Howdy, for the entirety of this year I’ve been struggling to find steady work. A family member has been in for a good chunk of time and in a way inspired me to join up. I’ve been working on the logistical things since march of this year to get my things in order to be able to join. But I kind of want to hear people’s opinions from this thread on how likely it would be for me to even get in. (Imma lay it all out, if I embarrass myself then whatever)

Things that may hold me back:
Hospitalized for depression in 2015 and was in for 3 weeks I think?
On medication on and off from sep 2015-2018
Unpaid ticket from 2022 that I’m currently working on getting paid off
Speeding ticket in 2023
Began medication again in July 2025 stopped January 2026 (have notes in my chart from this doctor saying I had shown improvement)
Misdemeanor from November 2025 that was cleared and removed from my record July 2026
No chronic illnesses, healthy and strong as a horse

If I get there, the rates I’m hoping for are EO and SW
It feels like a hell of a mess typing it out, a lot of it I am not proud of and wish I had the foresight to do things differently. But ultimately what’s done is done. Life has been turbulent and ultimately I want the job security and the discipline the military can offer for myself so I can get my life back on track.
I’m athletic, smart, and willing. Got an 86 on the practice test. I just hope and pray my history is brief enough to be able to be considered. 24 years old
(I have two hand tattoos smaller than a dime so the navy is really my only option, as I cannot afford laser removal)

If I had depression like 5 years ago (wasn’t just depressed in general I was just in a relationship that made me depressed) and took medicine for like a year or less then was prescribed depression medicine last year one month because I left that relationship that I didn’t even take or refill do you think I can get an approved waiver? Also was prescribed blood pressure medicine that I didn’t refill because it’s only high at the doctor office cause I get nervous. Do you think they’re gonna tell me no? I’m consistently getting low readings so I think it would be fine at MEPS if I tried really hard not to be nervous

Hi guys just wondering how life is like for you all specially for corpsman. I’m considering hm cause I wanna do medical after the navy and was just curious as to how work/life is for corpsman. Also where have you been stationed. Thanks everyone in advance

I enlisted a couple days ago and my fiancé did too. We are planning to get married before I leave in January to bootcamp, then he leaves in March. Would I be able to get BAH while Im there? I don’t really understand how BAH works, would appreciate if someone could explain.

I was involved in an accident on 4/11/26. It was major but having an injury claim on going put a lot of things on my medical record. After being denied the first time I went to the doctors to get documentation and they cleared me. I resubmitted the application and was denied today. Is there any way I can resubmit? Do I need stronger documentation? Or am I just out of luck?

Just need someone to tell it to me straight - I’m 33 (will turn 34 in March). Have a four year degree but no flight experience / hours. In great physical / fitness condition. The only prescriptions I take is for my mildly, high-blood pressure and my thyroid condition.

Is it too late for me to apply to OCS to get a pilot slot in the navy?

So I was on the path of obtaining a navy seal contract. Passed my PSTs with solid numbers. Everything was looking good up until meps flagged me for a heart murmur. The doctor at meps didn’t seem worried about it. Told me it’s most likely benign and to just get an echocardiogram done. After getting that done it was determined I have a bicuspid valve with trace to mild aortic regurgitation. Being something that is asymptomatic and causes me no issues I thought nothing of it. Unfortunately my doctor was taking forever to sign off on my test results and give his written statement and approval so I gave only the raw test results to my recruiter to send to meps. He sent that off and they got back to me asking for a written statement by me for the mild aortic regurgitation. So I did that and we sent that off. I waited two weeks and they got back to me with “a waiver cannot be issued,” completely crushing all of my hard work and dreams. Is there a path to getting a waiver passed for this condition? Would sending meps my doctor’s review and approval of my test results have possibly changed the outcome?

I took my PiCAT yesterday and scored an AFQT of 95. Apparently, this is good! The recruiter was pushing me to go into the nuclear field, but I was really unsure what that might look like for me.

My scores were: GT 131, EL 251, BEE 254, ENG 116, MEC 193, MEC2 198, NUC 262, OPS 252, HM 188, and ADM 124.

I'm 23 years old, and I have a wife and a 10-week-old son. I won't be able to ship until after he turns one, but I only have 45 days from when I took the PiCAT for the score to stay valid, so it looks like I'll be headed to MEPS soon and will just spend some time in DEP. The recruiter guided me to the Navy COOL website, and I spent basically the whole day reading about every rating on there.

Attached is a ranked list of all of the ratings I would consider signing for. It begins with a personal score out of 10, then the title, a brief description if necessary, the time at sea vs. at shore according to the rating information cards (which I know is over a 20-year career, and not a given. I'm just looking at it for reference), and a link to the rating information card.

The highlighting was done by my wife, where neon green is yes, faded green is maybe, bright yellow is unsure, faded yellow is no feeling, faded red is apprehension, and bright red is a no. She gave these answers just based on a brief description of each one.

