When joining the Navy, what are the chances of being deployed on a ship??

Question

What chances do you have if you rather serve on shore instead of on ship (for longer periods of time)? I am married and have a 2 month old daughter. Thank you for factual and productive answers in advance. God bless.

Sorry if it sounds as if I do not want to serve on a ship - this is not the case. Just want to know what I am getting into time wise. Don't want to have a bad surprise once I have joined. Also, I am not trying to avoid combat - but rather trying to find the best service (MOS) for me and my family - also something I can transfer to a civilian life afterward. (tech. skills in IT/ Telecom./ Electronics)
Very thankful for all the helpful answers you have given.
God bless you.

Answer 1

As a new recruit into the Navy it is probably 95% chance your first command will be a ship as it should be. There are very few choices for shore duty for anyone anymore since most shore duty jobs are being contracted to civilians. Just because you have a young family does not mean you will be gone 24/7 on the ship. In most cases the ship is in and out of port all the time. 2 days here 5 days at another time. You only go on a 6 month deployment about every 18 to 24 months depending on the class of ship you are on. Being stationed on a ship is not a bad thing at all. When you are in port you live just like any of your civilian friends. You come to work at whatever time in the morning and go home after work. If you need to enlist in the military the Navy is the safest bet as far as all the military branches. Even better than the Coast Guard. Due to the small sizes of the crews on Coast Guard Cutters you will be working a lot of hours and be gone a lot. If you need the military to make the quality of your life better for your family I highly recommend the Navy. If you don't have any real job skills and a job that pay very well with great benefits your life will be much better by enlisting in the Navy. The benefits are outstanding and you will be trained with a real job skill. There are a lot of false ideas about the Navy and time spent on ships floating around the civilian world. Talk to a Navy recruiter and believe me that sea duty is actually super fun and not a horrible way of life. I hated shore duty everytime I had it. My husband and I are both Navy and we have twins under the age of one if that helps you any.

Answer 2

Pick your rate, choose your fate.

It all depends on your job. For the vast majority of sailors you can count on going directly to the fleet upon graduation from tech school.

For some sailors, such as SeaBees, there is no sea duty. They do overseas rotations. So, you could end up in Guam, Diego Garcia or the Middle East (Iraq) fairly quickly while your family lives back in the states.

I once saw a grown man cry like a baby when he got orders to the fleet out of "A" School. He called the Detailer, a Master Chief, and cried on the phone for over half an hour. The Detailer got disgusted and gave the guy shore duty in Monterrey, CA.

I begged for sea duty and I got it. After 4 years I waived my shore tour and took another sea duty tour. I was an E-5 and he was still in Monterrey as an E-3 whining about not being able to pass the advancement exam.

Answer 3

Think about it this way, if you are joining the Navy and don't want to go to sea, why join the Navy.

In Old Navy Speak, a sailor belongs on a ship and a ship belongs at sea.

If by joining the Navy you are thinking that you can dodge combat duty, they are now taking sailors, sending them through a sort of boot camp for Army and Marine training and putting them on the ground in Iraq - same with AF.

What you need is a nice little ship like I had - 10 Knots speed in a high wind and going down hill and sailing for a year with only a few stops.

Answer 4

Recruiters do lie at all times. Often they do not know they're mendacity they only inform you what they're informed to inform you. The majority of what you heard is lovely virtually actual. Some charges are vitally wanted on ships and it's not likely that you just could be pulled off for flooring deployment. But there are honestly a exceptional quantity of army group of workers in Iraq. They are known as Sand Squids. And they make up close to a 3rd of the bottom battle forces. Its a tremendous difference from while I used to be within the Navy. They did not even hassle instructing us to shoot. But my Brother in Law remains to be in. And he says that plenty of the Navy humans are deployed at the flooring.

Answer 5

Joining the Navy you have to accept the possibility of being assigned to a ship. If you are assigned to a ship, you go on cruises. That means time away from the family. I was 8 years Air Force. It is my opinion that the Air Force has some of the best duty out of all of the branches. Good Luck.

Answer 6

Frankly, they are pretty much doing away with shore duty for a lot of ratings all together. in fact the current issue of Navy times says theat the minimum sea/shore rotation is 5 years at sea, 2 years on shore duty..with Sea duty being first.

there are VERY few ratings that do not get permanently stationed at sea. CTI is one, but right now you need to score at least a 100 on the DLAB to have a shot at it. any of the Sea Bee ratings do not get stationed aboard ships, but they DO deploy frequently to fun spots like Afghanostan and Iraq.

Bottom line: if you are unwilling to serve on sea duty, do NOT enlist in the Navy. end of subject. if you are unwilling to be deployed for anywhere from 30 days to 15 months at a time, then do NOT enlist into ANY branch of the military.

Answer 7

Chances are very good that you will make a sea tour. After all; Sailors were meant to be on ships; Ships were meant to be at sea.

You can talk to your recruiter and find out what rates are likely to be shore based. But keep in mind, he's a salesman with a quota to reach. Research his answer, and don't forget to get it included in your contract. That way when they don't deliver, you get to go home.

Good luck,

USN (Ret)

Answer 8

OK...

Depends on your job for starters.

I was an ET (electronics tech) and I was in Chicago for 3 years and shore duty Hawaii for 3 years then I got out.

I was able to have first pick on the orders since I graduated first in my class in "A" school.

There are too many variables to be able to tell you whether or not you are going to get shore duty or how much.

Answer 9

depending on your classification any where from 100% to 65%

example: if your going to be a deck hand (Seaman) almost 100% garenteed
If your going in to Seabee, you may have some time when your assigned that you travel on a ship, but not likely to be assigned to a ship.
And so on and so forth BT very high probability
EM moderatly high probability.
Usually newbies will get their sea time.

Answer 10

Anything is possible I guess. I'm not in the military. However, I've heard that deployment anytime is possible. Good luck and thank you for your service to this country. GOD BLESS!