65 Days

It's now 65 days until I ship out to boot camp. I'm taking a vacation soon and I won't get back until after 60 days before I leave, so my 60 Day interview will be the day after I get back from vacation. That sucks because I'm really close to the weight limit, so I'll have to really watch what I eat. On the other hand, I've significantly increased my workouts and I've made lots of progress since I started. For example, I can now do 2 real pushups. Previously, I could only do a few of the knee ones. And I'm up to about 30 curlups in 2 minutes. The running is at about 22 minutes for the 1.5 mile run. That's not as good as it can be, but I'm still improving, so it's ok. :)

3 Months

I went through my stuff in the attic and got rid of most of it. You wouldn't believe all of the junk I've accumulated. So I don't exactly have stacks of 30 year old newspapers creating a maze through my living room, but it was a lot of stuff I never use and stuff I won't even miss when it's gone. I felt so much better after I got rid of all that stuff, like a weight had been lifted. Maybe it was cause I was actually out doing something. ;)

I discovered recently that people who are scheduled to leave mid- to late-December have their ship dates pushed forward so they all leave on the 15th or somewhere around there. And the Navy doesn't even let them know until a few weeks before they're supposed to leave. I talked to my recruiter just to be sure and she said since I leave so early (the 5th) that that won't happen to me. I wonder why the Navy doesn't just push the ship date ahead before they give the date to the recruit. I mean, they do the same thing every year. The ship dates get pushed forward because MEPS is closed from about the 15th of December to about the 2nd week of January. I wish I had a vacation like that. Anyway, then the recruits get to boot camp, but they have to stay in processing for much longer. They stagger the creation of divisions (training groups) so that in February, when they will graduate, there will still be a graduation each Friday, like normal. I understand that, but it would really suck to make plans for December, then get notice at the beginning of December that you have to leave earlier. Anyway, I guess they have a good reason for doing that to people. (I doubt it.)

I'm still very excited, but there's more nervousness mixed in recently. The closer my ship date gets, the more real this all seems. Am I really joining the military? Sometimes when I think about it, it seems so bizarre. I never would have done this when I was in high school, but I really wish I did.

Another weird thing: I'll be 31 when I get out. No, that's scary. I always thought I'd be married with a kid by then, but I squandered my early 20s and now they're long gone. So sad. I could've had a lot more fun.


Oh, and if you haven't had your fill of Navy stuff, check out the USS Nimitz Dry Dock podcasts.

4 Months

So I leave in 4 months. I'm starting to get really nervous. I just know something will happen to screw up my plans. Anyway, I've pretty much decided what I'm going to do about getting my stuff after boot camp. I think I'm going to sell my car before I leave because I won't need it and when I do need it, I probably won't get leave to come home and drive it to South Carolina, where my training is. I'll have my laptop and some comfy lounge clothes shipped to me after I get to South Carolina. Then I'll wait until I get my apartment for prototype to get the rest of my stuff, either by shipping it or by renting a U-Haul and driving it there. I would prefer the latter if I have enough leave. :)

I probably didn't ever explain the nuke program, did I? Well, here's a link in case you're interested. :)
https://www.cool.navy.mil/enlisted/rating_info_cards/nukepower.pdf

8 Months

Tomorrow will be 8 months until I leave for basic training. Waiting all of that time will be fine, but I'll hate to just wait through it. I'd like to use it for something. It seems kind of silly to take college classes before I get in, since they'll be paid for if I take them after I get in, but that's what most people do, it seems. I have a part time job where I'm getting about 35 hours a week right now and that keeps me fairly busy, but it's not fulfilling at all. So boring.

I'll have to buckle down and get in the groove of working out frequently and eating what I'm supposed to again. I've been slacking off recently, but that stops. I want to get fit ASAP so I can be ready if I get offered an earlier ship date.

Signed Nuke!

I finally signed my nuke contract today! :) I leave December 5, 2011.

Waivers Approved!

My nuke waivers were approved, but now I have to wait for a job to open up because they've put a hold on signing nukes until May.