I've always gravitated towards more blue-collar type work, I'd hate to just sit behind a desk all day, but my wife wants to see me do something with my mind, put that high score to use basically. I'm up for the challenge, but want to still enjoy what I do.

I think a career in the nuclear field could be really cool, especially on a submarine. The idea of being a part of a specialized crew, doing something I can genuinely be proud of, is a big part of the appeal of submarines as well as the Seabees for me. My understanding though is that in the nuclear field, you sign onto the field and you don't have control on whether you become MMN, ETM, or EMN. I feel my preference would be for MMN, so it feels hard to maybe sign on and get one of the others. Especially with it being a 6-year commitment.

Good family quality of life is definitely something I want to preserve as much as possible. I understand this is the military, and it's never going to be like a regular 9-5, but I'd like to watch my son grow up as much as possible, and to make it as easy on my wife as I reasonably can.

Given all that, what do you guys think? I want to have as good an idea as I can so when I go in to sign, I can make the most informed decision possible based on what contracts are available that day (I'm aware Seabees are a long shot). Thanks.

I have a new roomate I don’t really know her. Im an A-school she is in C-school. Alcohol was found in our barracks room. I didn’t really speak to my roomate to find out if she was underage or not. We do have messages about alcohol but I never supplied any to her or drank with her.She was offering me cash to take the fall since she is promoting to petty officer next month and plans to stick me with “supplying” i have been accused of violating article 92 and am awaiting DRB. I am accepting of anything except restriction or separation because I doubt I can get away scot free. although the legal officer informed me I would not be separated. I am just so sad because I never would bring alcohol to the barracks and feel that its so wrong for me to suffer consequences of some else that I do not know and for all the blame to fall on me because I am of age.

Hi all, I recently signed a contract to join the Reserves (NAT) as a SW. I’m based in the Spokane WA area. Could anyone with experience tell me what A-school would be like, what life is like as a reservist in Spokane, what battalion I might be assigned to, any travel required etc.? Thanks a lot!

20 years old and enlisting in the navy. I’m studying hard for the ASVAB, mainly brushing up on my AK, MK, and GS.

I need to have a rate in mind, I think I’ve narrowed it down to FC or OS. Anyone have a couple cents to share on each? I’d love to hear it from anyone currently active or having known someone in those rates.

I’m not really going into the navy for a single contract and bouncing, I plan on staying a while, going to school and making ESWS, enlisted to officer and SWO after that, ultimately TAO, maybe lieutenant and exec officer of operations or combat systems if I’m lucky.

Big dreams, but truly this may be the only career I see myself being passionate about. I’d love to hear some pieces from anyone, greatly appreciate it!

I live in Idaho and my bike is gonna be my primary form of transportation how should I get it down there? What have other people done to get there cars/bike to there deployments/A school?

I signed my contract today for AV, I’m hoping to hear from anyone with experience in this field to see how they like it and their quality of life! I especially want to know about the A school and what that consist of!

I tore my UCL completely in high school (4 years ago) playing football and given it was my non dominant arm my doctor said I could choose to not get surgery. I have complete range of motion and strength, I weight train, can do pushups/pullups all with zero pain and discomfort. Does anyone know how the physical doctors treat joint/ligament injuries. Am I cooked? I'm planning to go officer if all works out.

Im nearing my ship date and I was approved for atf I signed the contract and everything but less than a month before I ship they denied my job so im forced to choose another on grounds of my eye sight being shit which true its technically within the requirements since I have uc 20/200 and thats the maximum for atf any suggestions?

Also my recruiter has tried pleading my case for even aviation jobs that dont need a eyesight score and they have all been denied idk why im getting screwed like this.

Went to MEPS recently and CWT was full, so I ended up signing AECF as a placeholder, which I don't know if I should've done, but the classifier said I can back out anytime before bootcamp. My ship date is Dec 16.

After thinking about it more, I’m pretty sure I’d rather do CWT than anything else and I’m willing to wait if I have to. I don't know if I should tell my recruiter I won't be showing up on my ship date if my job isn't changed.

I got an 85 on the ASVAB and I’m mainly interested in something computer/cyber related. I’m not really trying to do a job where I’m working with my hands which I think AECF is. My goal is to get a good civilian job after the navy that is easy on my body.

For anyone who’s been in CWT:

Is CWT worth waiting for?

Are there any other ratings I should look into that are similar and have good civilian opportunities?

Would you guys recommend waiting for CWT over taking AECF?

Also, is there anything specific I should tell my recruiter if I want to wait for CWT instead of shipping with AECF?

Any advice is appreciated.

So my brother graduates from the Navy on November 25 and I would like to know if they’re also going to give him Thanksgiving or if they’re only gonna have a couple hours to be with their families do you guys know by chance?