Mike,do they still have IT's (RM) on the boats
or do the ET's handle the COMMS?

RM2/YN1

I believe currently ET's on submarines now take care of the following rates: ET, RM, IC and QM. My ET rating would have been EW on a skimmer.

Thanks Mike, lot of changes since 1990.

RM2/YN1

Being that your rate is at least partially determined by the needs of the Navy, is there a way that they assign you a rate if you don't get your first pick? Do they randomly select from what is available or try to give you your second choice if it's available? As an example: You want FT with STS being a close second. I have heard that STS is the largest so it would be a safer gamble in the case you randomly get assigned.

quote:

Originally posted by mpwimmer:
I believe currently ET's on submarines now take care of the following rates: ET, RM, IC and QM. My ET rating would have been EW on a skimmer.

100% correct as far as the ET's covering those jobs, however Nav-ET's and Comms-ET's are separate divisions, take separate advancement exams, attend separate 'A' schools, and are separate ratings for all purposes with the exception of saving uniform-central a couple of bucks on having to make different uniform stripes.

This is like the ludicrous MMW (TM) and MM A-gang distinction. (Same badge, separate test and advancement quota) Especially since most TM's on the waterfront are addressed as "TM1" "TM3" etcetera.

On the Toledo (my first boat) we addressed the ET-Comms guys as RM1 RM2 etcetera (Even though they had long since been made ET's) and the NavEts as ET1 ET2 while at my current command the ET thing has permeated enough that the radiomen accept ET as their titles and all the personnel here seem to use those titles.

Nonetheless they still should be considered "different" ratings. . .much like surface ET's and sub ET's are different ratings or surface MM's are not sub MM's. (Or STS's are not STG's and FC's are not FT's)

Good to hear about the rating exams. When I was in (1987-1993) we submarine ET's were taking the skimmer ET exam. It really sucked because none of the questions were for any submarine equipment. One exam I took had target communication equipment. I still PNA'ed it but it was crazy.

Yeah. We Nuke Mechanics had the same issues for a while. My favorite questions (and it was on three consecutive exams!) was asking about the water temperature during the rinse cycle on a surface ship dishwasher....

Lets see....I ride subs (strike one) and work on propulsion (strike two)....Yeah, let's see. 22 seconds after....answer must be "B"!!!

Wrong , always go for C cause ya go to sea .

The phrase I was told was: When in doubt Charlie out.

It's amazing how many bubbleheads come out of the woodwork for rate bashing!!!! Some things never change. Thanks for the test taking pointers, I have my finals in two weeks!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: spolen,

Hey! Rate bashing is what we bubbleheads do. And, might I add, we do it very well. And we bash, and we bash, and we bash...


until a skimmer bashes. Then the unfortunate learns the meaning of "dogpile"...

Seriously, i have nothing but respect for all those electronics types. I am too stupid to figure out what happens when three things go in and one comes out. Pipes and valves don't work that way, so I can understand them....

King Knuckle Dragging Flange Head

quote:

Originally posted by PO1_Kline:
Hey! Rate bashing is what we bubbleheads do. And, might I add, we do it very well. And we bash, and we bash, and we bash...

until a skimmer bashes. Then the unfortunate learns the meaning of "dogpile"...

This is 100% unequivocally correct!!!

quote:

Originally posted by PO1_Kline:
Yeah. We Nuke Mechanics had the same issues for a while. My favorite questions (and it was on three consecutive exams!) was asking about the water temperature during the rinse cycle on a surface ship dishwasher....

Lets see....I ride subs (strike one) and work on propulsion (strike two)....Yeah, let's see. 22 seconds after....answer must be "B"!!!

Twer the same for Nuke ETs... I prayed for the day they'd put something about Calorimetrics, or maybe some minor point of Reactor Theory on the test... never happened.

I just took it as yet another example of how the Navy abused Nukes.

That's probably why the turnover rate for nukes is so high. Nobody wants the stinking job. Gotta say though I find it midly entertaining that a nuke can find something funny about an off-balance hydrogen isotope. I don't even know what that is but a whole group of them were laughing their heads off at it.

Just had to one more time...

Goys, whatever you choose, have fun with it. You will have some sh@#y days I won't lie to you but, when you are older and look back we had lots of fun.
I was on the Billfish SSN676 and Greyling SSN646 from 1992-1995 as a STS. At the time I thought EAOS would never get there, now I look back and think of the fun this kid had at 19-22 years old.
Good luck to you...

reading all this, from what I am understanding you only have these choices if you are Enlisted?

The only choice to end up on a Sub for officers, short of Supply is Nuke correct?

quote:

Originally posted by AG74683:
The only choice to end up on a Sub for officers, short of Supply is Nuke correct?

Yup. More options on the E side.