My husband is seriously considering enlisting in the Navy. He looked at it about 6 years back and extended family had issues with him doing it, mostly because our daughter was just a year old. NOW--(and all this time in between) he REALLY wants to enlist. We have been married for 8 years, have two girls, 8 & 4. He is just in the process of talking with a recruiter, and we plan to meet with them tomorrow infact. His main choices of "job\skill" is Fire, EMS, Rescue or Police\Secrity or Medical\Dental. I am totally in support of him doing this...but of course like most "newbies" what do I need to consider, Any advice from Navy Wives whose husbands joined after being married w\ kids....ANY advice or questions I should add to my list for the recruiter are welcomed.

Thank You!!! ~Adriane (in GA)

How did the meeting go?

Ratings he would be interested in then would be DC, HM or MA I would guess, but those ratings typically are full and have long waiting time for entry. He will need a dependent waiver, amoung other things. Is he thinking reserve or Active duty?

Most of the questions at this point are his. The only thing I would suggest is asking about medical benefits, housing, and the like. Be aware that recruiters may not have info particular schools (too many ratings to know the details of each) and is not allowed to really discuss specific rating options (only allowed to do this with the MEPS classifier

one thing you both need to understand is DC is NOT firefighting in the traditional sense,it is sooo much more than that. the Navy has gone to civilian FireFighters on the shore installations.

as for HM and MA..again, what they can do in the military is lot more than what they are allowed to do in the civilian world..and like Catherine said..both ratings are manned or overmanned right now. Now my cousin managed to get HM (he ships at the end of August) but he's been in DEP since like last Thanksgiving.

we weren't married when he enlisted,and we don't have kids.. but we were older..he was 28 when he shipped off to Great Mistakes. I assume you guys are older as well?

I think the Navy is the right choice for a family. Being ex-Navy myself, and with my wife in basic right now, I speak from experience. I can't suggest anything better to talk with the recruiter about, except to make sure any rate they offer is in his contract. If he leaves his contract open, there's no telling what he'll do. He could also ask about civilian counterparts to the jobs he is looking at. Obviously the medical field has plenty of opportunity, but there are many rates that don't seem to translate to civilian life very well. Then again, I know many people who went lifer, so if that is an option the civilian side doesn't really matter.
It's really a great life, in my opinion. There is so much opportunity for travel, too, and then there's the Tiger Cruises, my personal favorite. I know I may sound totally random, but anytime I hear someone considering the Navy, I get all gung-ho. It's just a hell of an experience.

My husband feels good after his meeting last night. The recruiters are actually coming over on Friday so I can talk more. But alot of our questions were answered last night when he went. The recruiter isn't trying to rush him or push him. He liked that. He also told DH to keep an open mind when going to boot camp cause he will learn more about the jobs\skills there. OR should he decide before he goes? But for now, they said to prepare for the ASVAB test so that he can do well. They said they higher he scores, the more choices he would have to choose in jobs and the same once he gets into "A" school for choosing where to be based. (at least the recruiter told us this).
My only "fear" so to speak now is just telling the news at a later point to family. We all live withing like 20 minutes of each other and always have.
Someone asked...yes we are "older" I am 28, he is 29.
He asked a little about housing etc. Would you suggest looking more into living on the base vs off the base? I think for me, being there just me and the girls I would feel safer and be more apt to meeting other navy wives and be more involved. especially being new to the military life. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate it.

I hope the recruiters mean to keep an open mind about what ratings he will be offered. because you absolutely DO NOT want to go in Undesignated. TRUST ME on this.. GET a rating in the contract,period. he will sit down with a Classifier at MEPS where all his options will be laid out,based on his line scores, little things like color vision, ability to get a clearance, and what they have openings for. he shouldn't be job locked, and he should have several choices in the back of his head in case HM, MA and DC are not available.

