joining the navy

[android91891]

so i'm currently in the process of joining the navy reasons im joining are because i pretty much hate college, the current state im in and living with my parents makes it very had to attend college, i'm having many disputes with my family so i would just like to get away from them as long as i can.

so im curious anyone been in the navy? how was your experience? i'm still very young only 19 so i was thinking of maybe giving them 4 or even up to 5 years of Active Duty
how was the whole process for you?
also i'm bisexual so this may be somewhat of an issue, now i'm not very flamboyant(LOL) i dress like your average 19 year old boy.
but ive heard that the navy tends to be very "gay" not exactly sure what they mean by that but ive also heard that many people have gay experiences in the navy


but whatever besides that i'd like so advice on joining the navy what to look forward to, what it's like y'know just the basics

thank you in advance to all

 

[sanaugustino]

holy shit man, i saw your post and registered for the sole purpose of responding!

so, you wanna join the navy, eh? well, i'll elaborate upon my experiences in this post.

back in the day, 2008 to be exact, i was 20 years old and attending university full-time and working, struggling to get by and hating my major. All the while, my older brother was cruising through school, using his GI bill and not having to hold down a job. watching him get by so easily, i decided to not register for fall classes that year and went to the recruiter and signed up for six years that october. in two weeks, i was on a plane to great lakes.

boot was extremely easy--it wasn't physically demanding and amounted to a lot of sitting around. although extremely boring at times, it flew by. my next stop was the defense language institute where they taught me arabic and now i'm stationed in georgia.

As for the gay aspect of the navy--i too am not a very flamboyant guy. i was always in the closet in college, but since joining the navy, i've had a long term boyfriend (when i was in california) and met a lot of other amazing friends. the only time i've ever gotten shit from anyone (in the military) about my homosexuality was at my current duty station, and my response was "what you gonna do about it?!" lol. i wouldn't say that one branch of the military is more gay than another, because i've met guys from all branches; i would say all of the branches are a microcosm of society (when it comes to sexual leanings). even being in the linguist community, i don't know of too many flamers, but everybody does dress the same (since that's your standard for gayness lol)

there are a couple of things that piss me off. one of their advertising ploys touts their support and encouragement toward attaining your degree while Active Duty, but my boss's boss is unresponsive and seemingly annoyed when i ask her which times during the day are the best for scheduling classes at the local university. the other thing is that my direct superior (he's a complete tool) sexually harasses many of his male subordinates, including myself (i'll elaborate, if you'd like).

so, don't think that the negative experiences that i listed are the norm--it can happen in any workplace.

finally, don't think i'm trying to be a walking advertisement for the navy here. i'm anti-nationalist, anti-military and could never have envisioned myself signing up. i just think of it as a personal development experience lol. i thoroughly look forward to 2014 when i can say that i'm a civilian once again.

so have you actually signed your life away, or are you just contemplating? have you decided a rate (job) yet?

 

[CHUCK905]

I have a friend who just got out after 4 years. Also did linguistics. Had a great time. Traveled to places he probably never would have gotten to go to. Spent most of his time aboard ship off Japan. Had M/M hook-ups on a semi regular basis. Didn't seem to get harrassed. I think he saw it as a very positive time in his life and now he's glad he's out.

Before that he'd worked for Howard Dean's presidential campaign, so he's not a gung ho nationalist either.

 

[medic1]

Hey there fella greetings from Scotland .
I think that this is a great post like you i was stuck in a crappy place both in my
mind and my enviroment .
One day i was passing our local Royal Air Force recruitment centre and thought
fuck it i will just pop in and see what sort of shit they try to feed me .
I was in there for around 3 hours sat lots of tests had a quick interview with
the senior recruiting officer who asked me if i could come in within the next
couple of weeks for a very in depth interview as it would take them that long
to do background checks on me .
Around 20 days later i get a letter in the post asking me if i would like to come
for a more serious and in-depth interview .
So along i went to cut a long story short they offered to put me through medical
school on a wage and pay for all my studying materials , after i had picked myself
of the floor and got my voice back i was amazed as being a doctor had never
entered my mind but one of the tests that i had sat strongly suggested that
i had very good potential for being a medical officer .
They asked me if i would like to go home and talk it over with my family i just
said nope where do i sign , there were conditions as in i had to pledge a number
of years after qualifying to stay in the RAF so that they could get their moneys
worth i suppose . It was the best decision of my life so i personaly would say
go for it fella and i hope that you have a great time .

