May 20, 2012

Arts and Education in the US Navy

Usually people don’t directly associate the terms ‘arts and education’ and ‘US Navy’ unless they’re thinking in terms of opposites. When people think Navy, they think boats, ocean, salt, carriers, drills, and everything else military-related. They think that the military thinks in terms of black and white, usually divorced from the ‘humanities’ proper because of the tendency of ‘the humanities’ to mold things into strange shades of gray.

Neither of these generalizations are entirely true. People often forget that the military serves more than one sole function of being on the offense. In fact, the US military, and in particular, the US Navy fulfills not only the function of national defense, but they also serve to maintain the peace, and serve often as ambassadors in places of need. This is why a career in the Navy in any of their job-tracks in the Arts & Education fields are perfect for the seamen-and-women who want to serve their country, but serve others as well.

For example, you can become one of the Navy’s world language experts, to work as translators and interlocutors. Because the military is a branch of international concern, having linguistic versatility and prowess within the Navy can take you to parts of the world you have always wanted to go, but never knew how to get there.

The US Navy also offers tracks in Religion, wherein you can become one of their desired and respected Religious Specialists, or Chaplains. You are enlisted in the service and you understand how war can be stressful, and what it’s like to be away from home. You want to help your fellow seamen and visiting ministers support the troops and the people they serve, and the Navy can help with this just as well.

These are just a few of the Navy’s offerings for those who want to protect their nation by helping each other and serving others.

Tuition Benefits Offered by The USA Navy

United States Navy WAVE Link trainer
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These days, it’s hard to get a job without any kind of college experience. The problem is, college isn’t cheap. The average student debt for graduating students in 2008 was around $24,000 dollars. Depending on when these students borrowed money and who they borrowed it from, this amount can double for some graduates who can only afford the minimum payments over however-many years the loan is spread out. This debt is a bane for some, because even college degrees don’t guarantee jobs right out of college. In short, it’s tough being a student.

Fortunately for you, there are options. If the idea of affording school seems daunting, but you know you have to do it, you don’t have to go into debt to make it possible. One of the most rewarding options available is offering your service to the United States Navy. Not only will you satisfy yourself with your duty as a citizen, but the benefits rewarded you by the US government during and after your stay are manifold.

For example, the Navy offers you tuition assistance, which in some cases pays up to 75% of your college tuition costs if and when you take courses off-duty. The nice thing about college is that you can take one class at a time and spread out your education over a number of years, which means that when you’re working as a sailor, which is a busy job, you can still use your free time to complete a course or two at a time. Plus, you’ll be paying only a fraction of the total cost.

Sailors will also gain access to the Servicemembers Opportunity College, Navy. Also called SOCNAV, college is actually an international network of colleges and they allow the traveling serviceman-or-woman the ability to work on their associates and bachelors degrees regardless of station. All in all, this is good news for the bright, young, and ambitious minds who want to save money on school and serve their country in the meanwhile.

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Engineering and Applied Science in the US Navy

School of Engineering and Applied Science seal
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Joining up with the US Navy is a great way to begin a career in engineering or applied science. Of course, as with anything, there is a process, but just as much as you are there for the Navy, the Navy is there for you, to help you and assist you in the present for the future. Aside from simply serving in the Navy, there are numerous career options within the Engineering and Applied Science branch of the Navy that will allow a serviceman or servicewoman to implement and expand their professional skills and career paths.

Offering options in construction, electronics, meteorology, oceanography, and even tracks in surface warfare and civil engineering, the Navy’s options for careers and service are boundless, and will unfold to more opportunities both in and outside of the service as well.

Some of the employment options within the Navy, such as anything related to civil engineering, require a four-year degree, though the Navy is ready to help you with that just as well. In many cases, the Navy offers tuition assistance, and can compensate off-duty sailors up to 75% of their tuition costs. This means that while a man or woman is fulfilling their initial four-year obligation in the service, with hard work they can also receive a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science so they can go on to further employment within the Navy.

Other options, like Navy careers in construction or electronics don’t require that you have a four-year degree, but simply a strong and dedicated work ethic and a willingness for workplace versatility. The experience you gain while working in some of these fields will actually give you credit hours towards a degree in a related field, so you can continue to grow as a career professional, both inside and outside of the Navy.

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Why Should You Choose the Navy?

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In the years of warfare’s past, having a powerful navy often determined the course of a war’s outcome. With defense, having versatility of deployment can make the difference between a victory and a defeat, or in more concrete terms – lives saved and lives lost. Among other reasons, people choose the navy strictly because of its versatility. You can get anywhere in the world, sometimes in a matter of hours. And if the navy is there, close to follow is the air force and other branches of the US Military, some of whom rely on the navy for timely deployment.

Choosing a career with the US Navy puts you at the center of the action, and with the training you receive over the course of your service, you will also gain employable skill that will bring you far in the world outside of the military. Many doctors, engineers, statisticians, and other technical specialists have began their careers working with the navy, and some even remain in the service because they have found their abilities indispensable.

