Okay Freepers, my 17 year old son wants to enlist in the Navy when he turns 18. What should he/we know first?
Tell him the "grown up" part of the Navy is the United States Marine Corps. Semper Fi.
Bring in the military is alot like sex. You can read all the books, see all the movies, talk to people about it, but until you experience it you are pretty much clueless..that and you will get screwed somewhere along the line. :-)
OTHO for most people it's a positive experience, I know I learned a number of life leassons that have stood me in good stead..ie how to get along with and work with people that you have very little in common with.
Rule #1 The DI is ALWAYS right.
Rule #2 in the unlikely event that the DI is wrong...see rule #1
First, even if they will take him w/o the diploma, get it. It will increase his specialty options. Likewise for any college credit he can earn (AP courses, CLEP tests). The Navy used to promote based on examinations and qualifications, and sailors would compete Navy-wide against others in the same "rating" or specialty. So everything he can do to get smart helps.
Why the Navy? The reason I ask is that people have different reasons for joining (and then life takes over and altered your plans... I was gonna be quick in and out for the college money and wound up volunteering for Special Forces and stayin 9 years active and almost twenty (so far) reserves. Everybody was surprised, even me).
For example, your son needs to know that some Navy jobs will land him in bulletsville in Iraq with the Marines. And the Navy has both ship and shore jobs, and the shore jobs (and the ship bases) are some in the USA and some overseas.
Some jobs teach you useful civilian skills, some don't. Even ones that sound like they would. But some are a better deal than equivalent jobs in, say, the Air Force. For example, Navy airplane mechanics learn how to fix the whole airplane where Air Force ones learn one special skill, mostly. (This is an oversimplification). The point is, a guy who has worked on an aircraft carrier has an easier time getting a license to repair airliners than a guy who was in a C-5 maintenance shop.
Some jobs teach you academic skills that earn college credit... for instance, nuclear techs have a lot of science pounded into 'em, linguists (for Naval Intelligence) now earn an associates' degree, I think. and medical specialties can lead to civilian educational credit. There is a catalog that describes how much credit each Navy (Army, Air Force) course is worth.
Finally, while all military jobs are important to somebody, it's not always obvious how important a job is. If a guy has a job where what he does makes a difference and is part of US power, it's a very good feeling.
As far as how people are treated, I served in the Army. My own observation is that officer-enlisted relations are the most backward, stiff, even feudal, in the Navy. They are the most relaxed in the Air Force -- Air Force officers seem to respect their enlisted folks more than those in the other services. The land services are in between. Of course, in the special ops world it's all different so all I can tell you is the impressions I have from "outside."
If your son takes it on, perhaps my little mantra, which got me through Basic, then Airborne, Ranger, SF and "other stuff," will help. DO NOT QUIT. I always said I wouldn't quit. I knew that thousands or tens of thousands or whatever had done every course before me, that they were not superman, that they were all at this exact spot (whatever bleak spot I was in that I called up this thought); and that they had pressed on through to success. And all around me I watched men I thought were better men than me quit. I wasn't the best, the fastest, strongest or smartest, but I might have been the most stubborn.
No service will ask a man to do more than it is possible for him to do. If it seems that way, it's because the service is stretching him. They have trained dozens of millions of soldiers, sailors and marines and they know what they're doing.
One more thing: when the challenges come hot and heavy, take your mind off your plight by helping someone who's worse off than you. If you're strong, help the four-eyed fragile kid... if you're smart, help the slower guy. You're an individual and alone for the first two days of basic, and from then on you're on a team. (and sometimes the DI's are the opposing team).
Finally one more thing to help... before going to Basic, read some World War II memoirs. Marine and paratrooper ones especially. Watch the "Band of Brothers" miniseries and worry about getting Captain Sobel in Basic. Watch "The Boys in Company C" and the first (good) half of "Full Metal Jacket" and have some R Lee Ermey nightmares. The actual course will seem like a cakewalk!
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
The people yelling at you in basic are making sure you know your job. They are really protecting your butt, but don't ever smile at them. After that, your military experience is as good or bad as you decide to make it.