Going Navy Without...

[Anthy]

So im 22 yr old female and i just got confirmation that ive been accepted into the navy and i pick my rating& boot camp date next monday. Im very excited!!! Especially after going back and forth to MEPS for the past 3 months. I had origonally planned to join after i got my BA, but taking care of myself 100% solo and going to school has lead to a trend of unstable places to live and earning my degree at a very, very slow pace (not enough hours in the day since i work full time). So i figured i only had things to gain by just joining now and have a better chance to get where i want in life in a certain amount of time.

However, i want to be completly sure ive thought everything over in terms of preparing for communication with my family (e.g boot camp, a-school).

 This is especially a concern given the fact that I have been estranged from my parents since Nov 09 (reconsolation is most likely not an option, they are less supportive of me finishing school,more supportive of me working to help them pay their debts/support their lifestyle. and im not allowed to see my younger siblings unless i do).

Im expecting my grandparents and aunts/uncles to be supportive, and i plan to announce once i have a boot camp date set. but i want to make sure im not overlooking any reasons in which it would be beneficial to approach anything differently. i just want to be able to plan effectively so i can keep in touch with the family i do have while i make this big step.

I would love to hear your thoughts =) thanks

[Anthy]

ohhh okay thats what i assumed, that if i just wanted to do the minimum (if, lol :) i would just be on sea the whole time. kinda sucks that the rating i pick would automatically extend my enlistment all together though, but i guess thats just the name of the game.

[Jess's Mom (Fire Controlman GL)]

My daughter joined in January because she hated community college. She left for boot camp in March, graduated in May, and is in ATT school now. She chose the rate of Fire Controlman which requires 33 weeks of A school and then directly to 24 weeks of C school. The C school for her rate will give her enough college credits for her AA. During boot camp, her entire Division (all 90 of them) became one big family. Since graduation, most of her division has moved on to different bases for A school, but most of them stay in contact through face book and text messagings. My daughter says now that she has two families, the one at home and her navy family. She is almost positive that she is going to be a lifer. She absolutely loves being a proud Sailor.

My advice to you is if you want to have a great career, meet knew people, and become a family member of the Navy, then I would definately join. I will be honest, boot camp is tough with not a lot of communication with the outside world except letters from home. Now that she is done boot camp, we talk on a daily basis or text everyday. Now she did have a couple of friends in boot camp who didn't have much family, so I sent funny questionnaires to her friends who didn't get much mail. They all sent them back to me and I continued to write to them throughout bootcamp. When she graduated, I told my daughter to invite any friends who did not have family coming to join us for the weekend. Fortunately, they all had family there. The Navy is a very serious committment that you have to be 100% positive that it is the life you want (at least for 4 years).

Best of luck in your decision!!!

[Anthy]

wow, thanks for your reply. reading it made me realize that (again, because i tend to do this) im not thinking/ focusing on what i have to gain from the experience.
ive always had an interest in the joining the military when i was younger, and eventually had planned on joining after college. ive always wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself, where i would count towards a common goal. ive held a job ever since 10th grade and im already tired of working jobs where there is no room for growth or my voice doesnt count because the boss pickes favorites,etc.
i know i may encounter similar people in the navy that may do such things, but the whole family thing is what seems to be the difference. and the fact that advancement is based on abilities. which seems to be what boot camp is essentially, that no one is above anyone else because its a team unit.

[Jess's Mom (Fire Controlman GL)]

I hope that this is helping you in deciding the direction in your life. Best of luck again in choosing. In my opinion, you should do it. You will either love it or not, and if not, it is only 4 years of your life.

[Anthy]

thank you for the well wishes. im really balancing out my decision since swear in day is Tuesday.
thats the way ive been looking at it, that its only 4 years, so im mentally preparing that (if i do sign up) if i hate it, i will make sure i focus on finish my degree so i get that (along with all the work experience) at the very least. im seeing that it will be very tough to do, but not as tough as it is for me now as a civilian which comes with so many other obstacles.

[Anthy]

thank you for that link, i will be sure to check it out.
and that puts things in perspective for me. i will still try since i do have 2 years under my belt so far, but even if i dont, with all the navy has to offer (experience, steady income, tech skill, travel, discipline) i feel i will surely be ahead and more well-rounded in many other ways aside from that degree. so even if i do have to finish up after my initial enlistement (or keep going for another enlistment), i will still have come a longer way than what im limited to here, without any support, as a civilian.

[Pat (MP)]

Some rates have 5 and 6 year enlistments due to enlistment bonuses. Some rates sea rotation is shorter than others. My daughter has a 5 yr enlistment, she is an IT and her first shore rotation is for 3 years then she'll have 3 years of sea duty. A sea rotation doesn't mean that you would be out to sea for the entire 3 years. DEpending on the ship you were attached to you could be deployed anywhere from 1 to 3 times, for anywere from 4 to 6 months, in those 3 years. Another thing, when you see those 3yr shore and 3 year sea rotations, they could be because someone re-enlisted which in this economy is happening more frequently.

[Anthy]

thanks to everyone for their advice =)
just an update: i feel very satisfied with my rating i chose at MEPS. i chose the logistics rating (LS) as a FTS, which before i didnt know too much about FTS. i leave in february!! im pretty excited. now for step two, DEP quals and prep for boot camp. i will be taking a class in the fall so i will have enough credits to go up as an E2