On my rating card I got from MEPS it says that STG-AEF "C" school could be up to 63 weeks long. Which NEC takes the longest, and what makes it so exceptionally long?
I mean the AECF ratings weren't nearly as long, and I've heard that they are just as hard, if not harder than STG
The shortest and simplest answer is that is the amount of time the Navy states is needed to be an STG. This is also probably "A" and "C" schools together here.
Short of an ST coming on and knowing exactly the reason for the length, you really won't get too much more information. Nobody can really get into specifics with equipment and so forth due to OPSEC issues. The Navy determined it takes that long to get someone qualified to operate as an STG, so that is why it takes that long.
My friend went in as an STG when I did and the schooling was about that long. That is why STG is a 6 year enlistment ( I believe it still is) because it is more technical and you come out as an E-4 also.
Yeah, not only do you have to learn all of the electronics, and how to troubleshoot and repair your gear, you have to learn how to operate it. That entails learning what all those little squiggly lines are and what they mean. How to take a temperature reading of the water from the surface down to X number of feet and what to do with that information. What torpedo countermeasures work best against what torpedoes. Then there is sound propagation, how salinity affects sound velocity, what a whale sounds like, the difference between whale species, and why that is important. What a diesel generator sounds like over sonar, why that is important. What prarie and masker are and how they work. And a few other tidbits thrown in for the fun of it.
