Until boot camp. I'm looking foward to it and a new life but damn my time as a civilian is really withering away quickly. I signed up 3 months ago and it only seems like a few days ago.

Someone.. plz 2 slow time down.

kthx

10/1/2008 12:58:03 AM

10/1/2008 1:01:16 AM

negative, ghostrider.

10/1/2008 1:02:43 AM

oh, look. he even talks military already.



get ready for a lot of standing in line.

you'll stand in line, just to go stand in line.

PT will be a welcome break from monotony.



EDIT: wait... did you just drop out of ECE to enlist in the army???




[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 1:09 AM. Reason : ]

10/1/2008 1:08:00 AM

Boot camp, eh? You enlisted in the Marines? You lose.

10/1/2008 1:08:22 AM

one guessed army, one guessed marines, both are wrong.

*edit*

and one does not have to be military to quote top gun.

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 1:14 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 1:12:59 AM

Navy, or maybe Coast Guard then. Air Force and Army don't have Boot Camp.

10/1/2008 1:15:16 AM

what the fuck ever. it doesnt matter.

DID YOU DROP OUT OF ECE TO ENLIST ??



Ytejetsam -- army has boot camp, and so does airforce.

dont be a bitch about semantics. http://www.army.com calls it Basic Training/Boot Camp.



[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 1:17 AM. Reason : ]

10/1/2008 1:15:34 AM

yes

and navy. nuclear power to be exact.

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 1:16 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 1:15:56 AM

You and chembob should totally get together...

10/1/2008 1:17:44 AM

Hey, he is going nuclear, maybe they will get on a sub together. 400 men go down, 200 couples come up.

10/1/2008 1:18:33 AM

chembob is not going to be on a submarine.

I did volunteer for it though.

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 1:19 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 1:19:10 AM

you are stupid, slingblade, to drop out of ECE to go navy

i dont care what you got told about the Nuke program.

you'll be a monkey at the damn control panel. you dont learn shit. all nuke school is, is extended boot camp in that you have to keep your shoes shined, uniform pressed and hair cut to exact regulations, and you cant be 0:03 seconds late for anything, else youre going to rock out, and wind up doing corrosion control for 4 years.

i cant believe all you idiots here quitting college to enlist. what a waste. i mean, if you have to serve in the military, finish college with or without ROTC and get a commission.

jesus

10/1/2008 1:21:55 AM

Quote :

"i cant believe all you idiots here quitting college to enlist. what a waste. i mean, if you have to serve in the military, finish college with or without ROTC and get a commission. "

Truth.

10/1/2008 1:24:14 AM

Quote :

"I had to drop out. I was working 50 hours a week to pay for bills, food, etc. I'm not the type of person who can work 50 hours then go home and do engineering homework. That's one of the reasons I decided to go military - intoduce a little discipline into my life. I wish I could have finished school - I should be a senior this year, but I made too many mistakes along the way. In a way i'm glad I did what I did though. Learned a lot about life and the real world. Met a lot of great friends and had some experiences I couldn't have had any other way. I've somewhat known I was going to go into the military since I was about 15 - I just didn't know when or what the circumstances would be. I should be able to get into the naval academy pretty easily with my test scores and high school performance so i'll end up an officer i'm sure. I'm also going to try to play some football while i'm there. "

10/1/2008 1:28:17 AM

as a navy veteran who served with a LOT of nuke school rejects.... HERE IS MY GOD'S HONEST PREDICTION:

slingblade you are going to look back on your decision to drop out of college and ENLIST in the Navy, as the singlemost stupid decision you've ever made

and you will regret it for years to come.

SOLUTION:

back out now. you still can. No matter what they tell you, you don't owe them shit. they can't touch you. yet.

10/1/2008 1:28:50 AM

i'm 100% aware that I can back out until ship date.

I'm not going to. I can't afford to go back to school so i'd just be stuck in my dead end job.

