Son will be going to the Navy

I joined the Army my junior year of high school and served on active duty for almost 13 years, and it was the best decision I ever made. It sounds like your son did his research and selected one of the best career fields the military has to offer. Hopefully his recruiter will be there to assist your son through the medical process so he can ship out as soon as possible.

 

You mention your son does not like school and barely graduated. That might make the military not a good fit him. On the flip side the military could be the best thing for him.

 

thank you for the input

He is well aware of the commitment required and the work that will be expected of him joining the Navy.

 

I enlisted in the Army under the delayed entry program in ‘74 while I was a senior in high school. I knew college wasn’t going to happen due to money and book learning wasn’t my thing at 18yo. Plus my father and other relatives were veterans. Possibly the worst time to join the Army being the end of a very unpopular war. I received a security clearance and learned a good trade (telecommunications) and never looked back. 25 year civilian career and retired at 49yo. You’re got to be determined to be successful. It’s inner strength and belief in yourself to get it done. Do not expect anyone else to do it for you. And the military is the best place to see if you’ve got what it takes.

 

Could not disagree more. I dropped out of high school and came back to finish in a 5th year just so the Marines would take me. Hated school at the time.

5 years later with a new outlook I went to university and finished a challenging double major program with honors. Sometimes we just need a little time to grow up and a bit of structure to put life into perspective.

 

Very true, I never served and didn't like school. I would of sank or swam had I enlisted earlier. Looking back I wasn't mature enough for service back then, but it also could have been the best thing for me.

 

Joined the Army the senior year in high school. Delayed entry program. It was at the end of the Viet Nam war. The chance of going to Viet Nam was less than 25%. I was a lousy high school student. Unmotivated.

Went to Europe for two years. 18 years old, Germany, single, good pay - you get the picture.

Came home to 4 year Army reserve commitment.

College and Graduate school paid for on G.I. Bill.

Happily Retired.

Tell him to do it.

 

My .02 cents since I recently retired (or it feels like it) and still serve in what we call the puzzle palace.

-Best thing for a young person with no discipline or desire to be educated because the military through generations of trial and error has a great training program that breaks you down and rebuilds you with the understanding that (for enlisted) you get more done as a team through support of each other and sacrifice for each other. This is something you can't learn in school. This is 100% training 24 hrs a day mostly.
-With all your med/nurse kids....SoCal, you must be pinoy! lol. J/K, but for such a young man with no motivation the Marines would have set him/her straight! But the Navy or Army is also a great choice and will provide discipline and real world experience that is invaluable as others have said.
-The Navy is not just ships....it's literally 3-4 different parts of it and it's actually treated that way at the highest levels. Weird right! Their Aviation is top notch, their supply is impressive, and of course their ships. Most go by brown or black shoe representation. Traditions are off the chart more than any other military service and as a Marine with 20 years I have always had good relations with sailors (and all branches of course). However, I have to admit that I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Coast Guard who falls under DoD during war and DHS otherwise as they truly more more with less and are always on the frontline.
-Lastly, I had a sister n law who gave me the stink face when I suggested the navy for her son. She knew nothing of the military but had a lot of opinions (honestly, how can you even have an opinion if you never served? It's all just empty words with no weight behind it). He was also the same as your son (smart, but lazy and non communicative) and he joined on his own at 18 and they could do nothing about it. A year later and she is the greatest Navy mom who wants to tell me all about his training. You know I just wanted to smack that itch down and remind her what an @ss she was, but I didn't. 4 yrs later he finished, had a great time, learned a lot, got his gi bill, and now is looking at homes for his VA loan benefit. He has an actual career living on his own! As a parent....isn't that what you want?

 

I should have mentioned that I bought my second house with zero money down on a G.I. Loan. Pretty good deal. I didn’t have the required 15% Down payment and would have never been able to buy that house. Got a super low interest rate when other folks were paying sky high rates. Not sure how that all works now but it was a good deal then.

I also get a whole bunch of veterans discounts on stuff that I’m not even sure why I get.

 

Military service can be whatever he makes of it. If he goes in with a desire to succeed, he will. If he wants to just screw around, then joining the military is probably not his best choice.

If he wants to succeed while he's in, he'll receive excellent training, a nice security clearance, and on the job training/experience he would be hard pressed to get on the outside. It's fantastic if he wants to do 20+ years and retire, or if he wants to take his skills to another (non-military) government job or private industry. Having that security clearance is one of the best ways to get his foot in the door whatever he decides to do.

