Joining the Navy?

Question

I'm very serious about joining the Navy. But since I'm completing my last semester in college (Spring '08), I won't be able to ship out until afterwards. I've heard about the Delayed Entry program. How does that work? Are there any type of weekend drills until I ship out??

Answer 1

I enlisted in the Navy in 1960. I too had a degree. But I opted to enlist rather than to in as an officer because i didn't know if I wanted to make that kind of commitment.

After my reenlistment, somebody dusted off my degree and recommended me for OCS. So, after 6 years I was an Ensign. I retired after 25 years.

But that might have been a fluke... maybe I was so bad at my enlisted job they figured they'd make me an officer... ;-)

If you're "enlisting," that is entering the enlisted ranks, you'll likely have a leg up on the other recruits. You'll likely enter as an E-3 and be eligible for making rate a year ahead of the others.

If you're applying for an officer program, you'll go to OCS which is tougher than boot camp was. But I guess I'm not the one to judge. I'd lettered in swimming my junior and senior years in college, and before I got to OCS, the Navy had put me through some rather rigorous training.

To answer your question, I've heard oft he DEP (Delayed Entry Program) too. Want to find out the absolutely correct information, contact a recruiter. If you're interested in an officer program, I'd do my darndest to talk with an officer... even if I had to travel to the regional office. You tend to get better responses when you call and say, "I was speaking to LT Smithers about (whatever program), and I have a couple of questions..." than if you say, "Um... I have a couple of questions about (whatever program)."

There are no weekend drills until you go active. I'm presuming you're talking about active duty rather than reserve. When I entered, you were inactive reserves.... until you went to boot camp. I don't know if that's the case today.

May I suggest you bone up on current Navy events as well as a little history. It's all available on the Navy's Web site, http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp. Had I not been up on current events, I could never have made it through my interview. And I had the advantage of a little over four years of exposure.

All the best.

Answer 2

I don't believe there are any weekend drills involved with the Delayed Entry Program. You simply sign a contract to become active duty for a specific date in the future, at which time you would begin the process of enlistment and formal military training.

In your case, as a prospective college grad, you should consider signing-up for Officer Candidate School, ROTC, or you could join the Naval Reserves (which would require intermittent weekend drills and two-weeks active duty for training between college semesters).

Answer 3

DEP is for Active duty enlistments. yes, you can choose to ship up to 12 months later, but be aware that when exactly you ship is entirely based on what A school you get, so decide which you want more.. a certain rating, or to ship after you finish school. you MIGHT not be able to get both.

If You Go Reserves, you attend Boot and A school just like AD and then start you weekend drilling.

Answer 4

I went in on the delayed entry program in 1970 went for my physical 6 months before I had to report, and no there was any drills. If you have a college degree you might want to think about applying to officer candidate school and becoming an officer.

Answer 5

88 is quite well! You want A minimal 50 at the asvab to get into the military.The process you desire relies on should you qualify or no longer aka your asvab rating for illustration should you desire to be an engineer however u failed the the mechanical facet of the asvab your no longer fitting an engineer ! or it could actually rely on whether or not its to be had.if its no longer then you'll be able to opt for to look ahead to it with the intention to take longer or decide on a task thats to be had proper now.Also speak to a recruiter.

Answer 6

im in delayed entry right now. there not going to give you a ship date that you cant do. they will work with you. infact it might take longer that wanted i signed in august and i have to wait till febuary when i wanted asap. all DEP is is that your in just waiting to leave. once every two weeks you and all the rest the deppers meet up (only if you can make it. they're flexible) and run a mile and a half do push ups sit ups basically get ready for you initial PT test. DEP is really a joke though but if you want to join id do it asap so you can leave by summer or whatever. my state..michigan...seems like we have a back up of ppl who want to join. backed up to about march or so i believe right now.

Answer 7

I went in on the DEP before I actually left for boot camp. I had gone thru MEPS (military entrance processing station), gotten my job assignment, had my physical, gotten my background check started and signed my initial contract. While we didn't drill, my recruiting office did have one or two weekends a month where we came into the office and learned a bit about what we were getting into. For example, we learned how to stand at attention without locking our knees, how to salute, Navy terminology (head=bathroom, wall=bulkhead, floor=deck) and started memorizing our 11 General Orders of the Sentry. This stuff really helped once I got to bootcamp. Also, you might want to consider a few things when you decide about the date you want to ship out. Examples: holidays- are you going to be in boot camp or A school (where you learn your trade like Aviation Ordnance, Nuclear programs, Quartermaster school) during a big holiday, like Christmas? Are you going to arrive at your first duty station with time to spare before a big holiday? (most of the time, our Christmas leave papers(chits) were filled out in September or October because of the number of people requesting leave) If you're a big family person, you might want to leave as soon as your term ends and you have your degree. That way, you have a chance of being home or being able to go home during the next holiday season. This may not seem like something major, but if it's your first time away from home during the holiday season, it can be a little rough.
Second is the time of season in the area you're going to bootcamp at. All Navy enlisted personnel go to boot camp at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, IL. If you go during the summer, you'll be facing the heat. If you go during the winter, you'll be pulling watches to keep the snow shoveled from the sidewalks.
Now, if you want to go officer you need to look at do you want to fly or do something else. The flight program in the Navy is tough, but it has to be. If it wasn't then the number of accidents that happen to aviators (pilots are for those that do not land on carriers, according to other Naval Avaitors) on carriers would be a lot higher. It takes nerves, training, guts (big brass ones) to land a 50,000 + metal machine on something the size of a postage stamp in the middle of the ocean. (Ok, so a carrier is bigger than a postage stamp, but it sure as hell doesn't look like it when you're trying to land on it). Add to that the fact that a carrier is not stationery: it is usually moving with enough speed so that natural wind flow plus headwind created by speed is at least 15knots (mph) coming over the bow (front of the ship) to make landing easier (landing with a tailwind=oh sh!!).
In the end, we (veterans and military spouses) can tell you lots of things, but the best source of information is your recruiter: a friend of my brother-in-laws (who was also a Senior Chief recruiter in the Navy before he retired with 25 years) helped me make the final choice.
Yeah, I went in with both eyes wide open and don't regret it a bit.

Answer 8

Talk with your recruiter and they can arrange the day that you ship that will work with your schedule.

Answer 9

If you have a college degree don't enlist.

Answer 10

Sing the answer:In the navy
You can get down on your knees
In the navy
You may catch a weird disease