10/1/2008 1:30:35 AM

Quote :

"I should be able to get into the naval academy pretty easily with my test scores and high school performance so i'll end up an officer i'm sure."

bullshit

you are the most naive motherfucker ive seen come along in quite a while.

do you know HOW MANY shavetail recruits go in thinking this exact thing?

10/1/2008 1:31:53 AM

student loans, then get degree, become an officer, profit.

or even go reserve, get the reserves to pay for your degree, become officer, profit.

10/1/2008 1:33:53 AM

You know you're quite the asshole. You know absolutely nothing about me or my background yet you make such assumptions. I don't say this often because I really don't care what happens in the intranets.. but seriously. For all you know I got a 1600 SAT and held straight a's since kindergarten. I didn't but thats neither here nor there.

*edit*

OH SNAP, THEY GIVE LOANS TO STUDENTS FOR SCHOOL? WHERE?



[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 1:34 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 1:34:11 AM

Quote :

"I can't afford to go back to school so i'd just be stuck in my dead end job"

you can't afford NOT to go back to school, for the exact reason that you will ALWAYS be stuck in a dead end job.

I'm an engineer. i work in medical device industry. do you know how many people i see trying to get technician jobs based on their military experience? military experience doesnt mean anything in high tech industries. you'll have to go to a 2year trade school after you get out to get even a basic tech job.

and then you'll be stuck there, with a very low, inflexible salary/advancement ceiling. punching a clock. getting chastised for being late. being penalized for needing to take time off during the day.

sorry, you're deluded if you think youre going to be "different" than every other flunkie who drops out and enlists.

what a mistake.

10/1/2008 1:36:08 AM

Quote :

"You know absolutely nothing about me or my background yet you make such assumptions. I don't say this often because I really don't care what happens in the intranets.. but seriously. For all you know I got a 1600 SAT and held straight a's since kindergarten."

what i know, is you're a quitter.

i didnt have anyone paying my way either. i worked stupid jobs while going through ECE.

you think you're special.

you ain't special.

you're a garden-variety dropout.

maybe 20 years in the navy is where you need to be anyhow.

get yourself a fat wife, live on base housing, drink cheap beer.

okay whatever.

anchors aweigh, sailor.

10/1/2008 1:39:11 AM

He is trying to help you out, yeah he is an ass, but you need to listen.

Once you enlist, you lose the power to decide your future. I don't care what your SAT scores were, if you had a 6.0 GPA, whatever, it doesn't matter and t won't help you.

Plan to be enlisted for the duration of your enlistment, plan on being washed out of your AIT (or whatever they call it) cause it happens a lot and they will assign you wherever they want to without you having any say at all, prepared to be shit on for the next 3 or 4 years of your life.

10/1/2008 1:40:25 AM

OK smart guy so how the fuck am I going to enroll in school next semester? Maybe I pull another student loan. I still have to work the same 50 hours a week to pay for everything, maybe more the way things are going right now. I've been trying that route for 3 years now and all it's gotten me is several thousand dollars in the hole with nothing to show for it. I'm not the type of person who can go home from a 10 hour day and do ECE homework. If you can, awesome, you're a better man than I. If you do the same thing over and over again expecting different results you're an idiot. Id rather drop out than fail out. The nuclear power school will transfer up to 80 hours in school and the navy will pay for me to finish school, either while i'm in if I have time or with the GI bill when i'm out.

Wait, why am I saying all this? I know what i'm doing. I know all about what you're saying. I'm quite well aware of what could happen and trust me i've thought a lot about my decision. Go fuck yourself for what you're trying to do.

10/1/2008 1:42:08 AM

Quote :

"You know you're quite the asshole. You know absolutely nothing about me or my background yet you make such assumptions. I don't say this often because I really don't care what happens in the intranets.. but seriously. For all you know I got a 1600 SAT and held straight a's since kindergarten. I didn't but thats neither here nor there. *edit* OH SNAP, THEY GIVE LOANS TO STUDENTS FOR SCHOOL? WHERE?"