But I do have one HUGE recommendation: if he hates doing that and wants to get out of the Navy as soon as possible, make sure he finishes his enlistment and leaves with an honorable discharge. If he decides do drugs and gets kicked out with an OTH, he will be hard pressed to fine any decent job afterwards. That will follow him the rest of his life. If he want's to do drugs, it's better to never go into the military than get kicked out of it.

Hope he has a fantastic career!

 

Lol not pinoy. Born here but family from El Salvador. Thanks for sharing this. Always good to hear these stories turn out to be for the best.

 

Great advice. Thank you

 

Don’t assume everyone in the military can get a security clearance, esp the high level type. I was in secured comm in the Army and before being sent to ROK I had to go through the process. I’m talking the FBI going to my neighborhood and the town I grew up in. Some in my class didn’t make it and were sent to facilities that didn’t require as high level of clearance as required for ROK.

 

He will be required to have a security clearance if he gets into the field he wants (cyber security). I'm guessing he'll have at least a TS to work in that field, if not an SCI clearance.

 

It was 10 years ago but i was in a super similar spot. No motivation, just liked messing with computers and playing games. I barely passed highschool and had no desire for college either. I went airforce right outta highschool. Best choice of my life. Got in and learned a trade, IT networks/phones you name it. Coulda got out and made some coin but im having too much fun and want the retirement. Give him the support he needs and let him prove himself. Make sure he knows he needs to buy into the navy as in give it his best for the first few years. Its gonna be a hell of a change for him and it happens fast but its alot of fun.

 

Lots of great feedback here. I am a proud dad of a son who joined the Air Force Reserves shortly after graduating high school. He had been in ROTC all through school and the captain of his Cybersecurity Team. So unlike you, we suspected that he would eventually enlist. Not sure why he chose the reserves. He had his reasons and has questioned his decision several times. Though in spite of it all he has re-upped for another 6 years. Which we found interesting because he was initially placed into an MOS and told the job was a unicorn position which he quickly learned that wasn’t exactly the truth. Someone suggested getting things in writing…that is really good advice if you can find a recruiter willing to do that. He has made the best of it though. In fact, he has done fairly well for himself. Through a lot of hard work and dedication he was picked up by a Military Contractor and impressed some higher ups. When that contract ended he was placed in a role at Hickam AFB in Hawaii even though he was attached to a unit at Lewis McChord here in Washington. Almost 2 years ago he was deployed to the Middle East. He was placed on an XCom team in Jordan. Things had died down over there so as parents our concerns were focused on the six months of limited contact. Though honestly it wasn’t much different than him living in Hawaii. We would see him occasionally when he flew home for UTA’s but communication was minimal. Things changed though when Israel was attacked. We would get cryptic messages and one line texts saying I’m safe now. Hahaha I laugh now but there were some sleepless nights knowing that he was probably outside the base establishing communications somewhere. That proved to be true. He has shared some of what he had experienced though not all. And while he admits that what he went through was incomparable to those who were in Iraq during the worst of it, he also clearly carries a level of PTSD. Small aircraft still startle him at times. He has shared that he would be happy if he never heard the sound of a drone again. There are other things he has shared that I won’t go into, but these are things that as a parent you will notice and learn to respect his need to put things on the shelf until he is ready to share. We have prayed a lot. He is a good man, but different from when he first enlisted. He performed admirably on deployment in Jordan and they requested him in Qatar for another 6 mos. His senior stated that it was the only time in his career that a reservist’s deployment was ever extended. Upon his return he was selected for a 3 year non deployable position in a cybersecurity unit and promoted to Tech Sargent. We are incredibly proud of him. We are honored by his decision to serve our nation. We have wrestled with the fear that comes with letting go and trusting God. As a parent, these are proud moments. He has transformed into an amazing man. One who displays knowledge and wisdom beyond his years. We have the military to thank for much of that. Hopefully your son can get a medical clearance. My nephew and his wife both serve in the Navy. They have been well trained and are nearing the end of their careers. I hope your son finds great success and we will keep him in our thoughts and prayers. And as his parent, I hope that you find strength in supporting him in his service to our country. Thank you.

 

Thank you very much for sharing your story. Really means a lot. Thank you

 

Thank you brother for sharing.

 

100% true. And, there are different security clearances for different departments once you get out! I learned that when going to several different agencies....a TS is not a TS from place to place.

 

Yeah I'm at DOE and we use Q and L as designations that are basically top secret and secret, respectively.