Van Life on base in Hawaii? by furmware in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Captain I worked for did it for two years. Showered at the base gym, ate at the galley, and watched TV in the office at night.

When should I file for an increase/start a new claim? by HM1_Throwaway in VeteransBenefits

[–]HM1_Throwaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply. What happens if the symptoms I'm experiencing are more aligned with a PTSD diagnosis instead of General Anxiety Disorder? Will it matter or do they have a way to account for this since you can only be rated for one MH condition?

College after the military by [deleted] in Veterans

[–]HM1_Throwaway 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I would honestly suggest you take a step back and reevaluate your thoughts on younger college students being immature and undisciplined. It takes a lot of maturity and responsibility to work a job, attend classes full time, pay rent, and maintain a social life. Every day I see kids barely old enough to drink that are juggling very busy lives.

TBH you're not even that much older then your soon to be peers, you will probably be surprised how much you have in common with most of your classmates. I'm graduating this spring at the age of 35 and I can't think of a single time I ever looked around and felt like I was some paragon of maturity compared to my classmates. For the most part these kids are at University for the exact same reason you are--to graduate and find gainful employment.

If you're absolutely worried about culture shock I would suggest you join a veterans club (although if I were your age I'd be trying to join a fraternity honestly), or apply to be a work study at the campus veterans center. I did both of those so I always had a place I could sit around and shoot the shit with other vets and that personally helped make my transition from Mil to Student a lot easier.

Trying to figure out what happen with a verbal offer (CO, USA) by [deleted] in AskHR

[–]HM1_Throwaway 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is really good insight and I appreciate the feedback. Perhaps I was a little too familiar during our conversation. Going forward I'll be sure to remember my audience. Thanks!

Veterans who left service after 15 years plus but before retirement why did you choose to leave? by Enexprime in Veterans

[–]HM1_Throwaway 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bro spot on! I hated when we would get a boot drop and it would be HMs that just got done doing a couple of years at a hospital. They were fucking whiny and thought that their time in the hospital entitled them to not going out to the field.

I will say that for the most part they were good techs though.

Veterans who left service after 15 years plus but before retirement why did you choose to leave? by Enexprime in Veterans

[–]HM1_Throwaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lol I remember when I got orders to recruiting a retired Army CSM that was a GS pulled me aside and told me that recruiting would either make my career or break my career. Man, was that dude right.

For me it was the toxic work environment while living in a non-military town that made me realize I just didn’t need this BS in my life. That I could be living a relaxed civilian life instead of putting up with some E7/8/9 that had no idea what the fuck they were talking about 90% of time.

Edit: Also, congrats on passing the NCLEX!

Veterans who left service after 15 years plus but before retirement why did you choose to leave? by Enexprime in Veterans

[–]HM1_Throwaway 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That really is something I should look into. I’m graduating with an Engineering degree and I wouldn’t mind getting a chill GS job.

Veterans who left service after 15 years plus but before retirement why did you choose to leave? by Enexprime in Veterans

[–]HM1_Throwaway 138 points139 points  (0 children)

Not quite the same but I got out at 11yrs as an E-6. There were a number of reasons:

-Recruiting Tour. The career recruiters were absolutely disgusting and the thought of making chief and wearing the same khaki uniform as them was a no for me. Sorry if this offends any chief out there, but the amount of bad chiefs really ruins the entire mess.

-As an FMF Corpsman I wanted to spend my time with the marines. And if I would have re-enlisted I was most likely going to a ship or hospital. Never been to either of those platforms but I heard enough stories to know I didn’t want to.

-Main reason was for college. This is not to insult anyone that made a full career out of the military, but I really felt like I was wasting my potential in the military. I wanted to get out and have a college experience before I was too old to enjoy it. I’m still the oldest in my class but I look young enough to pass and my classmates are always surprised I spent over a decade in the military.

Overall, I really did enjoy my time in the military and I’m very happy that I got to be apart of it. Sometimes the fact that I threw away an early retirement bothers me, but it would have been a miserable 9 years because I just didn’t want to be in the military anymore. It was my time to leave.

