USN Sub Drafted... now what?

[Roger_Waveoff]

And don't go through nuke school and on your first boat with the "I should have been in aviation" mentality. Its annoying enough when SNFOs openly bitch about being SNA drops.

Edit: who knows, maybe your experience as an undersea bubba will help you get into the P-8 MPRA community. Now get to watching/reading Blind Man's Bluff, its practically required reading from what I understand.

Not a pointy-nose guy, so I wonder if that's more or less painful than when helicopter or V-22 pilots bitch about being T-45 drops.

 

[Bad_Karma_1310]

I’ll go against the grain here and say you should think long and hard if you actually want to become a submariner. If that isn’t the life you absolutely want, you are going to be absolutely miserable after you commission.

Subs is a voluntary community, don’t volunteer and pass the interview process if it isn’t what you actually want to do. Especially if SWO is your second choice and you are open to doing that.

 

[Nate23]

I’ll go against the grain here and say you should think long and hard if you actually want to become a submariner. If that isn’t the life you absolutely want, you are going to be absolutely miserable after you commission.

Subs is a voluntary community, don’t volunteer and pass the interview process if it isn’t what you actually want to do. Especially if SWO is your second choice and you are open to doing that.

Now that I've been voluntold, is there a way to unvolunteer? Will I just automatically be redesignated to SWO at that point?

 

[Bad_Karma_1310]

Now that I've been voluntold, is there a way to unvolunteer? Will I just automatically be redesignated to SWO at that point?

The way to “unvolunteer” is to be truthful and say you don’t want to be a submariner during your interviews.

It’s not automatic but SWO would be the most likely outcome since it’s honestly unlikely NR will let you go aviation after sub drafting you because they want to “punish” people who don’t accept a sun draft.

 

[Griz882]

Have you talked to your unit commander? Perhaps you should. If you haven’t commissioned yet you can request a commission in any service but that doesn’t equal a flight slot.

 

[Nate23]

Have you talked to your unit commander? Perhaps you should. If you haven’t commissioned yet you can request a commission in any service but that doesn’t equal a flight slot.

I did not realize that, I'll look into it and talk to my CO. Thanks!

 

[AllAmerican75]

The way to “unvolunteer” is to be truthful and say you don’t want to be a submariner during your interviews.

It’s not automatic but SWO would be the most likely outcome since it’s honestly unlikely NR will let you go aviation after sub drafting you because they want to “punish” people who don’t accept a sun draft.

Do NOT do this when you go to Naval Reactors to do the interview with the scientists and admiral! Do this with your unit leadership before you go. Also, I'm not sure the sub draft is "unvolunteerable." If he puts up a stink about it, it's very likely he'll still be a SWO Nuke and still end up in Nuke school. Again, this is assuming he passes his interview.

 

[Bad_Karma_1310]

Do NOT do this when you go to Naval Reactors to do the interview with the scientists and admiral! Do this with your unit leadership before you go. Also, I'm not sure the sub draft is "unvolunteerable." If he puts up a stink about it, it's very likely he'll still be a SWO Nuke and still end up in Nuke school. Again, this is assuming he passes his interview.

I mean obviously tell your leadership at your unit that you do not wish to go submarines as well. I was taking that as a given.

But if they still send you to interview with NR tell them you don’t want to go subs. I doubt after that they are going to send you SWO-nuke but who knows.

 

[Griz882]

Do NOT do this when you go to Naval Reactors to do the interview with the scientists and admiral! Do this with your unit leadership before you go. Also, I'm not sure the sub draft is "unvolunteerable." If he puts up a stink about it, it's very likely he'll still be a SWO Nuke and still end up in Nuke school. Again, this is assuming he passes his interview.

This….

 

[AFidk]

My thoughts went there too, but I believe since OCS is a commissioning requirement it might be a little too late for me to switch.

Its a little different, but I personally know someone who was a STA-21 gal slotted for naval aviator for like 3 years who decided to ask to go USMC in her last semester before commissioning. She was summarily approved to go to OCS after graduation. Of course this delayed her commissioning but didnt seem to take too much fight to get there. This is all assuming this is more important to you than commissioning on time.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Do NOT do this when you go to Naval Reactors to do the interview with the scientists and admiral! Do this with your unit leadership before you go. Also, I'm not sure the sub draft is "unvolunteerable." If he puts up a stink about it, it's very likely he'll still be a SWO Nuke and still end up in Nuke school. Again, this is assuming he passes his interview.

I worked with the LT's who prepped and escorted those going to the tech and admirals interviews, there have been those that have brought up they were told to go subs via USNA/NROTC, the exact example that I was told about was the Admiral asked a mid something to the effect of "What led you to want to be in the program" the mid said he put some other designator first, was told he was going subs but that he would do whatever the USN wanted him to do. He was then rejected by the Admiral, no idea what came of him after that.

Who knows what the Admiral will ask but if he ask the question why not answer truthfully?

One of the best officers I worked with was a nuke draft (SWO-N), ended up being CO of Beachmaster unit, I hope I have that name right.

 

[AllAmerican75]

I worked with the LT's who prepped and escorted those going to the tech and admirals interviews, there have been those that have brought up they were told to go subs via USNA/NROTC, the exact example that I was told about was the Admiral asked a mid something to the effect of "What led you to want to be in the program" the mid said he put some other designator first, was told he was going subs but that he would do whatever the USN wanted him to do. He was then rejected by the Admiral, no idea what came of him after that.

Who knows what the Admiral will ask but if he ask the question why not answer truthfully?

One of the best officers I worked with was a nuke draft (SWO-N), ended up being CO of Beachmaster unit, I hope I have that name right.

If the admiral asks, definitely answer truthfully but don't go into the interviews saying that you don't want to be a Nuke. You don't want to be that guy.

Are you asking about the Beachmaster Unit? The guys and gals who organize and direct beach landings? They're kind of like the traffic cops of amphibious landings. They also own all of the smaller landing craft but I can't remember what they're called.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

I agree with all recommendations above. Start with talking to your NROTC Unit Staff and go from there.

As OP mentioned, service selection can change and one drop from one NROTC Mid can impact another... like you. Fingers crossed that things go your way, but if not, realize that you signed up to be a commissioned officer, not so much to be a Naval Aviator or whatever designator there is. There is no "NROTC-Aviation Option" or the like.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

If the admiral asks, definitely answer truthfully but don't go into the interviews saying that you don't want to be a Nuke. You don't want to be that guy.

Are you asking about the Beachmaster Unit? The guys and gals who organize and direct beach landings? They're kind of like the traffic cops of amphibious landings. They also own all of the smaller landing craft but I can't remember what they're called.

Yes, Beachmaster Unit. The guy was something else, he was my first MPA and he had a twin brother, both wanted to be pilots, brother was, he was nuke drafted.

 

[Bad_Karma_1310]

If the admiral asks, definitely answer truthfully but don't go into the interviews saying that you don't want to be a Nuke. You don't want to be that guy.

Who cares about being that guy? If you don’t want to be a submariner tell that to everyone you interact with.

The sub draft works because it gets people who put subs second or third and would rather go subs then SWO or another designator.