DEPS

[mom of three]

Hi,

 I am new to this site. My son is trying to enlist in the Navy but it's not been easy. He has  completed two years of college and was hoping to work in the communications area..He has been twice with recruiter to MEPS but they have nothing to offer other than cooks, or MP. Passed physical, drug test and scored an 84 on written testing.  Is this pretty common and how long might he have to wait?

 Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks

Mom of Three

[bella [mrs. ae2]]

My FH had to wait 10 months to get a decent job. And he was lucky to get in when he did. USN and all branches for that matter are crowded due to the economy. People who were enlisted before have re-enlisted just to keep a roof over their heads. People who cannot afford college or cant get jobs are enlisting. Basically the bad economy is effecting everyone, even the military. I have a friend who joined Air Force and had no choice but to take a special opps position because they were not offering anything else. Basically, he needs to wait it out if he wants a job other then a cook.
Good Luck though! Maybe your son can help find a way to fix this economy while waiting!!! :P

[2tymeNavyMom]

My daughter was supposed to orginally go in November. She went through the same thing you are discussing. She went to MEPS at least 4 times before they had a job for her. She left for bootcamp this morning. Tell your son to hang in there. In the mean time, stay or get physically fit. Learn all you can by researching web sites about the Navy bootcamp experience.

[kwelter]

Hello,

I am about an inch away from joinig myself. I know about the scarcity of jobs available right and I'm prepared to do some waiting.

I'm curious though, each time your son (and I'm sure others would be able to weigh in on this as well) went back to MEPS to look for better job openings did he have to do ALL of MEPS all over again (e.g. physical exam, eye exam, etc.) or was he able simple to walk into the Classifier's office and see what is available.

Thanks in advance and best wishes to your son,
kwelter

[mom of three]

My son only had to have an updated drug screen. He had already passed everything else. Was there for 11 hours. Some pressure to sign for positions he wasn't interested in but that's to be expected. Was told by his recruiter that perhaps he should join naval reserves and then at some point transfer to active duty. Anyone have any experience with this??
Thanks for all the advice ...really appreciate it.

[Arwen]

He should NOT try to get in through the reserves route. While *theoretically* possible for sailors to transfer from reserves to active, it simply isn't happening right now. Everyone wants to be active because of the job market, no one wants the reserves, so they're enforcing reserve status. Once in reserves, it's almost impossible to go active again.

There have been several parents here whose kids started in the reserve, and all of them have been complaining that they were told they could transfer, but their requests were denied, even when their commands tried to intervene on their behalf. These are good sailors. One of them (a corpsman, I think) was even shipped home from Iraq (or was it Afghanistan?) a few months ahead of his unit because his active-duty time was up. They wouldn't even let him finish his tour!

[KrisMatt'sMom]

Our son waited 8 months before leaving because there wasn't an opening in the field he requested. The 8 months passed quickly and I honestly feel he was better prepared to start this new chapter in his life.

[Brenda-PNM of Gabrielle]

Mom of Three-I agree with Kris. My daughter had to wait a year in DEP.
She enlisted just in time last March before everything closed down.
She is headed for Nuke program. Just went to BC on 3/9
The best part of waiting the year was her being able to be ready, more mentally than physically.
Though the time was great for nailing PT. She had time to really think things through. And read everything she
could about future job.

[Arwen]

When my son joined there was a guy there who scored a 95 on his ASVAB and was on his fifth trip to MEPS when my son went. My son got a 77 and got a job first try. It turned out the other guy had a low score on the computer portion of the test, and my son had a very high score on that section, so when a computer-related job suddenly appeared after some other DEPper dropped out for some reason, my son got it.

The guy who had the 95 got a job his next trip to MEPS and ended up shipping out before my son.

So it's a matter of luck - being there at the right time, and having the right scores for the job available. So patience is needed. Just keep trying.

Also, my son entered DEP in August, his ship-date was April 21. He requested an earlier ship date and was told he probably had no chance, but his date was moved up twice. He left in December.

[TandV]

My daughter signed up the summer before her senior year of high school (09) and used that year to join the schools ROTC where she took two ROTC classes in one year so she could enter as an E2.
She used the time to get in shape and went to her DEP and used the time to learn.
If you have to wait you might as well use your time wisely and get fit and mentally prepared, when you do get in you'll be glad you put that time to good use.
She was lucky and got the job she wanted. (Seabees) But I know of one young man that went to sign up shortly after she did and he was pretty much told they didn't have a spot for him where he wanted.
Hang in there and best of luck to you. :)

[Aim]

My son signed up for DEPs, his scheduled departure for boot camp is tentatively October. He scored a 93 on the ASVAB computer test and did well on the NUKES test. His score on that one was irrelevant as he is color blind and couldn't take NUKES or Advanced Electronics. He chose logistics. From the time his recruiter got his test scores, he and his NJROTC commander pushed him for Nukes. We all knew he was color blind, just not to what extent. He was teary eyed about his job selection, especially since they made a huge deal of it at school because he is the second highest score in 11 years (in his NJROTC unit) After talking with his commander and recruiter he is excited again. I am glad because I hated to see him disappointed

[CathieH]

My son waited for a job to open up for a month, He signed on in December and leaves for boot camp May 17th.
He is using this time to get in shape physically and mentally( memorizing lots of Navy info).He goes to DEP meetings regularly and goes out to high schools with his recruiter from time to time.
I am enjoying these last months with him and getting used to letting go. We enjoy each others company and I've noticed my son is doing alot of growing up.

[cody423]

hey CathieH what is your son going to do? im leaving bor boot camp may 17 also