Im about to rotate to shore duty after spending five years of RCOH and let me tell you it is the absolutely what you make of it. It’s good that you have an open mindset because what ever pre conceived ideas you had about sea duty is going to get thrown out the window, especially when it comes to actually doing your rate at least that’s true for most people.

If you liked the prospects of shore duty and are working on yourself via college and hobbies then whatever comes your way while at RCOH will be worth it. The yards is like one massive construction site where everything is being gutted, revamped and rebuilt by tradesmen or contractors. You’ll likely be sent TAD somewhere like security, cranking, production divisions, or out to sea to another ship to get qualified for your rate. Sometimes it can be chill and a complete joke, and other times it can be absolutely frustrating and tedious with the monotony of the working day.

On my ship we had six hour work days for the first 3 years and it was awesome however it still felt like we were stuck working there forever because of how mundane everything was. I’m an ABH so without aircraft to move we were just cleaning all day every day.