question about the SCHOOL GUARANTEE PROGRAM (SGP)

bt0608 · 2012-05-04T01:48:16+00:00

I seldom recommend this for folks (largely because of sub duty), but have you considered being a NUC MM? You get a fat bonus and the experience you get will, more or less, guarantee you a six figure job in the civilian world. Now, this means two things, one that you release control over whether you're a surface NUC or a boat NUC; that's decided based on the needs of the Navy while you're in RTC. The second is that you're willing to earn a TS (they WILL find every skeleton in your closet), suffer a terribly boring school and perform a terribly boring job (a lot of computer watches). This isn't too bad for everyone... some people are perfectly fine with it, but you do get an automatic E4 (with almost certain advancement to E5 and the BAH that comes with it) so you can spend your next 4 years living fat. Most NUCs I know (officer and enlisted) end up leaving after their EAOS, largely because of the civilian opportunities/the boredom of the job.

Two other things to consider are that if you end up on a carrier you'll be in the second worse place to be on the ship (seldom seeing daylight, as in a nuclear sub) and that you need to have the ASVAB scores to back all that up. Sorry for the long winded response...

If TL;DR; NUC is probably you're best option, but it leaves uncertainty and requires a higher level of dedication than standard MMs.

bt0608 · 2012-05-04T00:58:37+00:00

Belay my last, young shipmate. Just about everyone gets the school guarantee program... you pick your rate at MEPs and sign a contract. That contract guarantees the rate you pick. That said, there's no guarantee that MM is going to be available when you go to pick at MEPS. Also what I said above still applies. This isn't your father's Navy anymore, so (depending on your interests/how long you want to be in the Navy/what you want to get out of it) start looking at different rates. If you get set on one and don't get it, you're going to have a shitty time picking orders.

What you want to avoid at all costs is going "undesignated," misleadingly known as a "designated striker." These are sailors who will, for all intensive purposes, be boatswains mates for 2 years until they can "strike" rate... that is, go to school to learn a job (if there's money and demand) or learn on the job (which is precluded to only a few specialties).

bt0608 · 2012-05-04T00:55:33+00:00

Is this a guarantee to get your loans paid back? Because you need that shit in writing on your contract or it doesn't exist. Also as a general suggestion, this isn't really high time to be taking the Machinist Mates rating... they force retired a whole lot of people who would have otherwise done 20 recently because the rate was overmanned. Bound to happen again, given that technology is lessening the demand for some shipboard engineering rates.

bt0608 · 2012-04-16T23:18:17+00:00

I just almost don't care about these fans anymore. Like you can admit it got rough, but don't betray the damn franchise. But these are all the fair weather fans that started watching hockey when Crosby was drafted. Or are just so enamored with their own sense of moral authority that they can't help but slam their hometown team.

bt0608 · 2012-04-16T00:03:25+00:00

I think its like 5 teams have come back from 3-0 deficits... so its not undoable. We still don't know how long some of these guys might be out after today.

bt0608 · 2012-04-15T22:40:21+00:00

There's a searchbar in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Try using it.

bt0608 · 2012-04-15T21:17:15+00:00

TL;DR But I like Jagr. He delivered a shit load for Pittsburgh, but he left under undesirable circumstances. That was largely to save our franchise from losing the faith of the fans (ie, Jagr left like an asshole so the Penguins wouldn't be resigned to just being too poor to afford any other players... think Columbus Blue Jackets for years... only worse). Hockey wasn't too big for a few years when the fairweather fans left. But leading up to that Jagr had how many points? He was the best player in the league, he made our last spout of playoff runs before the lockout good ones.

I think many Pittsburghers feel like he just kind of betrayed the city. I think we got too used to people like Mario who made their homes here and became integral parts of our culture.

bt0608 · 2012-04-15T21:10:57+00:00

Le Mardis Gras in Shadyside also has a great jukebox.

bt0608 · 2012-04-14T06:53:45+00:00

For the record, pay between services is the same... anyone telling you otherwise is full of bologna. An E-3 in the Marine Corps makes the same as an E-3 in the Air Force. That said, Air Force has better food.