MEPS: 2.1

I was only at MEPS for 1 day this time. :)

Since it was just me this time, my recruiter drove me the couple of hours down to MEPS. The first thing I did was take the NAPT, because I needed a 252 line score to make nuke and I only made a 248. I went there thinking the minimum score was 50, but also knowing that it could change any day. There wasn't nearly as much waiting this time. I think it was because it was just me and I wasn't doing anything medical. My recruiter and I went straight to the Navy office, where I met one of the Nuke Recruiters. (There are 2.) He seemed really nice, but since I had already done tons of research, I already knew most of what he was telling me. :P

What I did find out is that the previous week, they changed the minimum NAPT score from 50 to 55. One of the Nuke Recruiters lead me to a very small room - more of a closet, really - that contained a cubicle with a computer. I don't know what the computer was for, but I didn't need/get to use it for the test. They provided me with: the test booklet, the answer sheet, 2 pieces of scratch paper, 2 pencils, and a calculator. An interesting tidbit: You can't use your own calculator; you have to use one they provide to you for the test. I guess they don't want to bother inspecting calculators. The test was really difficult, the most difficult test I have ever taken. When the same Nuke Recruiter came to get me, he said "How did it go?" I said, "Awful." Then he said, "How do you think you did?" Again, I said, "Awful." (Please don't tell me that my quotes and/or commas are in the wrong places. I don't claim to be good at placing quotes or commas near quotes. It's one of my grammatical weaknesses.)

Anyway, per instructions, I went to the main waiting area, the same one I had been in a couple of weeks earlier, to wait for them to grade the test and call me back down to the Navy office. I don't remember if he gave me an estimate of how long it might take, but somehow I got 15 minutes in my head. I was so antsy, I kept opening my phone every couple of minutes to check the time. I ended up waiting about 1 hour and 20 minutes like that. I was about to jump out of my seat the whole time. The test had gone badly from my perspective and I spent that time convincing myself that I had failed the test and AECF would be fine. Finally, they called my name.

I went down to the Navy office and inspected everyone's face for any indication of how well I did on the test. I saw a guy who turned out to be the classifier (the guy who gives you a job) and he was smiling when he saw me, but, per my philosophy, I didn't want to get excited. I followed him to his cubicle, where he told me I had passed (ZOMG!) and I had made a 57. (I needed a 55.)

However, (I already knew this) I needed a waiver for my age, since I would be 25 and 4 months in October, which was the earliest nuke job they had, and the limit was 25. (Still is.) So I signed a contract for AECF in case I didn't get approved for nuke. I know everybody says don't sign a contract unless it has exactly what you want on it. However, I figure the Navy would prefer I be a nuke over an AECF, since nukes are harder to find. Also, if I don't get qualified for nuke, then I won't have to take a later ship date. I know it sounds like I screwed myself. I'm aware of that. Technically, I have left myself open to not getting the job I really want, but I've weighed the risks and benefits, and I think it's worth it. Of course, I'll keep you up to date on developments. :)

Anyway, I signed the contract, which is really just a few suspiciously short pages, then I had to go upstairs and wait to take the oath with a few other future recruits. I say oath, but it's really just for pomp (and probably to scare you a little). The oath that matters is the one you do just before leaving for boot camp, but few people do enough research to know that.

After that, I met my recruiter again and we headed home. She told me they have something they have do do within 72 hours of me signing a contract, but I don't remember what it's called. Since it was late when we got back to town, I went in the next day to do that.

It turns out is was just where she told me about what I have to do while in DEP(Delayed Entry Program). There is a meeting the first Wednesday of every month, I have to see her at least twice every month (the meeting is included), and I have to contact her (by phone, text, or facebook, for example,) every Monday.

That day I had her call the Nuke recruiters to ask them about a waiver I might need for grades I made in high school. Turns out we were supposed to fill out some information while we were there the day before so they could submit the waivers, but somebody forgot to tell somebody else. It's not a big deal though. My recruiter printed out the forms I need and I'll fill them out at home, where I have time to figure out what I want to say.