I don't know about the US navy, not being from the US. However our military is filled with unpleasant characters. I wouldn't go so far as to call them "bullies and losers", but there is a dock-pack mentality to them, where they treat anything you say as a potential slight/authority challenge (not doing so is, apparently, the fastest way to end up washing your whole squads' socks.)
The flip side of the dog-pack mentality is that friendships forged during the service last a lifetime (in a way that ones made, say, in the office do not).
Addendum: Jar-head is a term applied to the Marines, I don't know where it comes from, but don't go calling a Marine Jar-head unless you're looking for a fight.
The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience.
A day in the life of a soldier (can't speak for squids) starts around 5 a.m. Zulu, first comes morning formation (gathering at your unit HQ for roll), followed by breakfast, then morning P.T., usually followed by several hours at your job (whatever M.O.S. you have), followed by lunch, then another few hours on the job, evening P.T., then dinner, then evening formation, and finally rack. So not too different from a 9-5, except for the formation, P.T., and deployments. I was a tanker who didn't actually get to complete training, so my schedule was a bit more severe. Training units are harsh, tightly packed activities, lots of screaming, weapons drills, more screaming, punishment P.T. (doesn't matter if you do everything perfectly, Drill Sergeants exist to break you in any way they can then build you to where the military needs you to be), it is not a pleasant experience honestly, most soldiers go through 9 weeks of B.C.T., tankers go through 16 weeks of O.S.U.T. (I made it halfway before my knees had accrued too much damage to continue), the Navy is it's own beast obviously, but every single seaman I've spoken to says that it's around the same amount of stress and physicality (I knew several soldiers who had decided to switch from Navy to army, and have met several others who decided to switch from Army to Navy, with very consistent assertions from both sides.)
I will not lie, if you join as enlisted it will be the single hardest thing you have ever done, but once you're in, the benefits are huge, and it can be an absolute blast.
As for the additional rank on entry, it's not really a big deal unless you're talking about starting at Captain (only a lieutenant for the squids) most people aren't going to bitch.
The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience.
This could be equally applied to anything from crochet club to the KKK, so I wouldn't consider this a glowing recommendation personally.
The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience.
This could be equally applied to anything from crochet club to the KKK, so I wouldn't consider this a glowing recommendation personally.
It wasn't intended as a recommendation, just an observation. And one big difference between a military enlistment and most other groups you might join, is that you can't just walk away from the military if you realize it isn't for you.
Resident recently separated Army sergeant (E5) here.The ones with behaviors, opinions, beliefs, and personalities which were already mostly in-line with that culture, or who successfully changed those traits in themselves to align with that culture, generally have considered the military to be a positive experience.
This could be equally applied to anything from crochet club to the KKK, so I wouldn't consider this a glowing recommendation personally.
It wasn't intended as a recommendation, just an observation. And one big difference between a military enlistment and most other groups you might join, is that you can't just walk away from the military if you realize it isn't for you.
Sure you can. You just make yourself a burden on your organization until they kick you out for your local article 15 equivalent or "failure to adapt." Only question at that point, is if you're willing to accept being honorless yourself and what benies you keep.
If you can come in as a E-3, it's a major upward step on your paycheck and career. From day one, an E-3 makes about another 300 bucks month compared to E1. Without it, you're looking at at least a year of work to get to the position someone with JROTC experience got stepping in.
Now, the real question becomes if it's something you want to do. If you have sufficient mental toughness, there's no reason why you can't succeed. If you're treating it as a patriot or as someone trying to do honest work for a career or for an honorable contract and GI bennies (significant amounts of money towards college), then you'll fit in fine. If not? Probably best to go somewhere else.
A bit of background knowledge might be helpful here, where are you in life right now? High School kid with nowhere particular to go? Family to take care of? Would have had a full-ride athletic scholarship if it wasn't for X (you'd be amazed how many of those there are).