Curious about secondary rate

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Co-Admin, Calvin on October 22, 2012 at 12:00pm

From talking to guys that have dropped or were dropped from BUD/S they will have a meeting to decide on a new Rate in the Navy. They will be given a list of what is available as of the day of their meeting. They will be able to request from their Command a transfer back to BUD/S training after about a year or so. The Command does not have to grant their request based on the needs of the Command. Also I believe it is now One and Done, meaning you will only be given one chance to return to BUD/S. I heard the reason for this is based on the past very few make it through BUD/S after the second try and with the budget they have they have to limit how many time you can try going to BUD/S.

Permalink Reply by revman on February 7, 2013 at 9:36am

I think that's the problem with not signing a second preference when getting the SEAL contract.  My son was concerned that he would get deverted to Nukes because of his test scores.  He inteneded to just go with the SEAL contract and take his chances.  One day he came home from his MEPS meeting saying that he was going to do Nukes as a backup.  Whether it is right for him or not, it's good to know he has another place to land if BUD/S doesn't work out for him.  I know that his heart is in the SEALS though and I don't even talk about the "what ifs".

 

Permalink Reply by Brad on February 7, 2013 at 12:43pm

Not so sure he can do that. At least when my son was going through MEPS it was based on CREO. His non-critical couldn't be Nuke. I can't imagine they will let you go through BUDS training, fall out, then go to Nuke training. Too much time involved. Nuke in itself is a two year program. Of course things are always changing so I could be wrong.

revman said:

I think that's the problem with not signing a second preference when getting the SEAL contract.  My son was concerned that he would get deverted to Nukes because of his test scores.  He inteneded to just go with the SEAL contract and take his chances.  One day he came home from his MEPS meeting saying that he was going to do Nukes as a backup.  Whether it is right for him or not, it's good to know he has another place to land if BUD/S doesn't work out for him.  I know that his heart is in the SEALS though and I don't even talk about the "what ifs".

 

Permalink Reply by revman on February 10, 2013 at 10:14pm

 I can check with his recruiter, but I'm pretty sure it has gone through along with any conditions needed.

Brad said:

Not so sure he can do that. At least when my son was going through MEPS it was based on CREO. His non-critical couldn't be Nuke. I can't imagine they will let you go through BUDS training, fall out, then go to Nuke training. Too much time involved. Nuke in itself is a two year program. Of course things are always changing so I could be wrong.

revman said:

I think that's the problem with not signing a second preference when getting the SEAL contract.  My son was concerned that he would get deverted to Nukes because of his test scores.  He inteneded to just go with the SEAL contract and take his chances.  One day he came home from his MEPS meeting saying that he was going to do Nukes as a backup.  Whether it is right for him or not, it's good to know he has another place to land if BUD/S doesn't work out for him.  I know that his heart is in the SEALS though and I don't even talk about the "what ifs".

 

Permalink Reply by revman on February 21, 2013 at 12:41pm

Just checked with the recruiter and my son can indeed do it.  I'm finding some of the information on here to be disconcerting so I will give my researched info and then just monitor for info.  Long and short of it is that unless you know all the specifics about a particular person, you don't know enough. 

My son wanted SEALs first and they were pressing him for a second choice.  I was there through some of the conversation and can state that if you don't have a second choice, you get what the Navy gives you.  That's the chance you take.  If, on the other hand, you do score high enough on the ASVAB your choices are better to get what you want as a second choice if you sign up for it when you are joining. 

 

The best way to put it is this: My son was actually a Nuke for a while until he passed the PST for the SEAL contract and then was selected.  You are not actually a SEAL until you qualify as one.  This is beyond BUD/s.  Until that point you will always be on pins and needles as to what could happen if you don't make SEALs.  If, for whatever reason, my son does not pass through to being a SEAL, his contract will then revert to Nukes because he was technically a Nuke first.  I don't know if it works that way with others, but that's the way it is with my son.  YES, he will have the added time it will take to go through the Nuke program, but that's the choice he made when he signed up. 

 

Just a little advice.....I would never talk to my son about this stuff because he doesn't need the distraction.  I don't need it either for that matter, but if you have any questions, I would refer you to your son's/daughter's recruiter.  It's a lot less painful to get the truth right away than to get the witts scared out of you from someone who may or may not know what they are talking about on this website.  No offense meant, but in passing on information: what we say here can do more harm than intended. :)

Permalink Reply by Brad on February 21, 2013 at 1:16pm

LOL! OK, well first off I did mention that things change, however, after going through the process and more than one recruiter I can tell you for fact, not all recruiters either know what they're talking about, or will be honest with you. There job is to get you to MEPS.

What you state about your son is pretty much my son's story as well. He scored a 97 on the ASVAB and they pushed him to do Nuke. He refused because he wanted to be a SEAL. He was told at MEPS that he can choose one critical AND one non critical job, but not two critical jobs, which both SEALS and Nuke are.

If you research CREO, you may learn a bit more about the whole process of rating jobs.

Now, once more, my son has been in for a couple years so it is possible things are a bit different. However, I would strongly caution you about accepting everything you hear from a recruiter as factual. They are salesmen, and poorly trained ones at that.

Good luck to your son.

Permalink Reply by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on February 21, 2013 at 1:31pm

Recruiters are like many car dealers....there are good ones and then there are some that are not so good.  No matter what they say, if it's not in writing it's not gospel.......

Permalink Reply by Brad on February 21, 2013 at 1:51pm

I'm not going to say all recruiters are bad, but I've read too many stories about the pressure put on them to get recruits. My son was told by a Marine recruiter that all they do is sit around and play video games all day. Which was one of the reasons my son blew off the Marines.

Every recruiter my son dealt with was on their way to being a SEAL, and could have been if they wanted to, but changed their mind. The recruiter also promised my son they would pay for his RK surgery. So far that certainly hasn't happened.

When the DEPper gets to MEPS is when they start to get some factual information.

In fact, the only piece of information my son got which turned out to be accurate was, if you go Nuke, you won't get SEALS. When my son went to MEPS, he was told that in no uncertain terms.

Again, things change all the time in the Navy.

Permalink Reply by John Chalus on February 21, 2013 at 3:14pm

Recruiters from all branches of the service have one thing in mind, meeting or exceeding their quota of enlistments. Some are good and some are bad. When I enlisted in 1969 the recruiter was regular (blackshoe) CPO. He knew nothing about UDT or SEALs but who did back then. Now there are actually SEALs who recruit and motivate. Still one has to be careful to get everything in writing and to check with other sources within the recruiting system before making a decision. Don't commit to an enlistment if you don't have complete faith in your recruiter. Also remember that most of the men who sign up for the SEAL program are not going to make it. That is just a fact of life. My class started with over 120 guys and graduated 48. My son's class started with 100 and a graduated about 30. I saw one class that started with 100 and by the second day of Hell Week was down to about 20.

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