How to Join the Navy
 Think you have what it takes? Start by asking yourself if you're ready to commit to something that could dominate years of your life. Can you spend long periods of time away from friends and family? Are you in shape enough to make it through boot camp? Why do you really want to join the Navy; is it patriotism? The benefits? The glory?
Its important to have thought everything through before talking to a recruiter. Here are some other considerations...
- Consider what you want to go in as: officer or enlisted?
- To be an officer, you typically need to be in college and enrolled in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Program (NROTC), the Naval Academy (USNA) or have a college degree in a Navy approved area (i.e. engineering, science, math, etc.) and get accepted into Officer Candidate School (OCS). Officers get saluted, get paid more, have a ton of benefits (i.e. officer club privileges, officer's mess on carrier ships, better housing, etc.). Of course, you already need a diploma and you need to qualify to get into OCS and upon being an officer, you are faced with the responsibility of the lives, essentially, of the men under you.
- To be an Enlisted member of the navy you don't need a college degree. You must be qualified mentally, morally, and medically. You will be given a chance to take a practice test called the EST (Enlisted Screening Test) to test your mental ability, you must have a clean legal record (no open tickets and felonies are rarely waiverable), also a medical exam at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing) is required to determine if you will are eligible and what specialized field you will be qualified to attend; such as aviation, nuclear, electronics, medicine or other general area of work in the Navy. Most of enlisted Navy jobs are very demanding and they generally get have lower salaries than officers. You have to go through boot camp (8 weeks versus 13 weeks for OCS).
- Find some people in the Navy and ask them what their experience was like. Ask them if they took advantage of any benefits and if they liked the experience. Also, do some other research into what life in the Navy is really like.
- Go find your local recruiter. You can find the nearest one to you in the phone book or on the Navy's website. Go in and say you want to join. They will explain what the Navy can offer and you can make an informed decision from there.
- Consider it carefully, and then, if you're still interested, explain that you want to join. They'll instruct you on what to do regarding the medical examination (you need to medically qualify to get in) and any appropriate test.
- After passing the Department of Defense medical review board, you can sign to enlist on the spot. Congrats! You're now in the Navy!
- While considering whether to join, it's helpful to do some exercise. It'll help you tremendously if you do join and it'll help you meet the Navy's physical fitness standards once you're in.
- Ask for a copy of your contract before you sign it, then get someone who understands legal jargon to look over it before signing anything.
- When asked if anything was verbally promised to you that is not in your contract, answer truthfully. If it's not in the contract, you will not get it.
- Recruiters do have incentives for getting people in the service ($450/monthly recruiter pay). Their pay is automatic whether you join or not, whereas the advancement is based on how many people they get to enlist. Listen to what they have to say but be sure to compare what the people you have talked to have said about Navy benefits and life versus what the recruiter says. If it's too good to be true, ask for verifiable proof. Remember that military recruiters ARE salesmen: they do care about making the sale and are prohibited from lying, but want you to join and will stretch the truth to make that happen.
- Lying on your enlistment papers could result in fraudulent enlistment and could get you dicharged from military service dishonorably, if you even get in.
Checklist For High School Students
When going to see your Navy Recruiter you need to bring the following items with you
- Birth certificate.
- Social Security card.
- High school diploma (and college transcript, if applicable)
- A list of all places you have worked since your 16th birthday.
- A list of all police involvement you have had in your entire life (include minor traffic violations).
- A list of four character references (include phone number and address).
- A list of all places you have visited outside the United States.
- If not a U.S. citizen, bring a list specifying the green card numbers and port of entry places and dates for all immediate family members.
- A list of all medications you are currently on and any medical problems you have had in your entire life.
- A list of all places where you have lived since your 16th birthday.
If you're ready to join, the next step is to go see a recruiter. Want to know what else you need to think through before visitng the recruiter to enlist? Would you like to know everything the Navy recruiters DON'T want you to?
Click here to order The Navy Life Ebook now and learn everything you need to know about this process! |
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