Undesignated...What's Up With That?

Thanks so much!  "The Box" came today, so it was a hard afternoon!  Still waiting for the Address to come!!!  He is going in as "Undesignated Air Crew". Would love to hear stories from any one in the same boat! 

I decided that I would also add that I never thought this would be me.  I never saw myself as a Navy Mom .... didn't think I could do it ... no, not at all.  When I dropped my son off at the recruiting office to leave for MEPS and the plane to boot camp .... I wailed, wept, screamed, cried, sobbed in the parking lot .... for a very long time (he had no idea).  I hated the Navy for taking my son.  I didn't believe in every cause that we became a part of militarily. I was hugely afraid that 'they' would change the young man I had raised ... that they would bruise or take away the self-esteem I had worked so very hard to build in him .... that he would no longer be the same.

Leading up to that day .... and every day since .... I knew, though, deep within me .... that I had to give him the dignity of his own experience in his life, in his choice .... in the commitment he made to his country .....and that he would still have my love every single day going forward.  And no, he isn't the same .... he is better.

So I share what I shared because I've worked to overcome my own fears, my own distrust ....... and have seen over these months that the Navy has now become my son's second family ..... not the first, not the closest perhaps ..... but an important piece of family to him now.  This new 'family' will respect and value the boy who walked through their door last summer and who is the man serving on their / our ship now.

I wanted to share this more vulnerable side with you .... in case I sounded a bit like a pro-military-no-matter-what-blind-faith kind of person.  That is not the story.  It is even better.

Two or three years is not unusual to make E-4 for those who take the long route, starting with E-1 and making their way up through the system via TIR. And considering that many (most?) who take the E-4 exam don't get advanced (PNA) the first time, two years isn't bad.

That's the route my brother-in-law took, he made E-8 and retired after 22  years. He was one of the youngest chiefs in the Navy at one point. So your son is doing okay.

Tropkia, I'm going to assume that your sailor went into bootcamp undesignated, that is what my daughter did almost 4 years ago. She had no wait at all. I believe she stared pretty much right away. But like i said that was a while ago.  I know with all the overmanning there is a hold sometimes for some schools and classes.

I really don't think your sailor will find out either till he gets closer to his PIR time.

But I will tell you that he will get a leave right after he is finished with the class.

Sorry couldn't be of much help . Someone may still come along with a better answer.

Thanks so much Julie and Crackerjack...good to hear, crackerjack...even though it was 4 yrs ago, hopefully the same will hold true...who knows, though!! 

I know some ratings do have lots of waits and holds due to so many people wanting to be in them, and this does back up the classes.  I was thinking this probably wouldn't be a prob with the undesig route, but you can never know!  Thanks again for your help!

Thats funny Julie, gotta love it though.

Hope all is going well for Cory.

I got some bad news this morning. I will be leaving you, I am no longer a Navy Mom. Chris is going to be separated from the Navy.

He will fly to Washington State next week for discharge processing. He was told he will get a general discharge under honorable conditions. We're hoping they really take their time, because May 16 is his 18-month date, after which he can get his (partial) GI Bill and veteran's rights. If he is discharged before that, he gets nothing.

What happened? Basically he was under some serious stress during mess cranking. One day while working in deep sink (heavy duty pots and pans) he was being verbally harassed by another sailor, and after repeated requests for that sailor to stop, he physically attacked the guy, and landed at least one punch. That's really not his style (he's never hit anyone in his life), so it must have been some pretty extreme circumstances.

He's embarrassed, and more worried about our reaction than anything else. My husband told him that while he should have chosen another route to deal with the harassing shipmate, all he really did was defend himself, and there is no shame in that.

Now it's a matter of wait and see.

Hi everyone!  I am new here--found you all by accident--actually was wondering if they had a group for undes sailors, so I searched by undes and found you.  I guess that's not really an accident, is it? 

My son had to go undes after dropping from PreBuds.  He is telling me he now has 2 years to be undes before he can even look for anything else.  Is that true?  It seems like whenever he has had to pick a job there is never anything available.  He is pretty discouraged and wishes he had just gone to school and gotten a job.

Arwen - I'm very sorry to hear that Chris' Navy career has come to an end.  I hope there are great things in store for him going forward.

Semaggie - that's the situation my son found himself in.  When he was sent undes to the Seabees he had less than 2 years left on his 4 yr commitment (long story).  He recently told me he's not likely to get to strike for a rate as a result, and thus won't be eligible to re-enlist either so he's assuming he'll be discharged next Jan. 

The good part is that working with ACB-1 has taught him that he really does love the actual boat part of the Navy (he's been operating tugs and barges and building floating jetties for amphibious activity) and plans to use the GI bill to go to maritime school or carve out a career at sea in some fashion. 

I can honestly say that all the drama and stress and frustration have truly made an adult out of him in the past couple of years. None of the Gen Y stereotypes about entitlement we read about these days apply to him any longer (and I have to admit that some did before all this).  I know it's hard to see any up side now but I sure hope you will later on.

Angie, thank you for replying! His orders were typed and given to him, so they werent verbal. Somewhere, either on the orders or just was told, the term "soft' orders. I am going to make myself get use to this Hurry up and wait business if it kills me! He text me last night and said that everyone was just called that was headed to P'cola, everyone but him and one other sailor.

Oh yes Angie many thoughts coming your way.....but you will also have lots of fun....I hope.

Welcome to all the new members!

My daughter went in the Navy Undes, If nothing else your sailors as well as us will learn patients.  It can be frustrating at times for them, but it will happen. It took my daughter two years to become rated, she has been in almost 4 and is ready to reenlist. 

Hello to Everyone,

My son was dropped from RSS and is now in SD, as undes airman. He  is having a hard time getting any information. He would like to try for corpsman but does not know to what he needs to do next and is having a hard time getting in to see the right people , they are very busy.  He arrived in SD in late February.

Thanks Angie, I did send the information you have on how to get a rate.

With that said he loves SD and LA, so much to do and see.

Kathy

My son is a similar situation!  Seems like the Navy would work more with the Undes sailors.  Instead it seems like they make them wait for 18 months before they can strike.  No wonder they get depressed and disillusioned in the military... I'm frustrated for my son and all the other sailors in the same situation.

It is disturbing to read what happens to these guys--I just hope my son doesn't end up as a janitor/paint chipper for 2 years.  How are they supposed to get ahead if all they are being assigned are menial tasks?  He understands everyone has to do these jobs, he has no problem with that--I too, am concerned for his future...