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Wife and mother considering joining the Navy!
Hello all,
I am a 25 year old wife and mother (7 year old son) that is considering joining the Navy. My husband is a civilian and is 100% supportive and encouraging in my decision either way. I grew up in a retired Marine based household and I joined (and loved) the Air Force ROTC program in high school but I ended up becoming pregnant with my son at the very young age of 17. Since I was a young single mom I put any and all thoughts about the military on the back burner for a long time because I could not bear the thought of leaving my son at such a young age. However, now that I am married and my son is almost 8 I am starting to reconsider.
I guess what I would like to know the most is just some information on what families go through. What benefits are typically provided? Any advice or information on helping make my decision would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Claudia
Views: 746
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by navyguy on
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You will be held to the same standards as any other Sailor which will require lengthy periods away from home, as long as your husband is aware of this and can support the child solo while you are gone then you should be fine. Joining with dependents will require you to fill out a family care plan with your recruiter and. This is a plan stating how your family will be provided for in your absence and can be used against you if you ever say that you are unable to do something based on family care. Active duty will provide you with housing and insurance for your family, healthcare is 100% covered if completed at a MIlitaty Treatment Facility and tricare would apply to non military. Active duty will also cover housing costs but not the initial move of your family. When I was recruiting I would encourage those in your shoes to look at the reserve and FTS side of the house. Not to talk you out of active but it is a much better fit for family life if the long time away would be an issue. Reserves still have plenty of benefits just not the 100% you would have on active. FTS is the same benefits as active and is a full time service, just works for the reserve side of the house which would mean less time away.
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Permalink Reply by C.H.TX on
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@navyguy...Thank you for the information! I didn't think anyone was ever going to reply! I will definitely look into both the Reserves and FTS more. My husband and I both agreed that we are ok with going outside of the reserve BUT we never looked into FTS. Less time away is always a good thing especially for my kiddo but at the same time I am looking forward to the rewards and travel that active duty can provide us. I still have a lot of things to consider including the family care plan.
Thanks again!
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No worries, dealt with a lot of folks in the same situation in recruiting although I'm in Japan now. If you have any other questions let me know. The process is a little more in depth with a family but nothing crazy, just the navy making sure the family won't suffer due to the Navy requirements. It's a paycut for a lot of people in their 20's but the insurance and housing in your case would probably easily make up for that and with your ROTC you should go in advanced. 2 yes ROTC is E2 and 3 or more is E3.
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@navyguy...Thanks! I will. I didn't know my ROTC could benefit me. That's REALLY good to know!
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Permalink Reply by jaime2maggie on
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I left to the ARMY when my daughter was 2 years old, my husband was civilian and like your 100% supportive. I have never regretted making that decision. I have received so many benefits for been a veteran. I can see that you might be joining from Texas? I am a texas veteran and if im not mistaken our kids are covered under the HAZELWOOD act which mean they can go to any college or univesity for FREE. I was not in the NAVY so i am not sure how life is there, but i have a daughter that just left last week to Basic Training for the NAVY. I have 1 niece and 1 cousin and my brother that are prior NAVY and they LOVED IT!! and yes my niece and cousin were married while serving.
good luck
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Wow! Thanks for sharing! It's really nice to know that it can work well with a family. And yes, I will be joining from Texas. If that college program is relevant for all military branches coming out of Texas that would be fantastic! Which benefits did you appreciate the most for your family in the military?
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I appreciate the fact that I always had a job. I did not have to worry about getting laid off. I could always count on my steady income. I also appreciated the health benefits n the travel.
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Permalink Reply by CryptoDad on
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Go to Google and search "Navy downsizing". Sorry to say, job security is a thing of the past. CryptoGirl survived the last big round of cuts only because she was willing to cross-rate into a rating that was undermanned and that she had the ASVAB scores for. Plus she had to commit to a year in the Middle East. Times are tough all over.
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@CryptoDad...I wasn't aware that this was even an issue! I'll be researching this some more.
Thanks!
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Permalink Reply by BrownEyedMomma on
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Cryptodad, id heard of the downsizing but thought it was rare and i didnt think crypto would be an area that was affected. Do you know if that was because there were too many in that rating who specialized in a specific language or was she one of the non-language crypto ratings? Not that there are any gaurantees but i thought my cti daughter would be relatively safe from downsizing. Shes so excited about her rating that it might be a huge disappointment if that ever happens.
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@ jaime2maggie...With a family those things are always big priorities.
Thank you!
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Permalink Reply by BunkerQB on
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If you truly want to be in the Navy, I wish you best of luck. If you are going in because of the "financial" benefits, then I would recommend that you think twice because being away from your 7 year old is going to be awfully tough. I have two boys - I honestly do not believe I could have been able to take a job which required that I'd be away from them at any length of time. I commend you for trying to do something for the betterment of your family. Please investigate and see if there are career paths that might interest you w/o being away from your son & husband. What sort of work do you want to do? Many women have made it work being in the military, so it's not impossible. If you have family around, your husband and your son will probably be OK. I am thinking more how it would be for you. They are young for just a moment in time.
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