johnnyfive
FY12 STA-21 Selectee (NFO), WINGED AVIATOR
I'm starting to feel knots in my stomach.
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FY12 STA-21 Applicants
- Thread starter omararw
- Start date
Keith Delgado
FY-12 Med Corps Alternate
Here is a question for everybody. Will the results determine what you do with the rest of your enlistment? Would you be willing to do 20 years enlisted or is it Officer or nothing?
Christopher McGuire
Supply Corps Applicant
Won't change a thing. I'll stay Navy as long as I can on whichever side I can. If you are applying for an officer program simply because you're tired of being enlisted then shame on you. You're doing it for the wrong reasons. While being an officer contributes to personal gains and is perfectly normal to want, the main focus should be the Navy. I know I will be able to accomplish more as an officer, but if I stay enlisted I will be proud to do contribute as much as I can just the same.
johnnyfive
FY12 STA-21 Selectee (NFO), WINGED AVIATOR
Different people have unique motivations and plans for the rest of their life. For some, the challenges and rewards of being enlisted are enough to overcome the personal sacrifice that Sailors and their families make. For others, they may need a commision to make the time away from home and their families worth it. There is no shame in that. Besides, there are other ways to serve the Navy and the country than being an enlisted Sailor.
Of course one can accomplish more as an officer. Im sorry but I cant spend 20 years as a janitor, whether your cleaning dirt (E-1 to 6) or looking for dirt for others to clean (E-7 to 9) your still spend too much time worried about dirt. So for me it is officer or civilian.
DiverDan
US Navy Diver
Agreed. I don't believe there is a wrong answer to wanting to be an Officer. Some do it for the job, others the money. Some do it to improve life and others because they wish the extra responsibility. Others because they hate needleguns.
When my boards asked me why I wanted to become an Officer I told them the truth. I want a better lifestyle for me and my family, more money certainly helps too. I wanted the extra responsibilities and the job as an EDO (one that I am very familiar with since my Dad and several family friends are all EDs) is one I like and would excel at.
On a similar note I did want to share one thing that stands out to me when we consider becoming an Officer...
I was at a Marine SpecOps command prior to this one and one thing that the CO of that command asked me made me seriously think about being an Officer. He asked me (while I was thinking about putting in an Officer package before) "As an Officer in charge, what is more important? The Mission or your People"?
I didn't really have a good answer at the time and he could tell I was really thinking about it and he stopped me to say, "It is always the mission. Obviously it is a hard choice to make at times, and you can't accomplish the mission without your people but when it comes down to it you always have to put your mission, the reason you even have a command to begin with, first."
I gave it a lot of thought but what really drove this point home for me was the fact that the CO telling me this wasn't just anyone, this was a guy who regularly sends Marines into places all over the world such as Afghanistan. It was because of the missions they do and the risk involved that in the time I worked there (close to 4 years) not a single deployment returned with 100% of their guys. This was from a guy who knew, really knew, what it meant to make the decisions that effected lives both under his command and throughout. I really took it to heart because when our Marines and Sailors didn't come back it was him who told their families in person. Imagine being the guy who ordered them over there and then having to tell their family that they weren't coming back.
Now I know not every Officer has to make decisions with that level of impact but whenever I think on a decision I have to make I ALWAYS look back at that one principle... Mission vs People. Even LPOs or those below have to make those kinds of decisions (at much smaller levels) and they should always remember that fact too. We joined, we have a mission and sometimes we have to make sacrifices whether its a Saturday we usually have off or something much more serious. As an Officer you know everyone under your command took the same oath and you may have to ask them to fulfill that oath.
Kind of long winded, I admit it. But I guess my point is this.... If you really really want to become an Officer, maybe you'll think back on what they mean when they ask you... "Are you ready to shoulder the burden of responsibility that comes with being an Officer?"
Keith Delgado
FY-12 Med Corps Alternate
Very well put, I can tell from this answer that you must of did great on your boards!!
johnnyfive
FY12 STA-21 Selectee (NFO), WINGED AVIATOR
My gutshot response would have been "people". Not an easy question, for sure.
Keith Delgado
FY-12 Med Corps Alternate
My answer for that same question was short and to the point, "I want to be a flight surgeon and I can't do that as a 2nd Class. I see the responsibility officers have and the way they interact with each other and I want that, that's who I am. My full potential is not being tapped and as an Officer, I can do much much more for my country"
I never mentioned anything about money throughout the whole process although it was in the back of my mind. I never even looked at a pay chart until after I submitted my package. It's not my main reason but a pay raise would be nice!! lol..
Keith Delgado
FY-12 Med Corps Alternate
What is motivating everybody to apply for the program and to ultimately become an Officer?
DiverDan
US Navy Diver
And if there is no mission there is no question to begin with.
It's much more simple of a question than it first looks. No matter how you look at it if you have a job to do that must be done people will rank slightly lower than the job itself. Its a tough thing to realize because people are very important but you wouldn't have those people in the first place if you didn't have a job they needed to do. The important thing in asking that question is to NOT over-analyze it.
You need to take care of your people... but you'll need to use them sometime. Otherwise you might as well just work in the USO or MWR and not be an Officer.
KevBot510
FY12 STA-21 SWO Selectee
How can you say shame on somebody for not wanting to be enlisted anymore and strive for something better like a commission? Not everybody's job in the navy is the same. Have you ever had to field day an engineroom for 5 hours? Have you ever had to get in a bilge that's the width of a flight deck and paint it? Have you ever had to stand 5 hours of watch in a 100 degree steam plant and only get 10 hours off before having to go do it again? Being an LS3, not likely. So don't go saying it's shameful for an enlisted guy to want a commission for the sake of getting out of the enlisted ranks. Leave your air conditioned office and that comfy chair then come meet me on the 8th deck in the bilge and we'll talk.
For me, it's Officer or nothing. If I don't get picked up this year, I'll get out Jul2012, get my degree with the GI Bill, and then come back in through OCS. The end goal is a commission.
Keith Delgado
FY-12 Med Corps Alternate
You said you were alt CORE last year so maybe you'll be in there this year. If I were to end up doing 20 years enlisted, The last 12 years of it would of been me trying to gain a commission..
Lui
OCS Applicant
We do need to use our people sometimes. We do not need to all of the time. There are many missions that are worth the risk of life. There are even more that are worth working a non working Saturday. This is not true for every mission. If anything it is the exception more than the rule. You keep saying that we wouldn't need our people without the mission. That is true. However, try doing the mission without the people. Like most things in life a balance needs to be found. If you put your mission above your people 100% of the time your setting yourself up for failure.