Rocketman
TNPer
First Read This:
I joined the Greatest Navy in the World on August 9th 2007. I took the physical, spoke with a career counselor and got my Ship Date. I was contracted as a Special Operations Navy Diver. This will hopefully be the first of many "notes" detailing my progression through the Navy.
I guess it all starts with "Why?". At the sheer essence of why, I can say that I joined because my employment history is marred with jobs lasting only months, getting fired for various reasons, or quitting out of frustration or boredom. I didn’t have many places to chose from that would hire someone with my history, so to the Recruiting Center it was.
First I figured that I would just join the National Guard, or the Army Reserves so that i could get free healthcare, a paycheck every month, and minimal involvement so that i could still maintain a normal life in the civilian world. Once i figured out how little involvement and pay i would actually see, i decided to up the ante and go with full enlistment. I didn’t want to spend the next four years of my life in the desert, so the Army and Marines was out of the question. I didn’t really consider the Air Force, and since I’ve always had an affinity for all things that involved water, to the Navy it was.
Because the time from walking into the NRC and the time to DEP IN is rather boring I'll fast-track the process. First you get drug tested by the recruiters because the Navy has a strict No Tolerance policy when it comes to drugs. Once the recruiter knows that you can go pass the drug test at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) you show up with overnight clothes and hopefully a clean bill of health before the actual process starts. you take the ASVAB to determine how smart you are then they send you to a hotel for the night so that everyone going through the Physical starts at the same time. You get up at 0500 hrs and get bussed into the processing station. First is the hearing exam. Then the eye exam which includes colorblindness and depth perception tests. Then its off to the piss test in which you have someone watching you. Then you go to another room, strip down to your undies in a room with at least 15 other dudes, walk around in front of a doctor that determines your joint stability, height and weight, then its off to another room on an individual basis to do the whole cough thing. The entire time this is going on, they constantly ask if you’ve ever done drugs, been addicted, etc. etc. Once you pass everything, you get to go down and are given three choices for a job based on your scores on the ASVAB and your vision test results. I didn’t like the jobs i had to chose from, so i asked the counselor what my options were as far as Special Operations was concerned. He put me on the phone with the regional NSW/NSO (i still don’t know what that stands for) Command and they told me about SEALs (everyone should know what these guys do), SWCC (Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman - they pilot the boats that insert other SpecWar teams), EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal - they are the bomb squad for the Navy and Marines) and Navy Diver (underwater construction, welding, Dive Medicine, Search and Rescue and Ordinance Disposal).
Once i spoke with the SpecWar Commander, i called my parents and told them i wanted to do EOD. Why EOD? Because i knew they would immediately say NO to SEALs, and i would still get to work with shit that blows up, as well as be a diver and get a chance to do HALO (high altitude low opening) jumps out of planes. My parents didn’t like the idea of me running the risk of getting my face blown off at any given time, and not always knowing where i was (all SpecOps jobs are classified) so Navy Diver it was. I got my contract from the Navy which guaranteed that i would get the job of Navy Diver when i got out of Boot Camp, as well as an enlistment of six years, in addition to $40,000 bonus upon completion of my "A" School. After this, they rushed me upstairs and i was sworn into the Navy. Let the Adventure begin!
Then Read this, if you're interested:
So now I’m in the Navy, and I don’t ship out to Boot Camp in Great Lakes, ILL till January 29th. What do i do with myself?
Keep in mind that I had just been fired from my last job, and the Navy was my last resort before filling out an application at a McDonald's and hoping they would put me on the fast track to management. I may have also forgotten to mention that i was living in New York City at the time, and had almost no money. Its not really here or there, but still part of what i was going through.
So you're thinking, you just going to sit around till you ship out? NO. Once i was accepted into the SpecWar program as a Diver, my whole mode of daily operation would change. The way i thought, acted and lived would have to drastically change if i was to enter the program and come out as a Second Class Diver at the culmination of my 16 weeks of A School. This change in my lifestyle started with passing a PST (Physical Screening Test) within 60 days of DEP IN (Delayed Entry Program Indoctrination). This test goes as follows:
500-yard swim using side- or breaststroke in 14:00 minutes or faster (10-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 42 push-ups in 2:00 minutes (2-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 50 sit-ups in 2:00 minutes (2-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 6 dead-hang pull-ups: no time limit (10-minute rest)
Run 1.5 miles in 12:45 or faster
This is a lot harder than it looks. The first time i took the test, my results were as follows:
500 yard swim: 10:45
Push-Ups: 36
Sit-Ups: 41
Pull-Ups: 4
1.5 mi Run: 11:15.
