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[3man75]

Recently I've gone back to thinking about joining the U.S military through the Navy branch. The Navy and Air force are pretty hands down way more preferred than the Army and Marine Corp. When I talked to some people about it they were happy to see me think about joining one of the 'smarter' branches but a few expressed that I wouldn't last.

I'm not a physically tough individual or mentally tough sometimes too, although I hide it both as best I can. The few detractors said that the Military in general is full of bullies, Jar heads, Jocks, Losers, and anyone else who couldn't find any other role in life to pursue. My question is: How true is it that the military, The Navy specifically, is "Jar headed" as my friends put it.

By the way none of this is meant to offend anyone. In the end I love all Veterans and Service members

[a1s]

I don't know about the US navy, not being from the US. However our military is filled with unpleasant characters. I wouldn't go so far as to call them "bullies and losers", but there is a dock-pack mentality to them, where they treat anything you say as a potential slight/authority challenge (not doing so is, apparently, the fastest way to end up washing your whole squads' socks.)
The flip side of the dog-pack mentality is that friendships forged during the service last a lifetime (in a way that ones made, say, in the office do not).

[3man75]

I don't know about the US navy, not being from the US. However our military is filled with unpleasant characters. I wouldn't go so far as to call them "bullies and losers", but there is a dock-pack mentality to them, where they treat anything you say as a potential slight/authority challenge (not doing so is, apparently, the fastest way to end up washing your whole squads' socks.)
The flip side of the dog-pack mentality is that friendships forged during the service last a lifetime (in a way that ones made, say, in the office do not).

So their short tempered?

A1s, where are you from?

[Eldin00]

Note that I myself have never been in any branch of the military, but have a number of friends and family members who either currently are or have been in the past.

From what I've seen, the military in general has a significantly higher proportion of the sorts of people you describe than the general population, but I don't believe that "bullies and losers" make up the majority. And of the people I know who have served in the US armed forces, the difference between the ones who had a good experience and those who had a bad one seems to be primarily how well they assimilated into the military culture of their branch of the service. The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience. Those who did not change themselves to fit into the military culture generally consider their military experience to be a negative one, and many regret that they chose to do it.

[NullForceOmega]

Ex-U.S. Army here, I personally had a very positive experience in the U.S. military, there is a strong sense of professionalism to the major branches (not really in the M.C. tho', this isn't just inter-department rivalry either, the Marines are kind of hard to deal with, and as a member of the Navy you'll be seeing a lot of them.)  If you can handle stress (and I mean A LOT of stress) then the military could be an experience (or even lifestyle) you could enjoy.  If you are faint-hearted just stay away, really, you shouldn't waste your time or theirs of you aren't willing to completely abandon the civilian mentality.  Also, there are stupid people everywhere, and the military is a place you will find some of them (just like everything else, but as a civvie your life doesn't depend on them.)

Everyone I know from the Navy says that they had few problems, and what problems they did have generally stemmed from Marines.  The Air Force is a soft place, but the upper ranks are full of hotshots and fighter jocks (go read up on the Air Force Academy, it's a real riot (sarcasm, and not the nice kind.))  The Army is the second most physically demanding (M.C. is much more so), but is comparable to the Navy in attitude.  The Coast Guard is the hardest training (not so much physically, but as far as fully qualifying for a position that isn't a desk job.)  The Marine Corps are not a branch, no matter what they tell you, they are a subset of the Navy, and they have problems, I cannot tell you how many people I have met who have had personal brushes with the Marines that left them with very negative opinions.

Addendum: Jar-head is a term applied to the Marines, I don't know where it comes from, but don't go calling a Marine Jar-head unless you're looking for a fight.

[3man75]

Addendum: Jar-head is a term applied to the Marines, I don't know where it comes from, but don't go calling a Marine Jar-head unless you're looking for a fight.

Ya I know that and trust me I don't want to mess with those guys. Problem might be is that since i'm a soft person they may want to take advantage (if they have a dog pack mentality. No one has said this but it sounds from your description that they do. Well that and an Ego).

I'll think on it some more but I wanted to ask Null if you could tell me a typical day in the Army and what it was like working with the Navy and the Marines. Good and Bad. I'm sorry if it feels like i'm asking alot I've been told Veterans usually don't like talking about their time in the service even IF they didn't go into combat.

[BFEL]

The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience.

This could be equally applied to anything from crochet club to the KKK, so I wouldn't consider this a glowing recommendation personally.

[3man75]

By the way I completely forgot to ask but I was part of CAP and JROTC. According to this site

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

https://www.navycs.com/navy-advanced-paygrade.html

I'm eleigble for advance rank. I've heard this is looked down on because those who have earned their rank via time/work get upset of newbies getting it quicker.

If I were to do this for the extra rank and money would it hurt my image in front of others? How would I be able to hide that I got ahead quicker so as to not draw unwanted attention from possibly jealous individuals.

[NullForceOmega]

A day in the life of a soldier (can't speak for squids) starts around 5 a.m. Zulu, first comes morning formation (gathering at your unit HQ for roll), followed by breakfast, then morning P.T., usually followed by several hours at your job (whatever M.O.S. you have), followed by lunch, then another few hours on the job, evening P.T., then dinner, then evening formation, and finally rack.  So not too different from a 9-5, except for the formation, P.T., and deployments.  I was a tanker who didn't actually get to complete training, so my schedule was a bit more severe.  Training units are harsh, tightly packed activities, lots of screaming, weapons drills, more screaming, punishment P.T. (doesn't matter if you do everything perfectly, Drill Sergeants exist to break you in any way they can then build you to where the military needs you to be), it is not a pleasant experience honestly, most soldiers go through 9 weeks of B.C.T., tankers go through 16 weeks of O.S.U.T. (I made it halfway before my knees had accrued too much damage to continue), the Navy is it's own beast obviously, but every single seaman I've spoken to says that it's around the same amount of stress and physicality (I knew several soldiers who had decided to switch from Navy to army, and have met several others who decided to switch from Army to Navy, with very consistent assertions from both sides.)