The key word here is service. Service to your nation, your friends, and yourself. Life after high-school, or even after college, can be tough. Joining the navy, or any branch of the military service, gives you a place where you can directly apply your skills and discover or hone new ones. Additionally, becoming a part of the US Navy also offers you a wide array of benefits, from college or technical school tuition assistance, reliable pay grades, military and veteran’s benefits, the experience you gain working for the US Navy will be invaluable in your life, and will also award you an admirable and attention-getting work ethic that will follow you wherever you go.

If it has always been your dream to defend your nation and fight on the front lines, joining up with the Navy will get you there, and help others get there too.

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How to Become a Navy Seal

Every military in history has had an elite force, comprised of only the most physically elite, mentally acute, and technologically proficient warriors. These warriors – usually men – are truly ultimate fighters, able to adapt to all kinds of weather and battle situations, and can survive even the most dire of circumstances while maintaining the fortitude of mind and body that only the most elite warriors can. In America, these ultimate warriors are the US Navy SEALs. Every boy fantasized about one day growing up to be a Navy SEAL, and a lot of men join in the US Navy with hopes of becoming one some day, but the tests and rigors that a SEAL must endure reserve it truly for a select, elite few.

SEAL stands for Sea, Air, and Land and points to the versatility of the Navy SEAL’s combat prowess. The SEAL program is actually ran by the military’s Special Operations Command, who also overseas other branches of the US Military elite fighting forces, like the Army’s Green Berets.

Primarily, SEALs are selected, and he needs to have already met a number of requirements prior to becoming a SEAL. First, they have to have completed both of their high school and college educations, and most importantly, they must pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, which tests mechanical, word, language, technological, memory, math, science, and electronics aptitude.

SEALs have to enter the program before they turn 28, and they must be men. Their vision must be 20-200 and be correctable up to 20-20, and they have to endure and pass extremely rigorous physical training and tests to even be considered. A SEAL applicant may do well on everything else, but if he can’t pass the physical tests, which involve intense, seamless push-up, sit-up, pull-up, swim, run, and even diving tests, then he is out of the program.

And once you’re in – well, only the SEAL knows what happens next.

The Naval Air Systems Command

Even though the Navy is a marine organization, they are equipped with some of the most powerful and technologically advanced aircraft in the world. Some people even join the Navy because they want the versatility of being a sailor and the firepower of a US military aircraft. Additionally, not all pilots are qualified to land and take off from aircraft carrier runways. It takes a special pilot with special talent to control a plane under such limiting parameters, and a Naval pilot is up to the task.

If you’re looking for information on the Naval air force, then the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) will be your primary resource. Listed in their vision statement is their primary motivating philosophy, wherein they “develop, deliver, and sustain aircraft, weapons, and systems – on time, on cost, with proven capability and reliability – so they succeed in every mission and return safely home.” A position with NAVAIR gives you a firsthand look, and firsthand career, helping to support or perhaps pilot the Navy’s amazing force of aircraft.

The Navy’s aircraft include ‘fixed wing’ aircraft, like the AV-8B, the C-37, the E-2, and even the infamous F-16. They also have a host of rotorcraft, like the HI, H-60, and V-22. Additionally, the weapons arsenals on these and other respective Naval aircraft are enough to put insurgents at surrender without having to fire a single shot.

A career with NAVAIR can also put you in a position of flight support, so even if you aren’t flying the jets and helicopters, you’re helping coordinate and strategize missions to ensure safe launches and even safer returns. You can even get your hands dirty by working on the aircraft themselves as an aircraft engineer or mechanic. In NAVAIR, every position is important, for if the system is missing even one integral part, the mission could be disastrous. In other words, NAVAIR needs you.

Working Aboard a Submarine In The US Navy

The scene is familiar: A red-lit command center, a periscope, a manned radar beeping its rhythmic ‘all clear’ alert, the hum of the engines, the pressure of the water above and below, the sequestered peace, the brilliance of modern military and engineering genius, the separation from the world, the drift in the water. The naval submarine.

You’ve read about it in books, you’ve watched it in movies, you’ve imagined yourself aboard. You’ve even though about enlisting in the US Navy so you can find a position aboard the Navy’s silent, stealth war machines. So, how do you do it?

When you are enlisted in the US Navy, after undergoing the standard Navy training, you have options of where to go within the Naval institution. You might end up on a boat, you might end up on shore – you can end up doing a number of different things and occupying different positions over the course of your Naval career. If you want to be on a submarine, the easiest part is volunteering for the position. The hard part is getting on board.

Upon volunteering, you will be entered in the seamen subfarer program. Minimal obligation is four years, and is ideal for seamen who haven’t yet chosen a different apprenticeship class within the Navy. To be a seamen subfarer, you have to display high levels of both physical and mental health, as some submarines can stay submerged for weeks at a time and different phobias and anxieties can dominate the actions of some weaker-minded rookies. There are also medical requirements that must be met.