So i thought to myself "hey, i passed the two hardest parts, the next time should be a piece of cake, right?" Wrong. It took till my third try to pass all parts. Keep in mind that these are all done back to back. Any one of you momo's that thinks you can do it can go to hell. Its not easy. Yeah, I’m sure a lot of people could do any one of the tasks alone, but the Navy sets these numbers for a reason. After my first couple times of asking "why", and i realized that nothing i would be doing was just because people wanted to be assholes. How did i do when i finally passed? The numbers look like this:
Swim: 10:15
Push-Ups: 42
Sit-Ups: 50
Pull-Ups: 6
Run: 11:05
I passed the test on the 30th of august. I trained 5 times a week to pass the test. Those numbers are the MINIMUM. I was expected to increase those numbers every time i took the test, which was every two weeks. Try to keep in mind that i was in pretty good shape to start out with. There were other people taking this test that wanted to be SEALs and didn’t even get 3 pull ups, and couldn’t finish the run without puking, and definitely not in the time allowed. I was feeling pretty good about myself, and figured that since i had passed the test, i would get to move up my ship date to RTC (Recruit Training Center) and get out of Great Lakes before winter hit.
I moved back to Ohio to live with my parents because i had no money and no job, and they were offering free lodging and 3 squares a day. Sweet deal, and i could train for free at the local gym. I planned my trip back home, got in contact with a PST mentor in Columbus, and flew home. One week after i got home, i met up with the PST mentor, Mr. Naus, up in Gahanna for the PST. This guy was part of SEAL Team 6, and won FIVE medals of Valor, served as security for several presidents, and was also a Master Diver before retiring after 30 years or service. You hear people say things like "that guy could kill you with his pinky", well, they were talking about this guy.
Mr. Naus is not the type of person to let you slide, counting a pull up when it really wasn’t one, or being nice unless you really earn it. This is not a man i want to piss off. After telling him that i passed the PST and telling him my numbers, he informs me that i don’t have a snowball's chance in hell of shipping out to RTC early with numbers like that. Looks like I’m in it for the long haul. I failed the PST twice in front of this guy. I got a call from my recruiter saying that if i didn’t pass it the third time i took the test, he would kick me out of the Diver program. I didn’t even know that shit could happen. What did i do? i worked my ass off. I ran 10 miles a week, i did 100 push ups a day, 20 pull ups, and 150 sit-ups and then went home and waited to do it all again the next day.
The day of reckoning arrived. I went up to Gahanna, nervous as shit, not having slept the night before, all pumped up on pure adrenaline. I pass the test, and thank Almighty that i had been working out non-stop, constantly increasing the number of push ups, pull ups and sit ups i did every week. My numbers looked like this:
Swim: 8:32
Push Ups: 52
Sit Ups: 75
Pull Ups: 6
Run: 10:06
Not bad. Those numbers are well within SEALs Average performance standards.
A couple nights later, I’m watching Marine Corps Basic Training. They get 5 seconds to call someone and let them know they got to Paris Island in one piece. Then they get a haircut that takes less time than they had for the phone call. I think "shit, this is really happening. That’s going to be me with the bald head and goofy glasses running around like an idiot".
The realization that I am part of the Navy's combat team is sinking in. I wear my "Property of the US Navy" Shirt and my "US Navy Special Operations" shirts in public. People thank me for serving, ask in awe and fear "you're a Navy Diver?" high five me for "SpecOps Man!". I go to the OSU game, sing the Star Spangled Banner like everyone else, except i realize that it has new meaning to me. I’m now responsible for protecting everything that flag stands for. I look at myself in the mirror. I like what i see, i wont lie. I realize that I’m not doing it to look good, I’m doing it so I’m less likely to die while I’m doing my JOB. My job...yeah, I’ll be wearing a suit to work. It'll be a wetsuit, and my daily commute sure as hell wont be on a bus, or a subway train, or in a car. It will be on some of the most technically advanced equipment in use by ANY naval fleet in the world. I see other people at the gym, some fat, some thin, and i know all of them will never be motivated like i am...motivated to be the most elite in the world. I realize more every day i get closer to my ship date, i am stepping into a world very few humans will ever see. This isn’t a job, this is a totally different mode of existence. I am one of a select few that call themselves Navy SpecOps. Its a good feeling.
Updated #'s. A little note as to the run improvement, and the suck ass swim time:
I started running up yaples once a week
I got some underarmour shorts to swim in. No tie on waist= my ass hanging out after every push off the wall
Swim: 8:49
Push Ups: 51
Sit Ups: 84
Pull Ups: 8
Run: 9:32
I joined the Greatest Navy in the World on August 9th 2007. I took the physical, spoke with a career counselor and got my Ship Date. I was contracted as a Special Operations Navy Diver. This will hopefully be the first of many "notes" detailing my progression through the Navy.