I will not lie, if you join as enlisted it will be the single hardest thing you have ever done, but once you're in, the benefits are huge, and it can be an absolute blast.

As for the additional rank on entry, it's not really a big deal unless you're talking about starting at Captain (only a lieutenant for the squids) most people aren't going to bitch.

[3man75]

A day in the life of a soldier (can't speak for squids) starts around 5 a.m. Zulu, first comes morning formation (gathering at your unit HQ for roll), followed by breakfast, then morning P.T., usually followed by several hours at your job (whatever M.O.S. you have), followed by lunch, then another few hours on the job, evening P.T., then dinner, then evening formation, and finally rack.  So not too different from a 9-5, except for the formation, P.T., and deployments.  I was a tanker who didn't actually get to complete training, so my schedule was a bit more severe.  Training units are harsh, tightly packed activities, lots of screaming, weapons drills, more screaming, punishment P.T. (doesn't matter if you do everything perfectly, Drill Sergeants exist to break you in any way they can then build you to where the military needs you to be), it is not a pleasant experience honestly, most soldiers go through 9 weeks of B.C.T., tankers go through 16 weeks of O.S.U.T. (I made it halfway before my knees had accrued too much damage to continue), the Navy is it's own beast obviously, but every single seaman I've spoken to says that it's around the same amount of stress and physicality (I knew several soldiers who had decided to switch from Navy to army, and have met several others who decided to switch from Army to Navy, with very consistent assertions from both sides.)

I will not lie, if you join as enlisted it will be the single hardest thing you have ever done, but once you're in, the benefits are huge, and it can be an absolute blast.

As for the additional rank on entry, it's not really a big deal unless you're talking about starting at Captain (only a lieutenant for the squids) most people aren't going to bitch.

Right but would you say its better to keep under wraps and not let people know (Unless they need to)?

[NullForceOmega]

Doesn't work that way, if you achieve rank beyond lowest, you are required to display rank.

[Eldin00]

The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience.

This could be equally applied to anything from crochet club to the KKK, so I wouldn't consider this a glowing recommendation personally.

It wasn't intended as a recommendation, just an observation. And one big difference between a military enlistment and most other groups you might join, is that you can't just walk away from the military if you realize it isn't for you.

[Strife26]

Resident recently separated Army sergeant (E5) here.

The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience.

This could be equally applied to anything from crochet club to the KKK, so I wouldn't consider this a glowing recommendation personally.

It wasn't intended as a recommendation, just an observation. And one big difference between a military enlistment and most other groups you might join, is that you can't just walk away from the military if you realize it isn't for you.

Sure you can. You just make yourself a burden on your organization until they kick you out for your local article 15 equivalent or "failure to adapt." Only question at that point, is if you're willing to accept being honorless yourself and what benies you keep.


If you can come in as a E-3, it's a major upward step on your paycheck and career. From day one, an E-3 makes about another 300 bucks  month compared to E1. Without it, you're looking at at least a year of work to get to the position someone with JROTC experience got stepping in.


Now, the real question becomes if it's something you want to do. If you have sufficient mental toughness, there's no reason why you can't succeed. If you're treating it as a patriot or as someone trying to do honest work for a career or for an honorable contract and GI bennies (significant amounts of money towards college), then you'll fit in fine. If not? Probably best to go somewhere else.

A bit of background knowledge might be helpful here, where are you in life right now? High School kid with nowhere particular to go? Family to take care of? Would have had a full-ride athletic scholarship if it wasn't for X (you'd be amazed how many of those there are).

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Hey I'm not the only one thinking about joining the US navy?!? Sweet


If you've got any questions you want to ask about Navy life my dad was in for 30 years and my sister just joined and I'm a navy beat so just shoot me a PM for answers

[3man75]

Resident recently separated Army sergeant (E5) here.

The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience.

This could be equally applied to anything from crochet club to the KKK, so I wouldn't consider this a glowing recommendation personally.

It wasn't intended as a recommendation, just an observation. And one big difference between a military enlistment and most other groups you might join, is that you can't just walk away from the military if you realize it isn't for you.

Sure you can. You just make yourself a burden on your organization until they kick you out for your local article 15 equivalent or "failure to adapt." Only question at that point, is if you're willing to accept being honorless yourself and what benies you keep.


If you can come in as a E-3, it's a major upward step on your paycheck and career. From day one, an E-3 makes about another 300 bucks  month compared to E1. Without it, you're looking at at least a year of work to get to the position someone with JROTC experience got stepping in.


Now, the real question becomes if it's something you want to do. If you have sufficient mental toughness, there's no reason why you can't succeed. If you're treating it as a patriot or as someone trying to do honest work for a career or for an honorable contract and GI bennies (significant amounts of money towards college), then you'll fit in fine. If not? Probably best to go somewhere else.

A bit of background knowledge might be helpful here, where are you in life right now? High School kid with nowhere particular to go? Family to take care of? Would have had a full-ride athletic scholarship if it wasn't for X (you'd be amazed how many of those there are).

I am currently a college student who made the Deans list. I first tried to join the military during H.S but was rejected because of medical reasons (mild scoliosis. Which I felt was bogus and that they simply thought I wasn't smart enough.). Because I had initially thought it was intelligence that drove me out I decided for a second try at the military with a different branch and thinking my new found wisdom in life would be more useful.

Personally I don't think it's going to work but I still want to try really badly especially because I really want to have the GI bill to pay for my bachelors.