And it begins!

[kelly2315]

My son, as of March 18, 2011, enlisted in the United States Navy...He scored a 90 on his asvab and was given a choice of three jobs.....air man (which looks like rescue swimmer), nuclear and the seals...He passed on the seals, but is trying to decide between the other two....are there any words of wisdom I can pass along to him in deciding which path to take....He would like to fly jets,(im sure a lot of boys do, but I believe he can achieve this goal), so is one path better than the other one?

 

This is new territory for me, I'm nervous, scared but extremely proud....i am honored to be his mother...He will make the Navy a better Navy, this I am sure of. :)

[Anti M]

Well, in order to fly jets, he has to be an officer. He'd have to talk to the officer recruiter about options.

My nephew went nuke, it is a long and difficult program.  Very rewarding, eventually.

[BunkerQB]

My son jointed after graduating from college as a nuke officer - he went through the OCS program. He know of enlisted guys who did nuke as enlisted, then got a college degree, applied to the OCS program in Aviation - now pilots.

[kelly2315]

@bunkerqb....that kind of sounds like the path they explained to my son....recruiter comes tomorrow to break it down for me, but thanks for the info...ill print this out and see how it compares!

[BunkerQB]

We also know of an enlisted guy who did his nuke stuff, go his degree in electrical engineering, applied to OCS, was a nuke officer for a number of year and he just finished his MBA at a very very prestigious private university. He will finish his 20 years with the Navy when he is in his early 40s with fantastic job opportunities.  My son is weighing his job opportunities as a civilian vs re upping - naturally, his CO wants him to reup. We haven't encounter any one who thinks his educational background and his work experience with the Navy is anything but a great combination. The nuke track + college degree in either engineering or science related will be the best for future employment opportunities. Just my opinion. But if your son is set on SEAL - he has to do what his passion is. There was an OCS candidate with my son who was a SEAL - he is currently doing something in Afghanistan.

[ChrisAmo]

My son is a Rescue Swimmer. He could have gone to OCS but he had to be enlisted to be a RS. It's long and difficult training (almost as long and difficult as SEAL) but it's very rewarding. He just returned from a 6 month deployment aboard a carrier where he got to visit 5 different countries. Your son has an excellent ASVAB score so he'll have more job choices than many. My son wanted to do rescue so he didn't have to choose, but he knows he has the option to transfer to OCS and "mustang up." Originally he too wanted to be a Navy pilot (back in HS) but he left it too late. Cut off for pilot training is 24 and he didn't join until he was 28. Still, he's happy (right now), flying around in helicopters and jumping into the ocean.

[kelly2315]

Thanks to all of you that have given me your input and a lil bit of background....my son has decided to go the nuclear route and then on to flight school if he is accepted...he goes to basic training in December. :)

[TN Navy Mom (Stennis Nuke Mom)]

congrats kelly - join the nuke moms group.  Lots of helpful info there and the moms are super.  My son is a Nuke and will graduate Power School 6/17/11.  It's a tough program but with his ASVAB he'll do fine.  Mine was a little older (22) and had to "re-learn" how to study.  Especially since during his time in college I think his major was frat life!! 

[kelly2315]

thank you!!...i joined the group...hope it was the right one...my son never studies...he will have to re-evaluate this priorities, but im sure the Navy will help him do that....lol...congrats on ur son's pending graduation!!...

[kelly2315]

UPDATE!!....met with my son's recruiter last night....great meeting btw....my son will be going into the nuclear program and upon completing that, will apply for the flight school..(sorry, i haven't gotten all these acronyms down yet, bear with me..lol)..when all is said and done, he will have 2 or 3 degrees!....im soooo happy for him i cant tell u in words....the Navy is giving him opportunities that i could never give him....so....anyone out there know where i can get a copy of all these acronyms so i don't sound so much like a ding dong??..... :)

[NavyMatt]

I'm slightly confused. Your son is going in to the enlisted Nuke program, then apply for flight school after that? That doesn't make much sense. He will need a competitive college degree (engineering, sciences, etc) and do *extremely* well - maintain a high GPA (anything lower than a perfect 4.0 and the odds of being accepted dwindle dramatically). While working on the degree, you son must perform much higher than standards across the board in his Nuke rating and volunteer for extra duties.

I am not trying sound like a downer, but I just want to make sure you both have realistic expectations. Having grown up wanting to be a pilot (before I failed my color vision test) and knowing several Naval Aviators, I have come to understand how incredibly competitive the Naval aviation community is. They really do accept only the best of the best. To put in bluntly, military pilots are (for the most part, and I say this respectfully), nerds. They love to study, they invest their money, they're highly educated, and typically have never failed before in their lives because that just wasn't an option to them.

I get discouraged seeing so many young people wish to become military aviators without having the slightest idea of what is involved, so here I am in an attempt to set the record straight.

However things turn out, the Nuke rating is incredible. Those who are successful are set for life with unlimited opportunities. Good luck to your son!

[Angie]

FutureSailorMatt:

 

Do you even know the degree's that are earned from the NUKE program?  Do you know the path to going into the Naval aviation community from being enlsited on active duty?  There are different requirements for people who are active duty.

 

I think it is GREAT this young person has a path they wish to follow. 

 

[kelly2315]

;) thanks angie.