Future Female MM :(

[sfuller2010]

Im a 18 year old female that finalized my navy plans back in september!!! On april the 19 th i will be departing to great lakes to complete my training following that i will be going to tech school for the wonderful rate of MM machinsts mate! someone help me PLEASEEEEE info advise tips ANYTHING....it would be great if you are a Female machinsts mate yourself! i really need all the sources and info i can get it!

[sfuller2010]

Woooo thats nice .....idk bout being in illinois for bout 4 or 5 months...cause my tech school is in great lakes!!! but i have a friend i met at meps and she leaves april 11 and her tech school is in great lakes sooo me and her are making plans already lol!!! tell him congrats and goodluck

[yanelis]

i leave april 19th as well...i didnt sign up for MM though i got OS

[sfuller2010]

really??? my friend i met at meps she is going into OS and she leaves april 11...i do believe yall tech school is in great lakes as well ??? it would be crazy if we were to end up n the same division :) but very odd i just think like that lol! congrats to ya! and good luck!

[yanelis]

yea school is in GL as well im excitted for april just not very prepared yet lol....lol i think the same way i met another girl on here who also leaves on the 19th...maybe we'll all be in the same division lol...good luck to you as well:D

[Craig]

Future MM -  Just to teach you a little, do you realize being a MM, you'll be known as a "Snipe"? 

 

What is a Snipe? 

In Medieval days up till the early 1800's there were no engines and no Snipes. Along about 1812 the Navy obtained their first paddle wheel steamer named the USS Fulton. To run the boiler and engine, men of steam were also acquired. They were not sailors but engineers from early land based steam engines.

From the beginning the sailors did not like or appreciate these landsmen and their foul smoky plants. They were treated with contempt and pretty much given the short end of the stick.

In spite of all this the steam engine prevailed. There were still two crews however. The Engineers and the Deck crew. Soon an Engineer Officer was appointed to each ship. He was the Engineer master and all the Engineers reported to him. The Deck sailors reported to the ships master. Curiously, the two masters were on equal footing and neither was over the other. The Deck Master though was in the best position. He controlled the quarters and rations. The Engineers were still at the mercy of the deck gang. By the height of the civil war, as steam was taking over and sails were disappearing the old Admirals that controlled the Navy were in a quandary what to do about the situation.

They accomplished a couple of things. First, they managed to make the senior Master a Captain. As Captain he was in overall command of the ship and the Engineering officer reported to him. Beings as how there were occasions that the Engineer master outranked the ships master something had to be done to keep the Engineer from becoming "Captain". To solve this problem they developed two separate Officer branches. Staff and Line. Only Line Officers could succeed to command. Staff Officers would always be subservient to Line Officers at sea. Staff Officers consisted of Surgeons, Supply and yes, Engineering officers. To this day that is still true. The second change was to make all engineers's Navy men, however they were also made junior to all deck sailors. A petty officer machinist was junior to a deck seaman third. All this went to make the life of the engineers even more miserable. They could now be flogged and harassed at will by the Deck crew.

Along about this time came an Engineer Officer by the name of John Snipes.  The name of the ship he first appeared is long lost, but he was a different cut from the others. He demanded sleeping accommodations, and food equal to the Deck gang. He also declared that there would be no more harassment for his gang. When the ships Captain laughed at him Snipes simply had his men put out the fires in the boiler. To make a long story short, Snipes brought about the changes in the system. In time these changes extended to the entire Naval fleet. The Engineers became strictly "hands off" for the Deck gang. They became known as Snipe's men and over the years as just Snipes.

 

DC (damage control)

EN (engineman)
IC (interior communications) (not shown in picture)

MM (machinist mate)

EM (electricians mate)

MR (machinery repairman)

GSE (gas turbine tech)
GSM (gas turbine system tech)
HT (hull maintenence)

[sfuller2010]

Thanks for the history info....greatly appreciated....but Im trying to figure out is this a good thing? or a bad thing? lol!

[Barb]

Hi sfuller - my son is currently in A School at Great Lakes for MM - he is part of the Snipe group, and even though that rate was not his first choice of careers, he is loving it!  Just before he came home for holiday leave, he got his verbal orders, and after graduation in January, he is headed to a carrier out of Everett, WA. He couldn't be happier, and has said many of the same things as Angie did in her post - Snipes make the Navy go, and everyone loves the Snipes because they are able to fix the essential things - A/C, galley equipment, etc. He did say that he will always be hot, but on a carrier, there are other opportunities to get out of the dark, and into the sunshine!! They have one girl in their class right now, and apparently she can hold her own, because they all respect her - so that can be you next summer!! Good luck to you, and keep us posted on your progress - best wishes as you begin your Navy career!

[sfuller2010]

Great...i think im getting a little more comfortable with going in as a MM i just need detailed info so i will know what im getting into! Thanks!!!! and yea i know being hot is the conflict i have with the job lol!! And yeh im very independent and determined....sooo yeh i will be taking her place lol!!! but i have a question wen did he start basic and when did he grad?? and wen will he b grad from tech school?? im trying to see exactly how long i will be in illinois!!! I feel like april is soooo far away but im getting a lil anixous now cause im starting to work out and get prepared :) im getting very excited at the same time and scared!! but i will pull thru !!! :)

[Barb]

He left for RTC on August 15, his PIR was October 8, and he will graduate from A School sometime around the middle of January - so he has had 3 seasons in Northern Illinois. It was not a big deal for him, because we live in central IL. It's been nice to have him within driving distance, although he hasn't had alot of free time. It's not like we could see him every weekend, but we did get to go to PIR, and have Thanksgiving and Christmas with him. You will probably be in IL for around 5 months, as long as there are no delays in your bootcamp and A School - rough estimate - nothing is for sure. Best of luck to you - you can do it, and you have a few months to get ready! If you work hard with your recruiter, you will be prepared for bootcamp when the time comes! Happy New Year!

[sfuller2010]

OOO ok great soo im looking at Labor day weekend that i HOPEFULLY will b returning home!!! i hope soooo! does he know wher he will be stationed at after jan.?? and tell him congrats on that grad. that will be in a couple of weeks and HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!

[Barb]

Happy New Year to you as well. He is headed out to Everett, WA, where is assigned to a carrier - we actually lived in the Seattle area for many years, so he feels like he is going "home!" No details yet - he just had verbal orders when he was home for Christmas, but should be receiving his written orders this week. Where is home for you?

[sfuller2010]

home for me is virginia...um bout 4 hours from norfolk base...but i dont want to come back to virginia i want to go else where but not too far away!!! and thats good he got a good feeling about it!!! i know you all are soo excited!