I guess it all starts with "Why?". At the sheer essence of why, I can say that I joined because my employment history is marred with jobs lasting only months, getting fired for various reasons, or quitting out of frustration or boredom. I didn’t have many places to chose from that would hire someone with my history, so to the Recruiting Center it was.
First I figured that I would just join the National Guard, or the Army Reserves so that i could get free healthcare, a paycheck every month, and minimal involvement so that i could still maintain a normal life in the civilian world. Once i figured out how little involvement and pay i would actually see, i decided to up the ante and go with full enlistment. I didn’t want to spend the next four years of my life in the desert, so the Army and Marines was out of the question. I didn’t really consider the Air Force, and since I’ve always had an affinity for all things that involved water, to the Navy it was.
Because the time from walking into the NRC and the time to DEP IN is rather boring I'll fast-track the process. First you get drug tested by the recruiters because the Navy has a strict No Tolerance policy when it comes to drugs. Once the recruiter knows that you can go pass the drug test at MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) you show up with overnight clothes and hopefully a clean bill of health before the actual process starts. you take the ASVAB to determine how smart you are then they send you to a hotel for the night so that everyone going through the Physical starts at the same time. You get up at 0500 hrs and get bussed into the processing station. First is the hearing exam. Then the eye exam which includes colorblindness and depth perception tests. Then its off to the piss test in which you have someone watching you. Then you go to another room, strip down to your undies in a room with at least 15 other dudes, walk around in front of a doctor that determines your joint stability, height and weight, then its off to another room on an individual basis to do the whole cough thing. The entire time this is going on, they constantly ask if you’ve ever done drugs, been addicted, etc. etc. Once you pass everything, you get to go down and are given three choices for a job based on your scores on the ASVAB and your vision test results. I didn’t like the jobs i had to chose from, so i asked the counselor what my options were as far as Special Operations was concerned. He put me on the phone with the regional NSW/NSO (i still don’t know what that stands for) Command and they told me about SEALs (everyone should know what these guys do), SWCC (Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman - they pilot the boats that insert other SpecWar teams), EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal - they are the bomb squad for the Navy and Marines) and Navy Diver (underwater construction, welding, Dive Medicine, Search and Rescue and Ordinance Disposal).
Once i spoke with the SpecWar Commander, i called my parents and told them i wanted to do EOD. Why EOD? Because i knew they would immediately say NO to SEALs, and i would still get to work with shit that blows up, as well as be a diver and get a chance to do HALO (high altitude low opening) jumps out of planes. My parents didn’t like the idea of me running the risk of getting my face blown off at any given time, and not always knowing where i was (all SpecOps jobs are classified) so Navy Diver it was. I got my contract from the Navy which guaranteed that i would get the job of Navy Diver when i got out of Boot Camp, as well as an enlistment of six years, in addition to $40,000 bonus upon completion of my "A" School. After this, they rushed me upstairs and i was sworn into the Navy. Let the Adventure begin!
Then Read this, if you're interested:
So now I’m in the Navy, and I don’t ship out to Boot Camp in Great Lakes, ILL till January 29th. What do i do with myself?
Keep in mind that I had just been fired from my last job, and the Navy was my last resort before filling out an application at a McDonald's and hoping they would put me on the fast track to management. I may have also forgotten to mention that i was living in New York City at the time, and had almost no money. Its not really here or there, but still part of what i was going through.
So you're thinking, you just going to sit around till you ship out? NO. Once i was accepted into the SpecWar program as a Diver, my whole mode of daily operation would change. The way i thought, acted and lived would have to drastically change if i was to enter the program and come out as a Second Class Diver at the culmination of my 16 weeks of A School. This change in my lifestyle started with passing a PST (Physical Screening Test) within 60 days of DEP IN (Delayed Entry Program Indoctrination). This test goes as follows:
500-yard swim using side- or breaststroke in 14:00 minutes or faster (10-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 42 push-ups in 2:00 minutes (2-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 50 sit-ups in 2:00 minutes (2-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 6 dead-hang pull-ups: no time limit (10-minute rest)
Run 1.5 miles in 12:45 or faster
This is a lot harder than it looks. The first time i took the test, my results were as follows:
500 yard swim: 10:45
Push-Ups: 36
Sit-Ups: 41
Pull-Ups: 4
1.5 mi Run: 11:15.