What I'm saying is get the Navy to pay for you finish your degree and get your commission, you definitely need to explore that option, regardless of your grades (unless you're being academically suspended). That way you'll at least be an officer in your field, which is respected more in the civilian world than being enlisted. My best friend was a nuke for 6 years in the navy, got out, and THEN got his degree; and you know what? When he graduated, his employers cared more about his co-op experience and degree than they did his military background, and his employers are major government contractors. (he went into the engineering field).

I'm a vet and I definitely wish I would have gotten my degree first before going in, but my degree what I did in the military are 2 completely different things.

If you don't at least explore the possibility of getting school paid for (fuck dude, get a goddamn student loan if you have to) then you are an idiot. Especially if you're at least in your junior year, hell man, finish it up, get that degree, and then go in, but as an officer. If you think your life sucks now, wait until you're an E-nothing (even if you are an E-4) in charge of jack shit.

10/1/2008 1:48:01 AM

Quote :

"OK smart guy so how the fuck am I going to enroll in school next semester? Maybe I pull another student loan. I still have to work the same 50 hours a week to pay for everything, maybe more the way things are going right now. I've been trying that route for 3 years now and all it's gotten me is several thousand dollars in the hole with nothing to show for it. I'm not the type of person who can go home from a 10 hour day and do ECE homework. If you can, awesome, you're a better man than I. If you do the same thing over and over again expecting different results you're an idiot. Id rather drop out than fail out. The nuclear power school will transfer up to 80 hours in school and the navy will pay for me to finish school, either while i'm in if I have time or with the GI bill when i'm out. Wait, why am I saying all this? I know what i'm doing. I know all about what you're saying. I'm quite well aware of what could happen and trust me i've thought a lot about my decision. Go fuck yourself for what you're trying to do."

You're the only college student on the planet that has a hard time paying for things. Fuck yourself for not even listening to those who blazed the trail you're wanting to walk on.

10/1/2008 1:50:06 AM

I was going to call it quits with this thread because it got wayyyy off topic but you posted haha. Thanks for not trying to degrade me.

Anyway I explored that option but it wouldn't really work out in my scenario. When I first walked into the recruiter's office the only thing I was interested in was the BDCP, the navy would pay me a monthly wage while i'm in school and I don't have to do a damn thing but stay in shape while I finish my degree. That didn't work because my grades are terrible. I am currently on academic suspension.

I've been using student loans for the last 3 years. I'd be a senior by years but only a sophomore by hours and ECE is a good 5 years so I'm pretty far away from graduating. Staying in simply is not an option unless I get school paid for as well as money for car payment, housing, food, etc.

10/1/2008 1:52:41 AM

Quote :

"You're the only college student on the planet that has a hard time paying for things. Fuck yourself for not even listening to those who blazed the trail you're wanting to walk on."

No, i'm not, i'm aware. But my financial situation does not play well with the fact that I don't have the discipline to work and finish school in engineering.

My quarrell with this guy is he is making a shitload of assumptions about my life and making suggestions that are way off base. That and he's beeing an asshole about it. He is not the first veteran i've talked to. I talked to probably 20 different people in and out (mostly in) of the military before I made my decision.

10/1/2008 1:55:18 AM

youre not any different than anyone else who goes through ECE.

except maybe you can't manage your time and money very well.

navy wont solve that, you know. it just delays your ability to learn the lessons on your own, because they become your surrogate, authoritarian parents. they take care of everything and all you learn how to to is paint, shine, and salute.

but if thats what you want to do... fuck it then.

