Hey, I have a question.

Hey, those of you who might have been involved in the Military preferably the Navy.. Help me out here? I'm 15 right now. I decided a different thing to do. My cousin is 18 and he's headed to the Navy in December. He called me and he REALLY wanted me to enlist, and now.. I REALLY want to enlist in the Navy when I turn 17 if I pass the one test and get over a 50 in it. Anyhow, I just got told after the 8 week Bootcamp, I can choose to either be stationed in Japan, San Diego, or Virginia. Obviously, I want to get stationed in Japan.

However, I want to know a few things first. Where in Japan will I be stationed at, and how will the Japanese locals treat me as a US Military Police guy (That's the position I want.)?

Thanks.

No, this is not a joke. Military is all throughout my family, everyone is joining it, and I want to know this.

as far as the navy goes, you may have a small choice it the matter, it depends on your rate and how well you do in A-school but in the end its still the needs of the navy.
basically not all jobs go to japan, and for those that do, if you want a shot then you need to bust your *** to get 1st pick.

also who told you you'd goto japan, san diego or virgina? MAs can be anywhere ship or shore and most fresh in get sea duty the first time around.

there is a navy base is in yokohama just south of tokyo.

The base jeisan is thinking of is in Yokosuka, not Yokohama. Different cities, although next-door neighbors.

I was in the Navy from 1983 to 1986 and my info may be a bit out of date, but to the best of my knowledge you can't join the Navy in the MA (Master-at-Arms) rating. You have to be E-5, have an exemplary service record, then request to cross-rate.

Trust me....you don't want to be sent anywhere straight out of Boot Camp. That spells "Undesignated Striker" which spells "Deck Division" which means you're headed for the BM (Bosun's Mate) rating and will spend a few years learning no greater skills than chipping and re-applying paint. Study the various enlisted job ratings, pick one that will give you JOB SKILLS you can transfer to civilian life, and DO NOT sign an enlistment contract without a guarantee of your choice of A-School (the school where you go to learn the job rating you have chosen).

Whoever told you about having your choice of those three locations right out of boot camp was full of manure.

When my class graduated OS (Operations Specialist) A-School, the enlisted detailer (guys whose job it is to keep track of transfers and open billets throughout the Navy) sent us a list of available billets for fresh OS A-School graduates. I think they were ALL sea duty, and they were for ships in a variety of places. They put the list of 30 or so billets up on the back of the door in the staff room and we lined up out in the hallway in the order of our class standing. Then we went in and wrote our name beside the ship we wanted. I was 4th in my class and out of those 30-odd billets there were precisely TWO for ships homeported in Yokosuka. Neither of the top three guys took one, so when I went in I chose USS Reeves (CG-24), later decommissioned and sunk as a target off Australia, may God rest her iron soul. Needless to say...the lower your standing in class, the fewer pickings you got to choose from. The last guy just had to take the last non-claimed ship on the list.

Of course your cousin is gung-ho....he ain't actually gone yet.

Might want to check the fine print. You'll notice that there is always a comment that mentions anything can be changed at any time for any reason. What they tell you you'll get means NOTHING. The military isn't about what you want, it's about signing your rights and life away to the government to be used as they please. You don't "choose" anything. They do, and can change and do with you whatever they please.

I highly recommend taking a step back and looking at what your signing up for. I know a few in the military, some liked it, some got out as fast as possible and consider it a huge mistake in their life. I know I'd never sign up.

At 15, you don't know crap. At 15, I didn't. You're still a kid. With that said, keep in mind that anyone who wants to sell you something or take advantage of you will have an easier time doing it naturally because you lack experience. I STRONGLY advise against joining the military for interests in Japan. If you want to go to Japan and learn about Japan, go to college and study abroad after signing for financial aid and a few loans, and if you are serious there is a strong chance you'll get a scholarship.

Join the military if you want to be told what to do and who to kill with your fingers crossed it is for the "right reasons." DON'T join it to go to Japan. I see this far too frequently lately.

One more small thing, if I may....It is in your own best interest to use subject lines that give some indication what your post is about. That helps to attract answers from people in a position to give you informed advice. It was just mere chance that I happened to click on it.

I believe there are a few other ex-military, some of them ex-Navy, on JREF.

Boy, I wish I had listened to the ol timers.

