Posted on 07/30/2008 8:06:29 AM PDT by DungeonMaster
My 18 year old home schooled son has just joined the Navy! He is torn between being a Corpsman or a Nuke tech.
My wife and I have so many emotions going through our heads but the biggest one is pride. Of our eight children this particular one is the most shy and quiet and we have wondered for a long time what will be his calling. The Navy suddenly seems to be a perfect fit. He doesn't mind being alone and reading all day and isn't currently occupied with chasing girls.
It sounds like he won't ship until Feb09. Yesterday he told me he is really leaning toward being a Corpsman. Did you watch the PBS thing on the navy yesterday?
Thank you! It will certainly be a new and high priority prayer topic for me.
In the mid-80's, the Navy separated the A schools for EM's, ET's and MM's between Nukes and non-Nukes. That's why I have been careful to specify Nuc Fld A School. They did this to better prepare us for the intensity and rigors of NPS. Other than the confidentiality thing, for Nukes, A school is VERY similar to NPS.
Now to specifically answer your question...Sometime before A school starts, your son would be told which of the three nuke rates he will be: Electrician's Mate (they operate the actual electrical powerplant side of the system), Electronics Technician (they actually operate the reactor) or Machinist's Mate (they operate the physical plant side of the system. The three different A schools have different curriculum. Some of it is common, eg. Math (algebra through basic calculus), Physics (classic mechanics...the ball falls from 2m, etc.). Most of the curriculum is specialized to the individual rate.
Once in NPS, the three rates are still segregated. Although here most of the curriculum is common: Heat Transfer, Fluid Flow, Quantum Physics, Chemistry, Materials. Then there are about three theory classes::Electrical Theory, Electronic Theory, Mechanical Theory. He would take whichever two are not specific to your rate. For instance, I was an EM so I had Electronic Theory and Mechancial Theory.
Sorry for all these long-winded responses, I just want you to have as full a picture as possible. Also, please don't read into this that I'm discouraging him from pursuing Nuke. I just want his eyes to be wide open to the fact that just having brains isn't enough. I firmly believe the ability to VERY quickly absorb mass quantities of information is more important to success in NPS. I'm 100% sure that there were guys that I went to school with that I was "brighter" than. But they succeeded were I didn't because they could process the material more quickly than I. One of my superiors told me that they were sure I could have completed the program had it been a month longer, had I had just that little bit more time to absorb the info.
I think he has picked up on that fact and is strongly leaning toward being a Corpsman.
Congrats man! Always nice to see homeschool grads spread their wings.
On the other hand he can join as a corpsman and later if he still thinks he wants nuke school probably get in it if his Armed Forces entrance exam and corpsman scores were good.
Recruiters are to be watched carefully. They are notorious for making promises beyond a recruits capability. Get every promise made or offer in writing as well. Verbal promises are no good. If he leans toward Biology and not physics or electronics then I'd say Corpsman is a good move.
He definitely leans towards biology and he's not really into talking to people a lot so I rather doubt he'll opt for medic. He will probably look to some of the other medical specialties.
I did a stint in the Army NGs’s as a 13-B so I know the Army vs Navy confusion :>} I was an ammo hauler in the NG's and not on a gun crew. Also in the Navy rating and rank go hand in hand. For example MM3 means Machinist Mate Petty Officer Third Class at E-4 rank or a junior NCO. HC which I think is Corpsman would be the same.
Let me explain something a little better. If he goes to Corpsman school and does well or if it’s in his enlistment contract he will be offered what is called a C-school. This is a speciality school where he can get training for a specific speciality like X-ray Tech, surgical assistant, etc. The same thing really with the Engineering Fields which is what Nuke covers.
Congrats to him ... I was one of the first Nukes trained at Idaho falls on the old Nautilus prototype plant. It is a gold plated SOB of a school. Prototype is now in Orlando, last I knew. He is pretty much going to be limited to subs ... the nuclear fleet has diminshed to carriers only, Some would say subs and targets.
It required a 6 year contract ..I was a designated Electronics Tech ... and made CPO in 6 years. I walked away from the Navy with a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Physics after 12 years active. It is a great opportunity. the professionalism and technical aspects are great .. the management skills I gained from leading men for 12 is immeasurable and is more important than anytbing else I took from the USN.
And again congratulations to him .. I know you are proud of him.
So the basic Corpsman school is called A-school. If that goes well he gets additional training in C-school right? What is he qualified for after A-school and is that about 28 weeks for a Corpsman?
Thank You and you are so right.
After A-school there's two choices. He can go to his command where the Medical Officer will assign him to a position for ON Job Training or if he goes to C-school he will go to his command with a specialty the Medical Officer will more likely than not assign him to do. This can also be a factor in determing what type of command he goes to. For example with advanced training he may end up on a ship. Without it they may assign him as a field medic to a Marine Detachment. An aircraft carrier or a Hospital Ship has the most different jobs aviabilities. A carrier is also a hospital in itself.
The same with Nuke School. He can go to say Nuke school for Interior Communications. This covers everything from reactor controls to the ships telephone system. What schools he has will determine what shop he works in. The Chief Engineer assigns people to their division and the division officer assigns them to a shop.
After Corpsman school if his grades are good he can qualify for any C-school. But to protect him I'd get the C-School as part of the enlistment contract.
I never got any schools not even A-school or Machinist Mate school. As a result I was first made a Boiler Technician striker meaning that was the rating I was supposed to be working for. A far cry from where I wanted to be which was working on Air Conditioning and Refrigeration systems. I only got where I wanted because of a medical waiver saying I could not work in boiler rooms.
Correction. A Navy hospital offers the most aviable job fields. C-school would help him get that as well. He could end up stationed in some place like the Naval Hospital at Rota Spain which really isn’t bad duty.
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