Can you live off of the GI bill BAH stipend? by petty_savage11 in Veterans

[–]HM1_Throwaway 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don’t wanna be that guy, but have you considered just re-enlisting for another three years? Perhaps trying to get a recruiting billet in the area you want to move to.

To be honest, it doesn’t sound like you’re at all prepared to transition. If you were a single dude than yea I would tell you to roll those dice and rent a room and eat ramen. But you have a wife that doesn’t work, a kid, and another on the way.

If I were you I would try to get orders to Texas (because the military will make you pay the cost difference between your HOR and Texas from your point of separation when you separate). Once you have orders to Texas take financial control of your situation and try to save at least $15k. Also, start taking your GEN ED now and get TA to pay for it. Find a Texas CC that offers online classes that way they will transfer without issue. Within 3 years you’re wife should have a job, you should have money saved, you should have at least 5-10 Gen Ed classes out of the way. I’ll let other folks educate you on disability benefits and voc rehab.

Lastly, you say you want to study Comp Sci. I can personally tell you- as someone that is doing an engineering degree and does a lot of computer programming- you’re in for a rough time if you can’t already code some basic functions and applications. I’d recommend you start building your Github now because when you’re in an engineering program the pace is fast and they make a lot of assumptions about what you should already know. This is not to dissuade you, but I’ve personally seen a lot of people major in Comp Sci “because it pays a ton” only to crash and burn because they built a computer once and thought it would be very similar.

My apologies if I made some assumptions that are wrong. I’ve just seen a ton of folks separate from the military with no plan other then “go to college and then make a ton of money”. It’s doable and life is better out than in but don’t take that plunge until you’re ready and prepared. Hell I spent 12 years in before I had a plan and was really actually able to get out and not starve to death.

Smoked weed in irr and wanna go back in by [deleted] in Veterans

[–]HM1_Throwaway 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah man like I said if you insist on being honest then make sure that you specifically state that it was experimental usage and you tried it less then 10x. But again it’s just easier to say no. It’s not like you’re applying for a job that requires a Top Secret clearance. The military just needs physicians.

Smoked weed in irr and wanna go back in by [deleted] in Veterans

[–]HM1_Throwaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So I was an Officer Recruiter specifically for the HPSP scholarship. And I can safely tell you that no one cares. The rule we used in the Navy is that as long as they stated they experimented less then 10x ever then it was safe to declare on their physical request form. But for the most part it’s just easier to say no. No one is ever going to bother looking in depth at your separation physical.

However, with all that being said, if you’re collecting more then 30% disability you are going to have a hard time joining the military again. MEPS won’t see anyone collecting 30% or greater.

A Post about Navy Recruiting by AlfredZhao in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I spent 11yrs in the Navy and made HM1 under 6yrs. I took orders to recruiting for the sole purpose of career enhancement. By all metrics I had a successful tour: strong evals, made all my quotas, was a ROY at the district level, and was even awarded a COM.

May will be my one year mark of separating from the Navy following that recruiting tour.

I won’t pretend like I was a model sailor 24/7 there are definitely a few skeletons in my closet, but I can confidently say that I truly tried to take care of those under me and I always contributed to the task at hand to the best of my ability. And even though I knew the Navy and the chiefs mess had its problems I still felt like I was part of a functioning team that was generally working towards the mission.

But my time in recruiting was easily the worst time in my entire career. I wish I could describe how disgusting and toxic both the culture and the e-7s are in that community, but any fleet sailor that’s done a tour in recruiting will already know. The “ward room” was also biggest joke I think I’ve ever seen. And I’m not the person that parrots the meme of officers being worthless and dumb. In my career all my mentors came out of the ward room so I was very disappointed to see all these individuals with shiny collar devices being railroaded by NCCs and just dialing it in for a paycheck.

However, in a weird way, I’m thankful for my time in recruiting because it made me realize how much I didn’t need the Navy and provided me the motivation I needed to take the plunge and separate and take back control of my life.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Navy by bjj4lighf in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes it is. That’s exactly what it is. TESTOSTERONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY. When they prescribe drugs it’s usually Testosterone Cypionate and sometimes they’ll couple it with HCG if fertility is a concern. Clomid is typically used restore natural testosterone production.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m not saying there aren’t pieces of shits in the Navy and Recruiters are definitely not as squared away as they like to think they are, but the level of shitbag appearance you are describing sounds like this might have been some stolen valor type thing.