 

[android91891]

anything else i need to know?

 

[android91891]

holy shit man, i saw your post and registered for the sole purpose of responding!

so, you wanna join the navy, eh? well, i'll elaborate upon my experiences in this post.

back in the day, 2008 to be exact, i was 20 years old and attending university full-time and working, struggling to get by and hating my major. All the while, my older brother was cruising through school, using his GI bill and not having to hold down a job. watching him get by so easily, i decided to not register for fall classes that year and went to the recruiter and signed up for six years that october. in two weeks, i was on a plane to great lakes.

boot was extremely easy--it wasn't physically demanding and amounted to a lot of sitting around. although extremely boring at times, it flew by. my next stop was the defense language institute where they taught me arabic and now i'm stationed in georgia.

As for the gay aspect of the navy--i too am not a very flamboyant guy. i was always in the closet in college, but since joining the navy, i've had a long term boyfriend (when i was in california) and met a lot of other amazing friends. the only time i've ever gotten shit from anyone (in the military) about my homosexuality was at my current duty station, and my response was "what you gonna do about it?!" lol. i wouldn't say that one branch of the military is more gay than another, because i've met guys from all branches; i would say all of the branches are a microcosm of society (when it comes to sexual leanings). even being in the linguist community, i don't know of too many flamers, but everybody does dress the same (since that's your standard for gayness lol)

there are a couple of things that piss me off. one of their advertising ploys touts their support and encouragement toward attaining your degree while active duty, but my boss's boss is unresponsive and seemingly annoyed when i ask her which times during the day are the best for scheduling classes at the local university. the other thing is that my direct superior (he's a complete tool) sexually harasses many of his male subordinates, including myself (i'll elaborate, if you'd like).

so, don't think that the negative experiences that i listed are the norm--it can happen in any workplace.

finally, don't think i'm trying to be a walking advertisement for the navy here. i'm anti-nationalist, anti-military and could never have envisioned myself signing up. i just think of it as a personal development experience lol. i thoroughly look forward to 2014 when i can say that i'm a civilian once again.

so have you actually signed your life away, or are you just contemplating? have you decided a rate (job) yet?

i havent decided on a job yet because my main conflict is choosing something that i know i can use once i become a civi again lol, so thats quite hard for me. i'd love something in the writing field because i love writing and publishing things but i'm unsure of what to choose. but i need to be realistic and think of something that once i get out i know i can find employment.

i just signed one document on friday but it wasnt a contract yet, but i did take the practice asvab and got a 44 my recruiter was really happy i did so well since i heard you only need a 50 for the actual exam but i was told by other people that the higher you score the better your chances of getting something you'd like.
the main reasons i'm joining are just to get away from where i'm currently living, see the world. be apart of something that makes great change and just experience something different.
but wow you were out as quickly as two weeks? thats amazing
i'm going to speak to my recruiter today and try to rush this process i'd like to be out of where i live in the next 3 weeks to a month. thank you so much

 

[android91891]

I have a friend who just got out after 4 years. Also did linguistics. Had a great time. Traveled to places he probably never would have gotten to go to. Spent most of his time aboard ship off Japan. Had M/M hook-ups on a semi regular basis. Didn't seem to get harrassed. I think he saw it as a very positive time in his life and now he's glad he's out.

Before that he'd worked for Howard Dean's presidential campaign, so he's not a gung ho nationalist either.

thank you so much, do you know if theres anyway i can personally contact your friend? if you dont mind me asking

 

[android91891]

does anyone remember what the eye exam was like? do they make you read off of a chart? if so does anyone know the chart or a link to it online

the reason i ask is because my right eye gets blurred sometimes and i cant see much out of it sometimes. please if anyone can help with that and anything else i need to know

 

[Seasoned]

I'd also suggest you wait until DADT is officially gone. I also hope you are never assigned any type of war duty.

 

[IllgetyouHackman]

^Oh please its been signed into law that shouldn't be any motivation for him to avoid joining or joining.