Originally posted by: habib89
i'm ok making a 6 year commitment. i'm thinking that if i join, i'll probably be career. i mean i'm turning 30, so to retire at 50 would be pretty nice. the nukes program sounded pretty tempting. not much moving around, but 6 month stints are very long. has anyone had experience in a sub? my wife is wary of it. obviously it's my decision since i'm the one going in, but she made a good point. being trapped in a sardine can, under water, not being able to see the sun for 6 months? doesn't sound too fun
A mechanical engineer is the ideal educational skillset for a Navy officer since you know how to operate the ship's machinery. The question is, do you want to operate a ship? What is more important to you, a life with your career or a life with your family? You are considering assuming a role as a sailor on a ship. Ships are designed to be at sea. The typical example is a 6 month deployment but this neglects the 6 month shipyard overhaul to prepare the ship before hand, the four months of training, the two months of at-sea certification trials. The list of responsibilities goes on. A ship will return to port, gather supplies, repair equipment, then return to the sea. This time, maybe the ship will return in two weeks, then return to port for two weeks, then return to sea for 6 weeks. The schedule varies but never stops until you enter the shipyard and that is where the real work begins.
In my time as an enlisted submarine mechanic, I spent 2.5 years assigned to a fast attack submarine. This often involved 90 hour workweeks, super long hours, and unhappy people. A common story was that the Navy has the highest divorce rate among the military, with the submarine force possessing the highest divorce rate in the Navy. Of course, officer's wives and families are more committed to their sailor than enlisted wives are but a toll is still exacted on the whole family. Do you want to spend Christmas with your family? That may happen this year. How about your child's birthday? You may be home for that next year. How about fireworks on the fourth of July? Shit, daddy is going to miss that also but do not worry, he loves you very much. This places an incredible amount of stress on your wife. You will be lucky if you are home for half of your child's school semester. I missed whole seasons on that submarine and now find great enjoyment in feeling the weather; the open sky, rain, snow, trees blowing in the wind, waking up to the sound of birds through the open window with fresh air in the morning. So long as you are assigned to a ship, this schedule does not stop. It repeats for several years. You can get a break by being assigned to a year of shore duty to return to school but you then spend another four to six years at sea.
Even if the ship is in port, at least one officer is onboard at all times. A ship is active 24 hours a day. The lights are never turned off and the doors are never shut. By the way, hatches and valves are never closed on a submarine, they are "shut". The word "close" sounds too similar to "blow(s)" and this term relates to blowing the main ballast tanks as an emergency means to return a submarine to the surface.
Your first tour will last the duration of your initial obligation. When it comes time to recommit more of your time or return to civilian life, they will tempt you with 1 or 2 years of shore duty, after which you will return to sea duty until the end of your current commitment. The cycle then repeats.
As an officer, you will be assigned to nearly every work division in the ship so you can learn the capabilities and responsibilities of each position. Typically 8-12 months in each position. Sonar, weapons, navigation, radio, auxiliary engineering, powerplant engineering. You will qualify as the in-port duty officer as you qualify to operate the reactor or engine room. Then you will qualify as the Officer Of the Deck (OOD), this is where you will get to drive the ship when at sea.
My father recently retired as a private doctor. His neighbor is a recently retired marine, much younger than my father. This retired marine has gone on three cruises this past year, my father is not fiscally able to go on even a single cruise. My father attempted to convince me to return to the Navy as an officer now that I have an engineering degree. My father cited retirement after 20 years and the fact his neighbor enjoys numerous vacations. The military works you 24 hours a day, it exhausts a person. The reason retirement is after 20 years is because a person is mentally and physically exhausted.
What role do you want to play?
- Innovate, create, and design
- support and repair
- operate
As an engineer, you can innovate, create, and design machinery. You can support the machinery, and then you can operate the machinery. Machine operators are at the lowest in the hierarchy. A support role can be through shipyard support. Playing an active role with machinery innovation can take place in your hometown with strong skills.
Your experience as an officer would be different from my experience as enlisted. You would be treated far better than I was but you will be responsible for the machinery assigned to you and for your people. That responsibility is paid for by the level of stress you must endure. I remember a nuclear qualified officer (at the lieutenant level, O-3) mentioning to me that he was offered a $60k bonus to sign for another four years of active submarine duty. This was back in 1991. He was not happy and turned this down to return to civilian duty. I was not in a position to learn his reasons. A good job in retirement from a submarine qualified officer is as a consultant to private defense companies.
Nuclear studies are intense and fast paced. Those that do not complete their training due to academic failure still incur an obligation to complete their 6 year commitment. I failed from the enlisted nuclear power school and those remaining five years were long for me. Each day, I told myself just to get through that one day, for five long years. Anyways, I was not prepared for the scholastic difficulty at 18 years of age even though I later completed a BS in engineering at the University of Illinois.
As a nuclear trained Naval officer, you will be responsible for the ship's nuclear power plant. This can be on an aircraft carrier or a submarine. I assume those officers not able to complete their nuclear training go on to work on the non-nuclear powered ships, which can be just as rewarding in the same manner as nuclear duty can provide, just without the nuclear pay, submarine pay, and prestige. Maintaining a ship's power plant is arduous work, even for the officers, since the power plant is the life of the ship. Although, an engineering officer is well respected throughout the ship since the engineers are the ones who understand the mysteries of the engineroom.
Ask if you have any questions. I have six years worth of experience in Navy submarine life with which to answer.
EDIT: One little thing. The sun provides vitamin D. A shortage of Vitamin D can cause depression. The engineers of a ship do not see much sunlight.
I learned many lessons in life while in the Navy that have served me well but I do not look back at that time fondly.