Assuming the applicant passes the inspection and training for the seamen subfarer program, he or she will be offered a host of different career opportunities within the sub, from storekeeper to sonar technicians, the sub needs everyone. Of course, submarines only make up about 10% of the US Naval fleet, so getting a job aboard a sub is competitive as well. But with enough persistence, hard work, and keen mental prowess, the job can be yours.

Health Care in the US Navy

One of the great advantages of serving with the US Navy is the health care afforded you. In the civilian world, there are the financially complicated labyrinths of insurance, billing, co-pays, and everything else of the sort, but in the Navy, you’re taken care of. But aside from listing the health care benefits of being in the Navy, the career possibilities available to a sailor within the health care field are ample. Not only will these possibilities give you the ability to gain real-world experience in your medical field, but they can bring you to parts of the world and present challenges to you that you may never otherwise experience in traditional fields of practice.

As a sailor in the US Navy, you have the option of joining the Medical Corps of Physicians, the Dental Corps of Dentists, the Nurse Corps, or the Medical Service Corps, wherein you can outlet your medical services via Health Care Administration, the Health Care Sciences, or you can offer your expertise as a Clinical Care Provider or offer general support in a wide variety of medical fields by expanding on your medical experience working somewhere within Medical Support. These jobs are always in high demand, and with over 10,000 sailors with careers in the medical fields, the opportunities for employment are endless.

The problem with getting a medical career is affording the education. Fortunately, the Navy also offers a host of supportive scholarships that can ease the financial burden of medical education. For example, there is the Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program, which offers tuition coverage, monthly stipends, and even a sign-on bonus. There is also the Navy Health Services Collegiate Program, wherein you receive a monthly salary and a housing allowance to help you finish your degree, and the Navy Health Professions Loan Repayment Program, which can sponsor part of your graduate repayments.

Ultimately, your medical career in the US Navy is as challenging as it is rewarding, and the Navy will help you get there

Learning about Job Diversity in the Navy

Washington DC - Penn Quarter: United States Na...
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It can be hard to imagine just how the US Navy functions, in part because it is so large, and in part because most civilians don’t know about the inner workings of the Navy. Of course, military knowledge isn’t endemic to a nation’s people simply because the nation has a military, but if people set aside just a little bit of time to research and understand their nation’s military, it won’t seem so overwhelmingly monolithic.

In fact, the United States military, and specifically the US Navy offers hundreds of career opportunities within the Navy proper. The skills acquired within those respective job fields can be used to grow and expand upon one’s military experience, but if need be, the experience you may have accrued over the course of your military career can find direct application outside in the civilian and professional world.

The US Navy is ready to help you with your future. The Navy readily provides you tuition assistance, so while you’re in the service, you can still be working towards a professional academic degree to better your career possibilities in and outside of the Navy. However, in a stronger and more direct way than traditional college education provides, you will also find options for direct application and practice of the things you will be learning, which means that your professional resume will rise to the top, because of your experience, readiness, and military-instilled work ethic.

In the Navy, you can work above water on a boat, under water on a submarine, or on land in an office or research facility. Within those three options, the career options are endless. You’ll be more than just a Navyman too. You can be a nurse, a construction worker, a naval reactor engineer, a naval aviator, you can even work on flight support or be a chaplain. The possibilities are endless, though when it’s all said and done, as a member of the US Navy, like so many others before you – you will always be a sailor.

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Learning the Sailor’s Creed

It takes a strong and unique person to join the United States Military. There are the five branches: Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and the Navy. Each of these branches have their specific duties, awards, and specialties, but none are so magnificent as the Navy itself. In fact, America’s great founding father, George Washington said of the Navy: “It follows than as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.”

Standing as a testament to a nation’s military and technological prowess, a Navy is a country’s first and most important line of defense. A sailor, therefore, is a necessary military entity, for without sailors, there is no Navy, and without a Navy, there is no military.

Thus, there is a national importance to the sailor’s creed, which declares who you are, what it is you will defend with your life, and the orders you will follow in doing so. Some look at joining the military as a sacrifice of freedom, but as they say, can there be freedom without boundaries? And is it really freedom if it is under threat? Therefore, the sailor’s proclamation of that whom he or she represents, ‘the fighting spirit of the Navy’ likewise signifies a move towards freedom, rather than one away.

Finally, the sailor’s creed is a testament to the Navy’s core values, which are honor, courage, and commitment. Honor for our fellow man. Courage to continue to fight, protect, and defend the freedom of democracy. Commitment to the task at hand, whatever it may be, however great or small.

Being a member of the United States Navy is a service as admirable as it is honorable. As a sailor, you will not only represent the nation’s strength, but more importantly, the nation’s values.