Advice for a future recruit

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Permalink Reply by Sammy Young on August 19, 2013 at 11:32pm

The Navy (or any other branch of the service) will not accept ANYONE with ANY legal issues pending. They must be resolved completely by the courts, regardless if it is a traffic ticket for speeding or in your case a DUI on a suspended licence. Sorry to tell you but you're right- the Recruiter seems to be rather weak, too, and is only getting your hopes up only for them to be dashed-away. Once your case has been fully disposed of, then go back and this time hopefully someone that knows what he/she is doing can help you at that time.

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Permalink Reply by Sammy Young on August 19, 2013 at 11:53pm

Rodger that the Recruiter sucks- many of them do. And like many of the other posters have noted, many of them lie, too. Not all- just a bunch. Anyway, the only other question I have before giving you a thumbs up or thumbs down is how old were you when these occurred? It makes a huge difference if you got them as a minor or not.

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Permalink Reply by Sammy Young on August 20, 2013 at 12:07am

The answer is yes- maybe. You will definitely need to get waivers for them. To quote the Navy regulations, it says: "Even one violation for "Non-Minor Misdemeanors" requires a waiver. Waivers for up to three violations can be approved by the Commander of the Navy Recruiting Division. Waivers for more than three violations require approval of HQ, Navy Recruiting Command." So, in your case, I have confirmed that both the DUI and the driving on a suspended licence are considered as "Non-Minor Misdemeanors" by the Navy, and since there were only 2 so you should be able to get a waiver from the Commander of your local Navy Recruiting Division. Emphasis on the word "should" because it all depends if the Navy needs your particular skills at that time. If they have someone else in the wings for the same slot as you, but has no waivers, he/she will get it before you do. So there you go- you have a better shot than you thought, and I wish you good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Sammy Young on August 20, 2013 at 12:24am

If the waivers are not approved, I wouldn't bother going back- once they find a reason to not accept you, they will flag your record so you can't go to another Navy recruiter and try them instead. So, if they disapprove it, I'd go back to the Army guy and tell 'em you're all his. Please understand that the Navy has different thresholds for what they determine as minimum enlistment qualifications than the Army does (as do the Marines and Air Farce). Not saying that the Navy is better for it or the Army is more "lax" or anything- just sayin' they are different, and if one says "no" the other may say "yes". So, what the heck, right? Either way, you're serving our great country!

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Permalink Reply by Mark Rokes on August 20, 2013 at 4:19pm

Sean, I spent many hours hanging out at my son's recruiting office during his one year of DEP. My observations and discussions with the recruiters and advice to you is to be completely up front with what happened. Own up to your mistakes because they will find out. You will have to provide a written statement to explain what happened. Learning from your mistakes is an important part of life.

 

Good luck

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Permalink Reply by Bart Pack on August 21, 2013 at 8:31am

Sammy Young, thank you for your responses to Sean Jones you answered questions that I had floating around in my head. I truly like the honest and direct approach you used.. I wish I had found this site when my Sailor was a future recruit. Carry-on Thanks again..

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