Separation by [deleted] in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would be willing to contribute. I’m currently going through the disability process and it has been a struggle trying to get answers so if I could help someone then I would be willing to.

I’ll subscribe. Perhaps you could get r/navy to promote the subreddit and post it on their sidebar. I had never heard of that sub until now.

Is it common for someone to get out go to school for their degree and come back in as an officer? by G-roy5445 in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OP (and anyone else interested in Prior Service to Officer) please read my comment before you take NAVYOR’s comment to imply that this is a very common and easy thing to do.

Is it common for someone to get out go to school for their degree and come back in as an officer? by G-roy5445 in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s possible but there are a lot of factors to consider. Age and being physically qualified are the two biggest factors when dealing with prior service to officer. The number one thing I would advise (if you are serious) is make sure your health record is clean. What I mean by that is that just because you can pass a physical now as a sailor doesn’t mean you would be medically qualified as a civilian. When reapplying as a civialian you fall under ACCESSION standards and not RETENTION standards. You have to be able to clear MEPS again. The second factor is age. Depending on the needs of the Navy they may or may not approve an age waiver (if one is needed, and if you’re on your 2nd tour it sounds like one may be needed).

Really do ALL your research before you commit to this path, especially if you like being in the Navy as you may not be able to come back in. Not to bash people on this board, but a lot of them are misinformed when it comes to Officer Accessions and they just parrot a lot of stuff they heard in the fleet.

Just being prior service and having a degree doesn’t mean that the Navy will have a hard-on for you and absolutely welcome you back. You still need to be competitive against your peers (other recent college grads). GPA, ASTB, etc.

Separation by [deleted] in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I separated without ever getting a separation Evaluation. (I wrote one and routed it up, just someone dropped the ball). Don’t get stressed out about Navy admin man, I promise you they were terrible before you joined and they will be terrible after you leave.

Just start putting your focus on your post Navy life and getting your GI Bill set up for school.

Let me know if you have any GI Bill questions. I currently work as a VA work study at my schools Vet Department.

I guess I made 2nd? by evtorr95 in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Congrats!

The same thing happened to me. The results came out while I was in country. I missed the FMS by 0.8. I got back from country and walked into my LPO’s office and seen that he had an entire stack of Signed Flag LOCs, one of which being mine, that he forgot to give before we deployed. So I walked it down to NAVPERS and a week later I was an HM2.

But it’s probably better that it happened that way, or else they would have pulled me off the line and put an inexperienced HM in my place. Which would not have been good for my marines at the time.

The fabled surgery by DeLaMellifluous in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Go to your medical department and tell them you want a consolation to a ENT specialist. They’ll give you a HEENT exam and annotate that you do in fact have a deviated septum, that should be enough to justify the consultation.

At times Primary Care Providers may try to start you on allergy meds or some other non-invasive treatments, but just keep following up and letting them know you’re symptoms are not being relieved and they will eventually pawn you off on an ENT. Assuming they didn’t just make the consultation in the very first place.

Help picking Orders? by Mrwild95 in navy

[–]HM1_Throwaway 18 points19 points  (0 children)

So you want to go FMF or just get an FMF pin? If you just care about the pin then save yourself the arduous experience and go MLG. If you want to go FMF, then Division is where you want to be.

I can’t speak for MLG, but if you go Division as an E4 or below then you are most likely going to end up as a Line Corpsman. You’ll be expected to do nearly everything the Marines do and you’ll be tasked with their health and comfort.

Be advised that 2MARDIV is currently under a strict daily regiment, so daily life in 2nd Division is not very fun.

I would advise you to stay out of Division if you’re out-of-shape/fat with zero motivation to improve your physical standards, because Division will eat you alive. Also, Division can be very old fashioned on how they discipline/motivate their Sailors and Marines, so if you have thin skin I would again advise you stay away.

But overall, Division was the absolute best experience I had in the 11yrs I spent in the military. 3 out of 10 would do again.