Have A Fine Navy Day

Boot camp is over, I am a US Navy sailor! This is most definitely the proudest accomplishment of my life, it marks the beginning of real change. This was a decision I made on my own and I’m on my way to reaching my goals. This is only my short term goal though, I’ll have many more boring essays for my progress in the future. Walking this path I chose, I’ve met many amazing people and seen things I never would have experienced if not for the Navy. Still, this is only the beginning of the journey, I still have to work hard in “A” school and in the fleet. I have some serious motivation to do well, something I didn’t have in HS or college. I am pretty happy where I’m at and hopefully where I’ll be in the future.

With that said, the military isn’t for everyone. It is a huge commitment with a lot of sacrifices. Leaving your family, friends, spouse, your nice cozy home. I was busy all through boot camp and stressed out with the training, but when graduation came, the weight was lifted and all those feelings came out. I had never missed my family that much, but at least I got to see my parents on liberty weekend before I left. Not sure when I’ll be able to come home, hopefully there will be a good time when I can take leave. Before I left boot camp my division received a speech from one of my RDC’s (recruit division commander) pumping us up with the navy pride. Not everyone can say they joined the military during a time of war and that number is dwindling because our generation is the most educated ever. The future generations will be more educated still. Should that conflict with our core values? Honor, Courage, and Commitment is a big part of my life now, and I gained confidence in my abilities even though this stuff is all propaganda.

Wearing this uniform, an anonymous person paid our breakfast bill at a restaurant on liberty weekend. Couple of people at the airport thanked us for our service and I met a retired chief in the bathroom. A group of girls asked to take a picture with me at the pier. Those are some little things that make it awesome, but I have a new set of responsibilities now to conduct myself in a military manner and perform my duties. I guess I see the world in a different light now, I enjoyed my time in boot camp and the beginning of “A” school. It’s too bad there is a widespread belief that you are going to die in the military. There are so many other positive aspects and opportunities even if you have a college degree. I will say this though. Straight out of HS, the best jobs are in the nuclear field and advanced technical field programs. Advancement is quick and they have large bonuses if you can get the scores to get in. Navy educational programs can get you an associates/bachelors in 2-4 years, you will be earning a salary at age 18 close to what you might earn after you graduate from 4 years of college, navy pays for all your tuition and housing/food, you get the military experience, job experience, discipline, and very likely get to travel all around the world. But people are scared of dying at a desk job in California. So sad. College is probably easier, but that’s up to you. Don’t aim for mediocrity. Apply yourself in college and you can graduate in 4 years and have a cushy air-conditioned desk job like me and don’t even have to mess up your fingernails. Plus you get to keep your hair!

P.S. My “A” school issues all students a free PDA so I still win. More updates on loot and languages later.

See ya space cowboys.

“A” School

I arrived at the Defense Language Institute today in Monterey, California for the language training. This base houses the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine linguists and most people around here are new sailors. This is going to be my new command station after boot camp and it is pretty awesome. Everyone over here is chill and there are no boot camp rules, I just need to get used to the little things. The room over here is not that great and kinda dirty, but my roommate is a pretty good guy and he’s helping me out over here getting me caught up on the rules and such. In a couple of months I get to move to some better barracks but I got this room for a few months. I’m on my roommate’s laptop till my parents send mine over, I got the mailing address too, send me a email if you want it. It is looking pretty much like a college campus so far, just gotta keep things squared away and my uniforms looking good. More updates to come. Stay tuned!

AFK a bit for boot camp

Last day here,

goodbyes have been said, tears have been shed, the only thing left… is a blog post.

I’ll be back before you know it, only 2 months of boot camp.

When I get back, I hope everyone will be rich and awesome so I can regret joining the military. Otherwise, I might be inclined to think I made a wise decision or something!

I’m not really one for goodbyes soooooo AFK BAI

CTI Linguist

CTI stands for Cryptologic Technician Interperative. We are the Navy’s linguists, and since the Navy is a support branch of the military, our linguists are more focused on intel and communications, unlike Army linguists which do some of the same duties but also have interregators and field translators. What we do is sit at a computer system and record, interpret and transcribe foreign communications. Could be on a sub or at a base doing this work. All materials are highly classified which is why CTI’s and the people that work with them require a Top Secret clearance. The experience with handling of sensitive material makes CTI’s very marketable in federal agencies such as FBI and CIA. There are also CTI’s that choose to further their language training in the navy and become interpreters for the US or international agencies like the UN or NATO. Not sure what I want to do when I get out but…

This is going to be my job in the Navy.

DLAB Test

The DLAB test is used by the military to measure your aptitude for learning languages. It is not a language test or a grammar test. I took the test about a week ago, and now I am sharing my experience with you.

The contents I can’t tell you, I can give you hints on what to study. Learn the basics of english grammar and their functions. You also have to keep in mind that other languages aren’t going to be the same syntax or grammar rules as english. In fact, there is a nonsense language that they use for the test, and you will need to learn those new rules and apply it to translate basic phrases into english.