The Journey To Now: in 250,000 words or less

This is a truncated version of how I ended up here. Everyone's story will be different, but chances are good we'll all face similar challenges along the way.  This was my route:

• The Decision
  
• Research
• Recruiter
• MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station)
• ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)
  
• DEP (Delayed entry Program)
  
• Boot Camp
• "A" School

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-THE DECISION-

I've done things in reverse order. I earned a college degree, a Bachelor's in Electronic Media and Film, then decided to join the military.

I joined after watching the documentary "Carrier". Actually, that's oversimplifying it. I joined because I want to serve. And travel. And get a hands-on education that has real value in the real world.

Check out "Carrier", though. Watching it pushed me into action.  This was December 2008.


-RESEARCH-

#1- Know the job better than the recruiter. Or at the very least, don't go in blind. More on that under 'recruiter'.

Mass Communications specialist is a very new rate.  It was created in 2006 by combining Photographers' Mate (PH), Journalist (JO), Illustrator/Draftsman (DM) and Lithographer (LI).  Add video, graphics, and some website training to that list. There are links to the left with good information.

#2- Do you want to be an officer?   Because I'm a degree holder, the officer route was open to me immediately. PAO, or Navy Public Affairs Officer, is the commissioned officer version of MC.  I applied for PAO first.  They accept about two a year, so even though I scored well, I was not selected.  I may apply again in a couple of years, but at 32 my age is working against me.

PAOs are many times picked from the MC pool, so keep that in mind if you've got your eye on officer.


-U.S. NAVY RECRUITER-

Some recruiters don't understand the rate.

This is really important.  I've talked to other students here and I almost always hear the same thing.  I don't know why, they just don't.

One guy here failed out of the school because he can't write well.  His recruiter told him he could just do photography if he wanted.  Another student just told me yesterday that he joined the Navy to shoot video.  Both of these guys rolled the dice when they enlisted.

Mass Communications specialists are expected to be proficient in everything I described in the first post.  There's no picking and choosing.  You may end up doing one type of job out in the fleet, but here at the Defense Information School, you'll be expected to conduct interviews, write news stories, take photos, record video, etc.  I'll go into detail about what we study in a later post.


You may have to fight...and wait.

I, along with many others here, was told the chances were slim to none of me getting in.  That's especially true now.  The U.S. military has plenty of potential recruits to pick from.  Couple that with the fact that the MC community is extremely small (and popular) and you've got an extra tough rate to get into.

How do you do it?  Score high on the ASVAB.  It makes you more marketable, which gives you some leverage.  Stop by Navy Cyberspace for the latest requirements to enter the MC community.

STUDY!!  I couldn't believe how many at boot camp rolled into the test hungover and unprepared.  There's free ASVAB study guides and pay ones.   You'll probably take a practice mini-test at the recruiter's office. Take it, it's a good predicter of how you'll actually score at MEPS when you take the real thing.

Walk in ready to tell him or her that you'll only take the MC rate. I told my recruiter that from day one.  It doesn't give you a guarantee by any means, but you may save yourself the headache of being pushed towards other rates.

At the end of the day, however, there has to be an open seat available.  I waited 7 months in the Delayed Entry Program for mine.  You'll find out about that at MEPS.


-MEPS-

MEPS, or Military Entrance Processing Station, is the one-stop shop for all branches.  This place is an assembly line that collects young civilians and churns out certified grade "A" recruits ready to be shipped out to boot camp.  


Here's what happens there.  Individual experience may vary.

• My recruiter drove me to the Miami MEPS location early in the morning.
• I was given all sorts of tests to assure physical fitness.  Seeing, hearing, flexibility, blood, urine, etc.  This took a lot of waiting, about half a day.
• I ate lunch on the government's tab.
• The second half of the day involved a lot of waiting, taking the ASVAB, the typing test, then getting the job. 

• I didn't give much thought to the typing test, until I sat down.  It was administered on a friggin typewriter!  That really threw me off.  I was given a letter and told to type as much of it as I could in...I think 5 minutes.  I finished with a few mistakes (you can't hide em on a typewriter) and was good to go.

• The requirements at the time of my entrance were 20 words per minute.  Stop by typingtest.com to check your speed.  It's easy to use, although the stuff they make you copy is a little harder than the Navy test.  I just took one of tests on that site and averaged 75 wpm, 108% higher than the average.  Just thought I'd throw that in there.

• I got my ASVAB test score back, which was a 96. My recruiter tried to get me to go the Nuclear route. Big bonus, but no way.

• We went to see the detailer who immediately said: "Well we've got ONE spot for MC on July 27th."  This was 7 months away.  Enter the DEP.

• I went into a little room with other newbies and swore in.  This is the first of two oaths that you'll take.  

• The first is swearing into the Navy Reserve with a DEP contract. (you can still get out of the military at this point)

• The second, taken on your second visit just before shipping to boot camp, is swearing into active duty (this one's for real, better be sure!)
  

•  My second and last visit to MEPS was the day I shipped to boot camp.  I was driven to the area the night before and put in a hotel with the other recruits. (from every branch)  Early the next morning we took a shuttle over to MEPS where I was tested again for drugs and disease. I was held up by some paperwork issues (college transcript I think) and couldn't ship out that day.  Another stay in the hotel and another early morning later I was on my way to the airport in a big comfy bus!

Try not to get too frustrated at MEPS.  It's a lot of waiting, and setbacks do happen.  Just go in with something to read, and don't lose sight of your goal....Mass Communication specialist!


-DEP-

The DEP, or Navy Delayed Entry Program, happens to everyone.  It's very rare for someone to ship out right away.  It used to be that way.  But now, there's a longer wait for most rates.  On the plus side, recruits in the DEP have time to get their doughy asses in shape for boot camp.

It depends on the recruiter, but for me the DEP involved a structured program.  I visited my Delray Beach recruiter office every week to participate in workouts and instruction sessions where we learned the basics of marching and military etiquette.  I was grateful to have such a great group of recruiters.

Here's what you want to do while in DEP:
  
#1  Get physically prepared.  You don't have to be ready to run a marathon, but you don't want to be lagging behind during PT. (physical training)  I ran 2-3 miles every other day and did push-ups and sit-ups after the runs.  I also did some medium-intensity weight lifting 3 days a week. Check out US Navy Physical Fitness Standards for advice on how to prepare while in the DEP.  I'll write more about Navy boot camp PT in the boot camp post.

#2  Get mentally prepared.  Enlisting in the military is a BIG deal.  You want to be focused and ready for your ship date.  Party it up some, enjoy life as a civilian.  But don't let the day sneak up on you.

#3  I read Navy recommended books, ran with Navy cadences on my ipod, and tried to learn everything I possibly could from recruits who'd made it through boot camp.

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-BOOT CAMP-

Ahh Navy boot camp.  That one deserves its own post.


-"A" SCHOOL-

Mass Communication specialist "A" school was a mystery to me before I got here.  In a nutshell, it's like college with curfews and early morning PT.