Before I went in the Navy (1969-1973) , I asked several people about joining. Everything they told me that I did not want to hear, I told myself it would be different for me. I went in with a guarantee of nukesub school. When I got to boot camp(which was terrifying to me) , I let them talk me into going to a shcool they wanted me to. I ended up being a glorified radioman instead of a submariner. When it came to duty stations, only the top 3 people in their A-school class got any say in their duty station. The number 1 thing a military person can learn is to NEVER believe what they tell you and they OWN you. You will go where they want you to and you will do any crap they want you to. It pretty much is like turning your life over to be totally controled by others; pretty much like being a poor slave. I won't say there won't be good times and good friends made, but overall, military life is not too enjoyable.

Uncle Frank

My best friend aboard ship, a married fellow with his here in Japan with him at the time, at the end of the workday when we were here in our homeport, used to say of the Navy, "They don't just tell you when you're going home. They tell you if you're going home."

The number one most frequently repeated phrase you will hear in the Navy is, "The needs of the Navy come first." And they mean that with all their heart and soul in every way you can imagine and some you can't. The one thing you can be sure of is that every time you are hearing it it will be in regards to something you do not like.

"Join the Navy and see the world" was the old recruiting phrase. They don't lie about that. But the most important thing to keep in mind regarding that is that you will soon find out what they told you in elementary school is true....the world really is 3/4 covered with water. You seen one stretch of ocean from horizon to horizon for every direction, you've seen them all.

When my ship was underway, I worked 7 hours on, 7 hours off, 5 hours on, 5 hours off. That was 7 days a week. If we took on fuel, supplies, had drills, emergencies, etc. that came during my off watch, then it was just a case of tough sh*t, you miss your sleep. The XO said anybody getting more than 4 hours sleep a day wasn't working hard enough. And the s.o.b. meant it.

Very good advice here so far. May I just add a question.

Why Japan? Your answer should tell us what interests you and what you hope to gain.

aye yokosuka, that's what i get for not looking things up.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Anyway, My 2 cousins are currently in the Navy, and they actually just gave me that information. Right after boot camp, he told me you can choose where to be stationed at.

I repeat:

Why Japan? Your answer should tell us what interests you and what you hope to gain.

Let it be known that others have said before that living in Japan and being stationed in Japan are two different things. I'd also like to know what you expect to gain from this experience...

Glenski said:

I repeat:

Why Japan? Your answer should tell us what interests you and what you hope to gain.

Click to expand...

nice gaijin said:

Let it be known that others have said before that living in Japan and being stationed in Japan are two different things. I'd also like to know what you expect to gain from this experience...

Click to expand...

Legitimate question here. Why Japan? What do you hope to gain and why the interest?

Shinsan said:

Thanks for the replies everyone. Anyway, My 2 cousins are currently in the Navy, and they actually just gave me that information. Right after boot camp, he told me you can choose where to be stationed at.

Click to expand...

your cousin is a dep recruit, having not gone through boot camp he only knows what the recruiter is telling him. right after boot camp you goto a-school unless you are undesignated. after a-school it will be just like mike said, you can pick from available billets, stress on available here, in order of class rank. so yeah its a "choice" but no guarantees. you asked for advice from people who already know.
im not telling you not to join or that you can't goto japan through the navy, just that it's far from a sure thing and you shouldn't base your whole reason for joining on it.

Do not trust recruiters who tell you to join as an undesignated striker, touting the benefits of being able to go to the fleet, see all the jobs, and then pick the one you want to try for. It sounds good, but it is the biggest line of horsesh*t out there. I knew lots of guys who fell for it and every single one of them regretted it.

The biggest laugh line in the Navy is, "But my recruiter told me _________" After you find out you were lied to, start a sentence of protest with those words and then find a chair to get comfortable until the gales of uproarious laughter die down. You might want to pack a lunch.

I knew of one guy whose recruiter assured him he could keep his cowboy boots with him in boot camp. When he protested to the guys upon arrival at boot camp that he had been so promised, they decided to honor the promise. They made him carry the damned things with him everywhere he went the entire time he was there. He'd be marching along in formation, pinching the two boots together with the fingers of one hand. Probably had one hell of a grip by the time he graduated. Go to class...carry the boots. Go to chow...carry the boots. Go for medical/dental...carry the boots. You get the picture.

If it ain't in writing when you enlist, assume all promises are empty.

And I can not STRESS STRONGLY ENOUGH (do I have your full attention?) the absolute importance of having your A-school guaranteed in writing at the time of enlistment. Ignore me and you'll be the paint scrapingest paint brush slingingest s.o.b. you ever met and you'll fill all your idle moments thinking up fresh and novel ways to curse the long-gone recruiter who talked you into it.