JUDE'S PROFILE

I doubt there's no reason. There's a lot of ordnance you can't keep forever and it has to be disposed of. Might as well dispose of it in an entertaining fashion. You also need to test equipment. Also, I'll note this: Whenever I was at NSA Souda Bay and there was a ship coming into port, I wouldn't go out that night because sailors returning from sea are dipshits I'd rather avoid. So, don't be a dipshit, Feldwhatever.

post=Mitsuhide_The_Vagrant
At least the navy is the final defensive force to get sent out to fight.
I have a friend in the Navy; his name is Will, say hi to him for me. =P

Good luck, Feld.

Tomahawks fly first.

post=Feldschlacht IV
Nice, thanks for the insider info! May I ask what made you decide to enlist?

I was against the war in Iraq. I got agitated with the sign-toters and their impotency to end anything. I decided a more productive route was to get directly involved with bringing our guys home alive since I'm not powerful enough to snap my fingers and make peace. My perspective on certain things has changed since joining. So I partially retract what I said earlier about regretting my enlistment--it was necessary in identifying where my efforts ought to be spent. I just wish I signed a shorter contract.

post=Feldschlacht IV
What branch are you in? Is there anything you can tell me about how the day to day lifestyle is and how much you get to do/free time?

US Air Force. I can't tell you about life on a ship, but the sailors I work with have a comparable lifestyle to my own when not deployed. We work twelve hour shifts but only work 14 days out of a 28 day period, which is a pretty great deal. That's just us, though. Most people work 0730-1630 on Monday through Friday and a lot of units allow you to cut out early to go to the gym. If ship deployments are anything like Air Force deployments, you'll work twelve hour shifts every day, but time flies and you'll be home before you know it.

When you're not at work it's almost like not being in the military at all for the most part... You just need to keep in mind that whatever kinds of trouble you get into on your off-time will also get you in trouble with the military. My nose is pretty clean in that regard so I have no issues.

The pay is kind of shitty, but I also made a lot more money before I enlisted so my perspective is skewed. If I were to separate I'd have to make about $55,000 to maintain the same lifestyle and benefits in the Denver area. I've been in for over 4.5 years and am an E-5 so you won't get that kind of paycheck for awhile.

You should definitely not get it in your head that you'll never deploy to a dangerous area. It's what you've signed up for. You can never fully predict when another serious war will break out, and even in today's Afghanistan conflict there are no guarantees. It was only a few months ago when two sailors were killed out in eastern Afghanistan, and they weren't SEALs, they were a cook and a plumber. Hell, I'm in the Chair Force and still did a Weapons Intelligence Team deployment to Iraq where I had to sit behind a .50 cal.

Which career field are you enlisting as? Most of the sailors I work with are CTTs.