My personal opinion: PPV housing is the worse thing that ever happened in some respects, and the best thing in others. We will NEVER live in base housing again because we lose money on the deal. Our mortgage is about $500 less than our BAH, and we live in a larger home that what housing says we deserve. It's good for E4 and under with several kids( as in more than 3). It's not so good for just about everybody else as far as bang for the buck.

as for choosing orders at A school: yes, and no. DH finished 1st in his FC A school. and chose fourth because there were three females and they were far more limited as to what billets they could take. 13 years ago there were fewer Co ed ships, but over all the number of billets that females can take is still very small, so many times they choose first so that they won't be shut out.

The family will learn to deal.

Sometimes living in base housing isn't even a choice. Some places have a very long waiting list so it is easier just to find a place out in town.

Get involved. Take a COMPASS class if it is available at his duty station. Get involved with the command if you can.

With children you can find groups and activities that are geared to military children that can help them find friends that are going through the same thing.

Kathy

Undesignated has it's good and bad points, however, with a family knowing what to expect is the better option (pick and garuntee before he leaves). Beaware that Navy schools are run differently, and you do not want to distract him from his studies in any way because it can cause him HUGE issues both disciplinary and otherwise. Don't whine when he has to go in again, etc. There is a reason why so many of the tougher schools (which resutlt in better ratings, faster advancement etc) have their highest attrition amoung married members.

And yes, his ASVAB scores directly relate to which jobs he qualifies for (as does his ability to obtain a clearance). In general the "higher" the job is, the better it pays, the faster the advancement, etc. That said, he should pick a rating based on what he thinks he will enjoy.

As for your family, you need to do what's best for you. Sometimes it's good to get away, you can see things from a distance and re-assess what you once thought. Also get to see and do different things. Your family can always come visit you.

Housing is great as a married junior sailor esp. Unlike MRS, from now on I will be living in housing, even after hubs gets his comission (assuming it's available-most places we've been it has been, though). Finding a rental for four kids is a hassle, and I'd rather not deal with the headache of owning a house again (at least until he retires). Luckily we bought way low for the area, so the housing crunch doesn't affect us much at all, but, it's a lot of work with the 2 of us in school full time with 4 kids. It's all about what works best for you, really.

Mrsjvb-Yes, that is what the recruiter meant. For him to not be set on JUST the medical\FF rate. Thanks for the advice on housing. I have read other places that he needs to have the specific rate in his contract before leaving. Would the recruiter be able to tell him more about the different rates? There are so many, and so many abbreviations...I get lost when reading online. Any websites to help with that?

Kali208-What are "Tiger Cruises"? (sorry totally new...)

Genes_Sweet-I thought as much with housing. Do you have a time frame to "decide" base living vs. living in town somewhere? Sortof a sight unseen type thing

Catherine0830-I defiantely what to know what to expect! That's for sure. So many unknowns right now. That is the fear AND excitement going through me right now. Yep-it will be tough when he is in training then school. I assume the are immediate back to back... But for now planning on staying put and just trying to sell the house (once the ball is rolling) then just move when he gets orders for his base. (from everything I have read)

For now, DH and I are still mulling over all of this. Have not shared the "decisions\thoughts" with anyone really. At least until he takes the ASVAB and we know more. Seems like so much and so overwhelming.

I'm going to give you some general information because each base and service has different rules.

When you get orders to a base you will want to contact housing at that base. They can give you a general idea how long the wait is for housing. I also recommend touching base with them because they sometimes have lists of places to rent and if there has been a problem with different places they can help you avoid them. I also recommmend that they read all of the lease agreements because military clauses can be written differently. So don't think that just because it says military clause you can easily break the lease.

Once you know how long the waiting list is at the base you will need to decide how you want to wait for that house. Sometimes it is better to stay where you are at and let your spouse sign up for housing. Sometimes it is better to move out in town and then move into housing later. The longest we have waited for housing was one year in Norfolk VA in 1991 and the shortest was 30 days at Pax River MD in 2002. We also had a situation where my husband transferred and headed out to sea so we stayed at his last duty station living out in town until he returned and by the time the kids got out of school we had a house available to us.

The military will help you as long as you ask questions and get the facts. You are off to a good start. The people that I have seen have problems are afraid to ask their chain of command for help so they find themselves without the money to pay their bills.