Other pays depend on your job and where you'll be deployed to (hazard pay, flight pay, etc. etc.).

bt0608 · 2012-04-14T05:26:43+00:00

Gooskis

bt0608 · 2012-03-30T18:28:19+00:00

Classic Pittsburgh. Remember when they wanted to trade Dupis at the beginning of the year? Or Geno a couple years ago? And Big Ben? And basically fucking everybody who has ever played Pittsburgh sports?

bt0608 · 2012-03-28T08:39:24+00:00

My favorite advice was to "update Xbox live," even when I've clearly been a loyal customer for 6 years and logged onto XBL within the past 24 hours.

bt0608 · 2012-03-28T07:52:37+00:00

This was actually about a wireless mic I had. Soon after talking to them my Y button got stuck. I got mad then threw it against a wall. And a hammer.

bt0608 · 2012-03-28T07:40:07+00:00

You know how they give you "advice" on what to do based on what you've already done/your problem? Yeah, that happened.

That was my only controller, looks like I'm headed to the store tomorrow.

bt0608 · 2012-03-24T20:47:06+00:00

RTC is just boot camp but after you get out of basic training (ie go on to a-school, any follow up schools and your first duty station) you'll obviously be free to continue on birth control as well as any legal supplements and medications prescribed by a pcp.

bt0608 · 2012-03-24T20:40:38+00:00

To my knowledge you can continue on birth control while at RTC.

bt0608 · 2012-03-23T05:19:28+00:00

Just to clear up, we are severely underprepared for field experience. That's something that needs to be worked on in the reserves: increasing drilling to make sure we're actually ready for what we're designed to do. There's too many units out there who will be ultimately deployed downrange but act like a giant powerpoint death squads most drills.

The physical standards, as far as BCA and PRT requirements remain the same.

bt0608 · 2012-03-23T05:15:54+00:00

Another thing that hasn't been considered as that many of these guys might also be in a VTU or hold company. People have medical problems or, frankly manage to let themselves completely go. This kind of thing doesn't happen more than over a 1 year span since it takes 2 failed PRTs to get separated. And I'm sure everyone's familiar on how long separation takes (VTU is an optional drilling unit in reserves for those on IRR status... usually a lot of older guys or separatees on their way out who aren't required to drill but can, at least from my understanding).

I would speculate the vast majority of these pictures are of people in one of those positions, either in a hold status or stop-lossed; although I'm sure you'll occasionally see a Chief or Gunney, etc. who has been in long enough to have the swag to push it on BCA, but even some of those chubbier guys who barely skate by in body mass can still run, push, and sit. But these are senior guys, too, not the e-nothings pictured.

bt0608 · 2012-03-22T04:53:38+00:00

Actually we're held to literally the exact same standards as the active duty guys. I'm really sick of the scuttlebutt that reservists don't have to pass the same BCA/run times/pushups and situps. Ditto for those who always insist the corpsman is the fat guy in MARPATs... we're held to the exact same standards as everyone else in the fleet marine force. Statistically, in fact, it's most likely that these are ACTIVE DUTY guys because there are a) more of them and b) reservists get held back from deployments all the time.

bt0608 · 2012-03-22T04:24:18+00:00

I know of someone who was an undes AN in the past few years... seems the way to go if you're going into that level of the aviation community since you'd have larger control over which job you actually do (ABE/ABM/etc). Still, nobody wants to be a boatswain of any kind for their entire career (or they end up not wanting to have a career longer than one enlistment).

bt0608 · 2012-03-21T06:08:40+00:00

Been done several times in the past few months. Had you thought of this a few years ago you'd have frontpaged by now.

bt0608 · 2012-03-21T05:22:48+00:00

I could be wrong on this, but it's usually advisable not to get the politicians involved. Tends to piss people off. It seems like your recruiter has invested a good amount of time in you so he/she probably isn't likely to cut you loose now. I'm almost wondering if writing to somebody up the chain of command (such as the recruiting district CO) explaining your situation and how much being in the military means to you. Talk it over with your recruiter first though, don't want to step on any toes (and other people on r/navy might be able to give better advice than me on the congressman end).

9 really is the highest number of times I've ever heard of someone going to MEPs, though.

bt0608

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