....

sigh

....

here's some hints for boot camp:

always eat the hardboiled eggs if you can. the scrambled eggs are nasty: they're made of powdered eggs and baked in huge trays.

do you play a band instrument? trumpet? drums? whatever? brush up on it before you go, then you can skip Kitchen Patrol during service week and play in the recruit marching band. you dont even have to be good. i hadn't played trumpet since 6th grade, and i made it (barely) into the "3rd Trumpet" position. much more fun than cleaning nasty pans.

use your college experience to position yourself as a "recruit nco" ... squad leader or master-at-arms are good ones. "recruit mcpo" is tough. you will pay for your company's mistakes. but if you can handle the leadership required to lead 80 stupid recruits, this is what will help you in your bid to eventually go officer.

finally: you will be surrounded by complete, utter, abject, stupidity. fully half of your company will have ASVAB scores of less than 60. we're talking grade-A morons. Do not, for one minute, think that it matters what the fuck any one of these other recruits think about you. you will not see any of them again.

10/1/2008 1:56:12 AM

Quote :

"I should be able to get into the naval academy pretty easily with my test scores and high school performance so i'll end up an officer i'm sure."

wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong

grades matter, but your military performance will be the key to getting in...you have the be the best of the best to get the academy deal from the fleet. most of those guys end up going to NAPS because they're not academically qualified to get in straight out.

if you're so smart, WHY THE FUCK DON'T YOU JUST APPLY TO THE ACADEMY? i mean jesus christ, joining the enlisted ranks thinking you're just going to suddenly appear at the academy after a couple of years is fucking retarded.

Quote :

" No, i'm not, i'm aware. But my financial situation does not play well with the fact that I don't have the discipline to work and finish school in engineering."

then you'd never make it at the academy anyway. that place is more demanding than pretty much anything else you could do in the military. 20 hour class loads, military drill, PT, mandatory athletics...there wasn't a semester that went by that I wasn't running on 3-5 hours of sleep monday through friday and spending the other 19-21 hours fully engaged and going full bore

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 2:02 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 1:59:17 AM

If i'd started college the man I am today things would be different. The first few years I made a lot of mistakes in money and time management. If I could have a clean slate i'd be good to go.

The one good thing I have going for me is service week is no more. I think they stopped doing that about 5-10 years ago.

10/1/2008 1:59:27 AM

Because I can't apply for the academy until next year anyway. I missed the application window.

10/1/2008 2:00:13 AM

.


[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 2:06 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 2:04:54 AM

dude, think about it... if you cant handle NCSU ... if you're rocking out of ECE ...

what the FUCK makes you think you even have a CHANCE IN HELL at getting into one of the Service Acadamies?

do you not understand how ridiculously SELECTIVE they are?????

i mean, holy hell, dude. if you think for a moment that you're fooling anyone here into thinking you are even remotely US Naval Acadmy material....

then you must think we're even dumber than you look.

10/1/2008 2:07:13 AM

so you think i'm dropping out because ece was tough then?

10/1/2008 2:08:33 AM

Quote :

"No, i'm not, i'm aware. But my financial situation does not play well with the fact that I don't have the discipline to work and finish school in engineering."

Its gonna be even harder to finish up engineering while in the military. I damn near went insane finishing up my degree while I was in, but then again, I had "full-time" semesters (18hrs). 3 to 4 hours sleep was a luxury at times. Don't let yourself think its gonna be easy, because it won't. It'll most likely be harder than what you're dealing with now. Time management will be the key factor, so learn it quick.

Quote :

"I was going to call it quits with this thread because it got wayyyy off topic but you posted haha. Thanks for not trying to degrade me. Anyway I explored that option but it wouldn't really work out in my scenario. When I first walked into the recruiter's office the only thing I was interested in was the BDCP, the navy would pay me a monthly wage while i'm in school and I don't have to do a damn thing but stay in shape while I finish my degree. That didn't work because my grades are terrible. I am currently on academic suspension. I've been using student loans for the last 3 years. I'd be a senior by years but only a sophomore by hours and ECE is a good 5 years so I'm pretty far away from graduating. Staying in simply is not an option unless I get school paid for as well as money for car payment, housing, food, etc."

