I'm 15 years old and very seriously considering the Navy. I want to be a MC because i am big into photography but I also want to get a good schooling. is it best to go to be an officer ? If you go to the naval academy and become an officer do you skip all the E ranks/rates and go straight to the O rank/rates and by what i've read its best to have 4 years of college before going for officer. Is the naval academy your 4 years of college?
-Scott ..wow..so if i want to tour go to E .. i'd like to get to other countries but my best bet for the long run is to start out O.. but to get O i'd have to go to the naval academy .. rite?.. and my GPA is 2.99 as a 3/4 year sophomore..
so do i need to go for the E or try and get the gpa back up? my grandmother is chairman of the repubilican party in my county so she knows the senators personally .. if i had some kind of recomendation letter from them would that help?
-Scott Camkey13,
Officer or Enlisted? Not really a hard choose, just one that will change your life for ever. I've spent 24 yrs in the U.S. Navy. I've seen it from both ends. If you go enlisted you will learn a trade and get advance schooling in your specialty (MC) like no other.
Navy Enlisted receive advance schooling as they advance through their rank, each advance school is fast paced and geared to give you an edge over your civilian counterpart. So going Enlisted you can enjoy the benefit鈥檚 of going to places and seeing thing's some officer will never get to see.
Going Officer will give you a degree behind your back and a chance to become Commanding Officer of a ship, that's something an Enlisted cannot obtain, unless he goes officer. As an Officer you will be required to be a leader, leadership is not born it is learned as you study and advance through the O-ranking.
Here's something for you Junior Officer's get there early training from Enlisted (Chief Petty Officer's) in the O-1 through 0-3 ranking. Chief's are charged with training those JO's as they are seen as the expert's in there field of study and will hopefully mold those JO's to become good leader's of men.
Every Captain and Admiral in the Navy will tell you a story of the Chief that helped mold him to become the leader he is today. Just ask any senior officer if you get the chance.
If you really seriously about the Navy, Join your school's JROTC and soak up the training you get from them. JROTCs are run by Senior Enlisted and some Commander or Captain that has retired from the Navy. If your school doesn't have one. Go to your local recruiting office and volunteer your weekend's to help and support them for training they can provide you regarding the military life style.
I want to say good luck in your endeavor. :)
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You don't have to go to the Naval Academy to become a naval officer. There are Naval Reserve Officer's who attend other University's and College and earn there
Commission via these college's (depend upon degree field chosen). Getting into the Naval Academy is the preferred route for those officers鈥檚 who will be making the navy their LIFE. All current Commander In Chief's in charge of Fleet and Surface Forces World wide are Admirals (Including the Joint Chief of Staff -JCS Adm Mullen) are all Naval Academy grades. There are Admirals that aren't NA grades but they are few. The last Non - NA CNO was Adm Boorda.
He rose from the E-1 to 0-10 rank within 30+ yrs.
Going enlisted will also give you the chance to become an officer. There are programs like: Seaman to Admiral - which
Adm Boorda started for E-3, 4, 5 to become officer via OCS or BOOST (officer schools to assist in improving your grades and obtaining a commission).
Again it all depends on which route you want to take.
Joining the military is a tough decision. I don't recommend it for anyone unless they have discussed in full with parents and relatives that have been down this road, or a Veteran - who can provide some insight into your decision.
The ultimate decision will be yours upon you reaching your 18th B-day.
"A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, National Guard or Reserve - is someone who at one point in his or her life wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States Of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life"
That is Honor and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.
- Aurthor Unknown Officer all the way. Yes the naval academy is four years of college...and a very good college to go to but not your only option.
only hitch I see in this is I dont believe they have photographer officers...there arnt many enlisted photographers it's a very very small rating.
but no worries you have plenty of time to figure it all out
good luck I'm enlisted army right now, all i can say is go officer. Pay might not be a huge issue to you at 15 but when you get a family and bills officer pay is just so much better. Plus the schooling you get. It's the best deal in my opinion. at 15 you have at least 3 years to decide what to do...I would say to go to college and them decide if the military is what you want.....at least live on your own for a year or two before you come in.
The opportunity for a photographer in the military is small...most are contracted civilians....so if photo is your thing go for it on the outside and try to become a contractor...better pay and less duties your GPA sucks, in a word. no way will you get an appointment to the Naval Academy with those grades. MINIMUM 3.75 to even have a decent shot..and those from AP or Honors classes. and you need a lot more than a grandmother with connections to get an appointment.
as for E VS O: with MC, it is EXTREMELY hard to get into as an enlisted person, and darn near impossible to get into Public Affairs as an Officer. as in less than 50 new Ensigns are chosen each year.. oh yeah, and if you go ROTC or the Academy, you will NOT be allowed to try for PAO.. it's SWO Nuke or Aviation only. | 