So i thought to myself "hey, i passed the two hardest parts, the next time should be a piece of cake, right?" Wrong. It took till my third try to pass all parts. Keep in mind that these are all done back to back. Any one of you momo's that thinks you can do it can go to hell. Its not easy. Yeah, I’m sure a lot of people could do any one of the tasks alone, but the Navy sets these numbers for a reason. After my first couple times of asking "why", and i realized that nothing i would be doing was just because people wanted to be assholes. How did i do when i finally passed? The numbers look like this:
Swim: 10:15
Push-Ups: 42
Sit-Ups: 50
Pull-Ups: 6
Run: 11:05
I passed the test on the 30th of august. I trained 5 times a week to pass the test. Those numbers are the MINIMUM. I was expected to increase those numbers every time i took the test, which was every two weeks. Try to keep in mind that i was in pretty good shape to start out with. There were other people taking this test that wanted to be SEALs and didn’t even get 3 pull ups, and couldn’t finish the run without puking, and definitely not in the time allowed. I was feeling pretty good about myself, and figured that since i had passed the test, i would get to move up my ship date to RTC (Recruit Training Center) and get out of Great Lakes before winter hit.
I moved back to Ohio to live with my parents because i had no money and no job, and they were offering free lodging and 3 squares a day. Sweet deal, and i could train for free at the local gym. I planned my trip back home, got in contact with a PST mentor in Columbus, and flew home. One week after i got home, i met up with the PST mentor, Mr. Naus, up in Gahanna for the PST. This guy was part of SEAL Team 6, and won FIVE medals of Valor, served as security for several presidents, and was also a Master Diver before retiring after 30 years or service. You hear people say things like "that guy could kill you with his pinky", well, they were talking about this guy.
Mr. Naus is not the type of person to let you slide, counting a pull up when it really wasn’t one, or being nice unless you really earn it. This is not a man i want to piss off. After telling him that i passed the PST and telling him my numbers, he informs me that i don’t have a snowball's chance in hell of shipping out to RTC early with numbers like that. Looks like I’m in it for the long haul. I failed the PST twice in front of this guy. I got a call from my recruiter saying that if i didn’t pass it the third time i took the test, he would kick me out of the Diver program. I didn’t even know that shit could happen. What did i do? i worked my ass off. I ran 10 miles a week, i did 100 push ups a day, 20 pull ups, and 150 sit-ups and then went home and waited to do it all again the next day.
The day of reckoning arrived. I went up to Gahanna, nervous as shit, not having slept the night before, all pumped up on pure adrenaline. I pass the test, and thank Almighty that i had been working out non-stop, constantly increasing the number of push ups, pull ups and sit ups i did every week. My numbers looked like this:
Swim: 8:32
Push Ups: 52
Sit Ups: 75
Pull Ups: 6
Run: 10:06
Not bad. Those numbers are well within SEALs Average performance standards.
A couple nights later, I’m watching Marine Corps Basic Training. They get 5 seconds to call someone and let them know they got to Paris Island in one piece. Then they get a haircut that takes less time than they had for the phone call. I think "shit, this is really happening. That’s going to be me with the bald head and goofy glasses running around like an idiot".
The realization that I am part of the Navy's combat team is sinking in. I wear my "Property of the US Navy" Shirt and my "US Navy Special Operations" shirts in public. People thank me for serving, ask in awe and fear "you're a Navy Diver?" high five me for "SpecOps Man!". I go to the OSU game, sing the Star Spangled Banner like everyone else, except i realize that it has new meaning to me. I’m now responsible for protecting everything that flag stands for. I look at myself in the mirror. I like what i see, i wont lie. I realize that I’m not doing it to look good, I’m doing it so I’m less likely to die while I’m doing my JOB. My job...yeah, I’ll be wearing a suit to work. It'll be a wetsuit, and my daily commute sure as hell wont be on a bus, or a subway train, or in a car. It will be on some of the most technically advanced equipment in use by ANY naval fleet in the world. I see other people at the gym, some fat, some thin, and i know all of them will never be motivated like i am...motivated to be the most elite in the world. I realize more every day i get closer to my ship date, i am stepping into a world very few humans will ever see. This isn’t a job, this is a totally different mode of existence. I am one of a select few that call themselves Navy SpecOps. Its a good feeling.
Updated #'s. A little note as to the run improvement, and the suck ass swim time:
I started running up yaples once a week
I got some underarmour shorts to swim in. No tie on waist= my ass hanging out after every push off the wall
Swim: 8:49
Push Ups: 51
Sit Ups: 84
Pull Ups: 8
Run: 9:32
) 
Rocketman!!! Great to see you back. 
love the shirt Flem. 
Actually, it's loads of fun (most of the time) just super busy.