yw, but question. I read you're working 50 hrs a week and doing school. Why not just continue working full time and go to school part-time until you finish up? At any rate, if you've explored all available options and going in enlisted is the ONLY one available, then go forth and be the best seaman you can be. (haha, I said seaman lol).

also

Quote :

"here's some hints for boot camp: always eat the hardboiled eggs if you can. the scrambled eggs are nasty: they're made of powdered eggs and baked in huge trays. do you play a band instrument? trumpet? drums? whatever? brush up on it before you go, then you can skip Kitchen Patrol during service week and play in the recruit marching band. you dont even have to be good. i hadn't played trumpet since 6th grade, and i made it (barely) into the "3rd Trumpet" position. much more fun than cleaning nasty pans. use your college experience to position yourself as a "recruit nco" ... squad leader or master-at-arms are good ones. "recruit mcpo" is tough. you will pay for your company's mistakes. but if you can handle the leadership required to lead 80 stupid recruits, this is what will help you in your bid to eventually go officer. finally: you will be surrounded by complete, utter, abject, stupidity. fully half of your company will have ASVAB scores of less than 60. we're talking grade-A morons. Do not, for one minute, think that it matters what the fuck any one of these other recruits think about you. you will not see any of them again."

according to my best friend who was an enlisted nuke, this is very good advice.

another tip, save money. as much as you can. if you can get it, do the thrift savings plan the entire time you are in, that way you have a nice wad of cash waiting on you when you get out, and won't be enticed by the re-enlistment bonus that might get thrown your way. When you hit the various ports, be thrifty about what you buy, don't catch VD from the prostitutes, and when you get out, make sure every scar or injury you got while you were in is documented on your exit physical, and make copies of all your records (personal records, dental records, and medical records), make sure they get noted as official copies and keep that shit someplace safe. If you get hurt while you're in, when you get out be sure to apply for VA disability, even if you just get a few scars or something.

Use this time and money infinitely better than you have before (you insinuated that you didn't do that earlier in life, this time do better). If you do happen to finish up your undergrad degree, start grad school as well, might as well get the navy to pay for that too. (But only go for a commission if you don't have to extend your time much).

and lastly, Fair Winds and Following Seas (and fucking DON'T QUIT).

10/1/2008 2:13:38 AM

Quote :

"so you think i'm dropping out because ece was tough then?"

essentially, yeah. i do.

i think your schtick about work and bills is just a ruse to distract from the real reason. the real reason is, you're totally undisciplined, and you cant handle what it takes to do the work.

your grades are nosediving, so you drop out before they kick you out.

im not saying you're stupid. i'd wager that -- intellectually speaking -- you can handle the classwork.

but you're rocking out of ECE nonetheless.



[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 2:16 AM. Reason : ]

10/1/2008 2:13:55 AM

You're 100% correct about the discipline, although my story about work and what not directly relates. To be honest my problems are mostly time management. That's one of the reasons I justified enlisting as an option to myself. I figure once I get that ironed out i'm fine.

I tried the full time work part time school route. I did well that semester but bank of america is going to start asking for their money in a year or two. I can only draw this out so long. Going part time I wouldn't graduate for another 10 years.


and i'm out for the night. have to be at work in 4 hours. i'll argue more later.


[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 2:21 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 2:19:28 AM

Maybe you'll get lucky and Bank of America won't exist anymore to collect the loans.

10/1/2008 2:20:42 AM

lol touché

*edit* if sovereign bank goes under i'll lose the truck payment and maybe I can finish school

[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 2:22 AM. Reason : .]

10/1/2008 2:21:22 AM

^^^ what??

you can put off student loans for fucking ever. as long as you're part time, you're in deferrment.

this is not a reasonable answer.

you're bullshitting now.

i think youre running away from your problems. you've romanticised the Navy, and are using it as an escape from this reality you've created for yourself.

sorry.

but you're in for a rude shock.

this delay tactic wont work for long.

life will come back to get you.




