Forced into Navy Nuke Program?
So I've been doing all the processing to join the Navy. My recruiter has tried pushing nuke on me several times but I'm really not interested in it. After my asvab they told me I qualified for it and tried pushing it again. I'm still not really interested, But yesterday my recruiter called me and told me that my flat foot and chest (I have a very minor pectus excavatus) won't be pushed through medical unless I do nuke. He told me it was nuke or nothing. I know for a fact both medical conditions are correctable with surgery. My questions are: is it really nuke or nothing? Or if I say no they'll try something else? Also if I get both my chest and foot corrected and come back later can I try again later? Or am i permanently disqualified?
Comments
You can get the surgery on your nickle and then wait a couple of years to get fully cleared and try again...all over again.
The nuke program is tough but sets you up for a job post-Navy that pays about $100K per year. Think it over seriously.
no, it is probably not nuke or nothing. what if that is all that is avaible right now> nuke doe not necessarily mean nuclear weapons. could be a nuclear reactor on an air craft carrier. it will require a very high security clearence that could pay dividends i nthe civilian world someday at a power plant or with the energy commissionsomeday. might want to think about that one. people i know in the nuke program in the navy enjoy it
but - if you still have zero interest - and he is telling you that, i would tell him, "well then if it is nuke or nothing, then i guess it is nothing, and i'm going to be having a chat with your recruiting area supervisor about your harassing, strong-arm, bullying tactics to force me into a job i do not want and the constant badgering to do so". then watch him turn white. record that conversation and tell him you are). then follow through.
of course that would sink your ship (pardon the pun) as far as the Navy goes....
but let me ask you. what do you WANT to do? the jobs are getting tight in the military and when i joined 4 years ago, the Army was the only branch that would guarantee you a job provided your ASVAB was high enough. i don't know if they still do. the other services offer you a selection of what THEY need filled based on your scores. your 'dream job' might not ever be on that list. is that the chance you are willing to take? not getting in at all? nuclear is not a bad gig. there are many jobs in the Navy that would absolutely BITE. but if that is the chance you are willing to take... go ahead. roll the dice. the Navy needs sailors to swab the deck, cook the meals, wash the pots and pans, wash the bedpans, paint the rust on the side of a ship... so by all means... knock yourself out.
the military isn't Burger King.... you can't always have it your way
Here's your "Facts".
You are being forced into nothing...there is no draft and Military Service is NOT a Right, you are free to walk away at anytime prior to shipping to Basic, just like the Navy is free to approve or disapprove any and all waivers for people that don't meet or exceed the Enlistment Requirements.
basically it is blackmail. they only need you in Nuke. therefore if you continue to say NO to Nuke, they will NOT waive the other issues.
it is of course your right to say you do not want Nuke( my stepson did the same thing and ended up an IC after he became NPQd for Air rescue)
but equally it is THEIR right to say that if you do not want to be a nuke they do not want to hire you.
Just tell him "No thanks, I don't want nuke. I'll go check out a different branch and see if I can get in to one of them." Let him take the next step. If he refuses to budge, go talk to the Air Force.
Find another recruiter.
Say No to him he will try something else