enlistment with the Navy, and at the begining of that enlistment I was accepted to the STA-21 Program, would I get get out of the Navy and go to college? Or would I finish my enlistment and then go to college?

Thanks for replying.

 

[cjettaf]

If you are accepted into the program, you must obligate service for 6 years (which I just did). While you are attending college, you maintain full pay and benefits along with $10,000 for tuition, fees and books. You remain on active duty with your duty station being the NROTC unit at the university.

 

[Navy Swimmer02]

I have a question regarding the NROTC unit and the university you choose. Lets say you are accepted for the STA-21 program and you apply for admissions to the university of your choice. What happens if the university declines you for admissions, what do you do? Also, i know you get to keep recieving your base pay and housing allowance, but what about special pay? such as flight pay for enlisted aircrewmen? what other special pays do you still get to recieve?

 

[PhatFarmer35]

Cjettaf, when you say I must obligate 6 years, thats as an officer after I get comissioned right?

And so if I was in a two-year enlistment as say an aircrew member, and at the begining of the enlistment I applied and got accepted to the STA-21 Program, and I still had a year left with my Navy enlistment, would I finish that year as an aircrew member and then go to college? Or would I start college as soon as I am accepted into the program?

Thank you for replying.

 

[PhatFarmer35]

I had another questions but I didn't want to start another topic.

When applying for STA-21 Pilot Option, is there a specfic MOS that they would prefer when selecting you? Like would they prefer an MOS that would put you as an aircrew member, or a technical MOS like electronics or even intelligence?

Thank you for replying.

 

[Crowbar]

Disclaimer: I am not a STA-21 student. Hell, I'm not even in the Navy. But I'll try to answer some of your questions as good as I can.

Okay, STA-21 is for active duty sailors. STA-21 students remain on active duty throughout the program. Meaning, there is no "getting out of the Navy". Sure, you leave the fleet and go to college, but you are still in the Navy, getting paid, working towards retirement.

I don't know the specific timelines for the program, but I know it seems like every sememester we get one or two new STA-21 students who just show up here at school. Someone who is more familiar with the program can tell you roughly when the board meets, when it adjourns, and when you should expect to start college after that.

In the meantime, (I love using this line) getting into STA-21 isn't like getting a Discover card. You are not preapproved! It will probably take a minimum of a couple of years of active service in the Navy before you are eligible for it. It may take a little longer than that to become competitive for the program. I don't know about nationwide, but at our school, the new STA-21's seem to average about 5-6 years active duty. They come from all rates, corpsmen, ET's, AT's, nukes, you name it.

In case you're wondering where I get all these crazy ideas, I'm in MECEP. It's similar to STA-21, but for Marines. So I go to school with NROTC Midshipmen and Nuclear Enlisted Commissioning Program and STA-21 students. So I'm not an expert, but I do what I can. Good luck!

 

[PhatFarmer35]

Thank you for replying.

When you say you need 5-6 yeras of active duty, is that active duty in only the Navy? For example if I was in the Army for 4 years, then went into the Navy for 2 years and applied for STA-21 would I still be competative?

How much different is MECEP from STA-21? Is it like STA-21 where it could guarentee you a pilot slot in the USMC after you are comissioned?

Thank you again for replying.

 

[trvsmrtn]

https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/

That's the official link for the program. There doesn't appear to be any minimum time in service. As far as your prior Army service, just make sure you include any personal awards, letters of commendation, and any significant schooling that you received.

 

[PhatFarmer35]

Thank you for replying.

If I just went to college after high school, but enlisted in the Naval Reserve, would I be able to apply for STA-21 while in college and doing NROTC (for my first and second years of college)?

Thank you again for replying.

 

[Crowbar]

No.

Requirements:
-Be serving on active duty in the U.S. Navy or Naval Reserve including Training and Administration of the Reserves (TAR), or Selected Reserves (SELRES), and Navy Reservists on active duty except for those on active for training (ACDUTRA) to include annual training (AT) and initial active duty for training (I-ACDUTRA). Individual Program Options may have additional requirements and specific restrictions.

The reservists on active duty for training that are mentioned are reservists who are still in boot camp or their specific rate training school. (Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here.)

-Students presently enrolled in other officer accession programs are not eligible for the STA-21 Program.

NROTC is an officer accession program.

So, no.

Have you looked at any of these websites or talked to anyone yet?

 

[PhatFarmer35]

OK thank you for clearing that up.

I've been looking at a lot of the websites people have talked about on here. Right now the people on this website are the only people I've been talking to.

Thank you again for replying.