Kathy

Tiger cruises are when family and friends( NOT SPOUSES) are allowed to board the ship at its final port call before returning home from a deployment and they spend a week or so underway on the ship. there is an age limit(must be at least nine) and each Sailor may only sponsor one person of the same gender.

When I was aboard the Enterprise, we had one day a year where we left port with family and friends, went a couple hours out, had an airshow with a galley lunch, then went home. Spouses were allowed, but it was NOT post Med cruise. It was still called a Tiger, though. That was the one I was talking about, sorry for the miscommunication!
And if that's typically called something else, I blame AIMD Admin for calling it a tiger, lol.

~Jason

Those are Family Day Cruises. I have been on a few of those.

Kathy

the one thing I want to point out- remember the navy is a sea going service and most every rate is deployable- average ship deployments are 6 months- that is 6 months away from home at one time- then you have to consider the other underway activites each ship is required to do- in total they can be gone for 3/4 of a yr-

also really consider the pay differences- if he has some college he may be able to comeout of boot camp as an E3- but that pay is like 1800 dollars a month before taxes and deductions. Can you live on that base pay each month?

I am not talking you out of joining- that is a decision only you can make- but seriously consider the pros and cons.

I just wanted to second race6fan's reminder that in all likelihood your husband will go on long deployments on ship. There are some ratings that are almost completely shore duty for enlisted (some of the intel ratings come to mind). I don't know much about the fireman rating, but police/security and medical/dental are badly needed in Iraq. Lots of sailors are in Iraq and Afghanistan right now filling these kinds of positions. Obviously if you join the military, you may have to go fight in a war, but I do think this is something that your husband should discuss with the recruiter. I would not join undesignated either.

quote:

Originally posted by emmom:
There are some ratings that are almost completely shore duty for enlisted (some of the intel ratings come to mind).

not entirely accurate. CTI(Linguist) and the CB ratings do not have a sea shore rotation. rather they have a CONUS/OCONUS rotation and they deploy as often if nor more so than everybody else. a CB can expect a 6 month deployment for every 18 months home, not counting being called up for the occasional tsunami, hurricane or earthquake.

IS and all the other CT ratings have a sea/shore rotation.

CTIs have this fun concept called DIRSUP which is shore duty..that isn't, because you are always on the hook to deploy..you could literally be gone constantly on different platforms if yoru language is needed.

...and that sucks. My wife is going CTI, for Arabic. They keep saying there's no way she'll go overseas unless she re-enlists, but she's already really good with Arabic, and if they need her they will take her. We both discussed this, though, and fingers crossed or not, we understand it is a horrible possibility.

DH did DIRSUP his first JO Tour. the first year.. he was gone about 30% of the time, all in training with a qualified 1610 his second year.. Ineeded a picture to remind me what he looked like. his third year..about 60% of the time I'dd say he was gone.. but that was more due to a complete FOOL of a fellow JO who screwed EVERYBODY'S life up ..but no ranting and raving, he's out now and good riddance.

there was a CTI in the DIRSUP pool while we were in Yoko that did in fact spend all his time underway..but this was post 9/11 and things were a smidgen busier than normal back then.

there are worse places to be stationed than Pine Gap or Kunia, you know heheheh. as Arabic, I am pretty sure you will be at Ft Meade with the rest of us nutballs...

MrsJVB,

It would be an honor to be considered a nutball, if that's the group you claim.
Hope to meet you there

race6fan-Yes, we are STILL considering all of the pros & cons and DH has seekd out many mentors that he talks with daily to decide this. He would go to training as and E3, they (recruiter) said we would come out possibly as and E4. He has enough college credits and other career training credits that helped him. I currently work full time-which with his pay and any housing allowance would fully support us now. No real difference--infact maybe get more $. We have no car payment and no debt-so all we pay are utilities and the ridiculous amounts in childcare. But, yes we are not firm on any decisons either way. But daily, we are weighing the pros and cons.

Thank you to everyone. The recruiter is coming out tonight to meet more with us. Thanks!

ALSO-He is most definately NOT joining undesignated. The recruiter simply meant that until he takes the ASVAB and all and see WHAT ratings are available....but he WILL have a designated rating in his contract when it is signed.