[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 2:25 AM. Reason : ^]

10/1/2008 2:24:36 AM

you do realize you don't just "apply" to the naval academy right? heres a hint, google "congressional nomination" (pssst, its step #4)

you have to get one of your congressional representatives (your rep or either senator) to nominate you, and trust me, when they see a 22 year old who was on academic probation at NC State, i'm not sure they're going to jump for joy at the idea of using their nomination for you over the eagle scouts and valedictorians that normally get the nom nom nom

10/1/2008 2:24:54 AM

if this

Quote :

"i think youre running away from your problems. you've romanticised the Navy, and are using it as an escape from this reality you've created for yourself."

is true,

then this

Quote :

"life will come back to get you."

will bitch slap the hell outta you.

I saw people who used the military to run from their civilian problems, and it never (not even once) worked out the way they hoped it would. In fact, in many cases, it got even worse.

If you don't manage your money and end up having creditors calling your CO's trying to get you to pay them what you owe them, then you can get into trouble for that.

10/1/2008 2:29:53 AM

one last thing ... about the Navy's Nuke Program, here is what I know:


academically speaking, its not that hard. its CERTAINLY nowhere near as academically demanding NCSU's engineering program. just applying a few basic electrical and nuclear equations. No calculus, at all.

the hard part about Nuke School, is that it's full of ridiculous rules and bullshit regulations, way worse than bootcamp, and it's like what, a year long?

And if you dont keep every single aspect of your behavior, your appearance and your demeanor in top-notch, 100% squared-away precise military standards, at all times...

... then you will quickly rock right the fuck out of the nuke program.

and you will then get reassigned to where ever they feel like putting you. which basically means where ever they cant get enough people to go willingly.

and you wont be able to do a damn thing about it.

when i was in training, i saw a lot of dudes go through who had rocked out of Nuke school. every one of them was bitter as hell. and i remember hearing stats that a majority of people who went to nuke school wound up rocking out for one reason or another.

it is a serious weed-out program, and you better be prepared from day one to be completely squared away.





[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 2:40 AM. Reason : ]

10/1/2008 2:38:54 AM

i love this term "rock out"

rock out with your cock out has a whole new meaning

10/1/2008 2:40:10 AM

old terminology comes back easily.

"rock out" in Navy/USMC terms means, obviously, to [FAIL]. hard.

being like a "rock", synonymous with stupidity, denseness. or maybe "sinking like a rock"?

definitely, it is used as "stupid person" ... a common insult goes like: "did you hear that guy? jesus what a fucking rock."

i just cant even think about Nuke School without thinking the phrase "rock out". because just so damn many of the guys who went into it, flunked out and got reassigned.





[Edited on October 1, 2008 at 2:48 AM. Reason : ]

10/1/2008 2:42:18 AM

Not really on the student loans. The Master Promisary Note says that the bank has the right to begin requesting money after 4 or 5 years (don't remember the exact term as I've had a few beers). The way banks are going right now it would be pretty easy for them to demand money.

And nuke school isn't one year.. its about 2-2.5 years. I won't receive my first ship assignment until 2011 at the earliest.

10/2/2008 12:45:06 AM

you're right. i was thinking of phase I. thats about a year. then prototype (phase II) is another year or so.

be prepared for the single worst weed-out "A" school the navy has. they washout more than they graduate, and will spend the entire time (especially phase I) trying to beat you senseless with petty bullshit.

so when you're in boot camp and think life sucks, just remember it will be over in 8 weeks, and then life will really get hard.

good luck 'mate

10/2/2008 5:25:44 PM

i see joe schmoe had his normal cornflakes with diarrhea and urine this morning

10/2/2008 5:28:59 PM

In any case, thanks for serving! Hope that you never regret it.

10/2/2008 5:32:39 PM