can a women be a secretary in the navy after high school?

Question

I really want to help out my nation by doing something great, but like most people i dont want to die in iraq but i really want to be a Secretary for the navy after high school...is this possible for me?

Answer 1

An honest reason for not wanting to join. Thanks. Most hide behind protest rhetoric.

Not many people in the Navy get exposed to hostile fire. Furthermore, since you're a girl, it makes it even more unlikely you will be in a rate (job) that entails combat. So it's unlikely you'll die in Iraq... or anywhere else... except of old age.

As for a secretary in the Navy, at the Pentagon, as I recall, they go through GSA (General Services Administration). I'd presume it's that way at bases. GSA has offices in most large cities where there is a base. I went to their site (http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/home.do?tabId=0) and didn't see much in the way of entry level stuff. But you could always go to a Navy Base and inquire... or call. I'd suggest you become competent on MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook--especially the meeting-scheduling feature, Access, and Publisher... maybe even Project), that should be a great help. Most secretaries seem only barely aware that some of those applications exist.

But, tell you what. Some guys who entered the service with me got out after 4 and went to work. Some of them, in 20 years gradually worked their ways up from the mail room, or wherever they started. They worked 60 hours a week, but they made it. They finally got into one of those large corner offices with all the windows... way up in those tall office buildings. And they dreamed about action, adventure, travel... all the stuff I did for 25 years. I retired at 45. I started a second career in management consulting with a Big-5 consulting firm. I retired 15 years later from that job. Now, with two checks coming in, and a reasonable bank account, I don't have to work. Oh, those guys in the corner offices? Well, they're still working 50 hours a week and they're still dreaming.

If you go into the Navy, you'll have an opportunity to take college classes on the Navy. You'll also be able to build up a sizable college fund so you can get a degree when you get out.

I don't know if they (the Navy) still has it,but there used to be a program whereby the Navy would put your through school, after which you would get your commission. I believe the obligation was 6 of 8 years, but yo might consider that.

Addendum...
Somebody posted the terrible conditions aboard a Carrier. I was injured and was treated aboard a Carrier. Most of the guys have air-conditioned bunks. Some of them were stacked three high, but when you're sleeping, what difference does it make if the "ceiling" is three feet, or eight feet above your head.. And seldom is below decks on a carrier ever blacked out. It's like a city with stores, a gym where you can work out, fast-food places, barbers, a hospital, radio and TV stations, a library, a great hospital, dentists, several 24/7 cafeteria-style "mess halls"... a carrier even has an airport.

The poster complained about lack of privacy. Privacy for what? I've been aboard a sub too, and they have so much less privacy. And, in a sub, one can't always go up on deck for a breath of fresh air. Aboard a sub they have a procedure called "warm bunks." Because of lack of space, one has to share a bunk with three others. Each has it for 8 hours. When one gets up, another is going to bed. On a carrier, everybody has his (or her) own bunk.

On a ship... of any kind, remember, "UP and FORWARD (toward the pointy end for landlubbers), STARBOARD (right side of the ship for landlubbers), DOWN and AFT (toward the back porch), PORT (left side)."

Answer 2

First let me point out: NOT EVERYONE IN IRAQ OR IN AFGHANISTAN IS GOING TO DIE! Don't believe this garbage...and don't let some unknown person on the web who has no real world experience tell you the military is all bad...it sucks...etc. It's what you make it, and you can make it work for you. I joined right after high school as I had no idea what I wanted to do.

As someone who has served in the Air Force (74-84, 86-90)
the Army National Guard (85-86) and ended up retiring from the Navy (90-2002) I highly recommend the Air Force.

They have more jobs skills that relate to civilian life aftyer service, actually college credit for all training you get (they have their own Community College of the Air Force- fully accredited) and a better quality of life.

Yeah, everyone runs the risk of going overseas, but in a clerical position, highly doubtful- especially if you are attached to a medical or dental unit. If anything, you'd be an auxilliary care giver if the crap hit the fan...however...you'd never believe the paperwork that has to be handled, the communications that are required...and the clerks needed to make sure those wounded or killed are taken care of properly.
In the Navy, you'd have sea and shore-duty rotations, and believe me...shipboard life sucks! You haven't see dark until you've been on the inside of a carrier when all lights go out!
The noise, the cramped quarters...the lack of privacy, the lack of respect given by your "shipmates"...and the lack of employment opportunities when you get out. No one really want to recognize the "credits" you earned in your training..
Trust me...the Air Force is the best route. At least the college credits you get there really are college credits that are transferable to basically any university!

I speak with experience here- I never took advantage of all the tuition assistance programs and off-duty education I could have done...Now I'm making $14.00/hr in a nice job, but without a degree...I'm stuck working everyday like this until I die. I'm 51, with 27+ years of service and nothing to show but a pension that makes my house payment. All of the money I wasted on garbage "fun" courses is not worth a cent.
I wasted my years by not sticking in one branch and taking the opportunities given to me...trust me, there is no "later".

Rich

Answer 3

My husband is in the Coast Guard and gets alot of Law Enforcement stuff. They have a new ME or LE. (one of those two) rate coming out soon and it's all law enforcement. Either one is a great branch for law enforcement but you move up in rank faster in the CG. My husband hasn't been in even a year and he's an E-4. Be E-5 Soon. My husband has always told me that the CG is the best for law enforement and my neighbor agrees and he's navy lol

Answer 4

NO, unless you apply for a civil service job with
the Department of the US Navy as a secretary,
because the US Navy does not use secretaries on active duty!!

Answer 5

the rating you want is YN or PS. HOWEVER.. the Navy tries to steer females AWAY from the traditional roles and would much prefer to put them in more mechanically inclined ratings.

One reason is because there is a smaller need for females in the Navy over all( not all ships are co ed, and no Subs are).

By the way.. YN and PS deploy just like everybody else. i n fact a friend of mine is currently serving a one year tour in Afghanistan right now.

Answer 6

1) Nobody wants to die in Iraq, but we go because it is our duty. If you don't understand duty, you might want to think about something other then military.

2) It is possible. Just look for the job code you want when you see the recruiter, or talk to other people in the Navy.

Answer 7

You can enlist in the Navy to be yeoman (YN) or personnelmen (PN). Those rates work in the administration field and are not combat rates. However, you may end up on a ship or forward deployed base, but probably not in Iraq.

Answer 8

You mean work on base in an admin position? or be an administration person in the Navy? My last Admin Asst. was a Generals Admin in the Air Force. Best Admin I ever had.

Answer 9

Well, I'm sure the Department of Navy has GS (civil service) admin positions. This might give you some insight:

https://chart.donhr.navy.mil/

Answer 10

you NORMALLY won't get a gaurentee other than the school for (Personnel Servicemen) your first tour in th eNavy. It'll be 98% the needs of the navy, and 2% your desires.