High School Son and Military

You could start researching the application for one of the military academies (Naval Academy, West Point, Air Force Academy, ...). It's a pretty rigorous application process and highly competitive, but it would be worth a look.

I know he's interested in the Navy, but please do encourage him to research ALL the branches (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard) prior to actually deciding on just one branch. For instance, in some branches the deployments overseas are longer than others. Some have a much slower promotion rate than others. And there are literally HUNDREDS of specialites (jobs) to choose from. It's important to be informed.

He shouldn't just talk to one branch's recruiter, he should talk to ALL of them.

Good luck!

Wow! That is so exciting! My son enlisted aug 19, 2009. I highly recommend that he get the ASVAB book from bookstore and study it. The better he does on the ASVAB test he will have more choices on the position he wants. My son thought he knew everything and ended up not doing well on the test. He then entered the 9 month delayed enter program so if he wants to go into the navy have him enlist the day he turns 18. He will attend bootcamp in Chicago. I highly recommend going to the graduation. It is something special to see. Once my son graduated he went to Groton,CT for A school. He know is in Hawaii He worked really hard to be the top of his class so he could choose where he wanted to go. (the only time in his life he actually tried to be the best in school!) A good resource is navymoms.com. It saved me and there are so many resources on there to help u find whatever ur looking for. Good luck and if u need anything else feel free to private msg me!! I wish I knew more about sea cadet program.

Check out the Civil Air Patrol in your area. Their program for kids is excellent! While it is an auxillary of the Air Force, they will learn much about military protocal, do PT, have incredible learning experiences and it is highly regarded on a resume for the military academies. Adults can participate, as well, as senior members. My daughter is 16 and has participated for the past two years with my husband. It has been an excellent opportunity for them to do something together that has interest and value to them both. Our son participated in ROTC while in high school. It was an active group and one of the largest in the area, but it did not compare to the experiences our daughter has had in CAP. Check it out. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Is he a Boy Scout? Eagle Scouts automatically get a rank after the completion of boot camp.
Our son was lucky enough to have a Army JROTC program which he did for one year. If you do that for four years you are also promoted a rank after boot.
I do not know anything about the Sea Cadets but any of the programs that furthers his military knowledge is a good thing.
My son went in after high school. He took the ASVAB in December at 17, then went into the DEP program for 9 months until a position in his A school opened up for after bootcamp.
He met with the recruiter every Tuesday to work on military/Naval history and PT and get ready.
Talk to you recruiter.
You are also from TX. They have the Texas GI Bill or something like that., IL does too, The IVG illinois Veterans Grant. That pays for his college on top of the GI Bill. Even if he does not want college right away it will pay for it later. That is huge. Look into that.
Make sure he knows how to swim.

Good for your son!!! GOOOO NAVY!!!!

With that being said - he has MANY options open to him...if he is serious- then he should consider going to one of the Academy's - his grades MUST be above average! He needs to start talking to his state representative -building a relationship...so when his application hits his desk in his junior year - he's NOT a NOBODY...

West Point and USAF Academy
http://admissions.usma.edu/
http://academyadmissions.com/

This is the ROTC program with the Navy through University of Texas...they can direct you to the JR ROTC program.

I hope this helps. If he chooses an Academy over mainstream college - he will have to commit to 4 years - and in some cases 6 years to the military.

if he chooses JR ROTC - this will help him get a head start and understanding what the military is - team work, uniform, etc.
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/navymarine/

If he chooses a military school - a preparatory school over high school - they aren't for troubled youths - these are for boys who want a strict atmosphere - think TAPS...just not so dramatic.... :)

You CAN get JR ROTC programs at his high school - find out what their minimum is and work for it with him!! Or find a school nearby that has it!!

Hey K.,
My son, who is 16 is here with me now and helping to answer this question.
He also has shown a strong interest in joining the military.
I come from a military family and am not against this except for the fact that this is a rough world right now and I fear, of course, for the safety of my son.
My father was in the Navy and loved it.
90% of my male relatives were in the Air Force, many for their entire careers.
We also have a background of Army men.
My son is interested in the Marines.

Anyway, my son's advice, since there is no local ROTC through the school, is to contact your local police and sheriff's departments to see if they have cadet programs. Here, they are called Explorers.
My son has completed one program in one city and is involved in a second in another city. He just went through a week's boot camp, complete with actual Marine drill instructors, etc. They had to be up at 6am and go until 10pm. They had classes, PT (physical training) and had to rotate shifts on "fire watch". Fire watch shifts were an hour long from 10pm to 6am.
This was not a program for troubled teens by any means. It was actually called the Redwood Coast Explorer Leadership Academy.
It was gruelling, no doubt about it and we weren't able to contact our son at all. We attended the graduation and were so very proud of him.
He liked it so much that he is returning for the next academy.
He is also very involved with activities through the law enforcement agencies such as doing ride alongs, training, security, and other detail.
He absolutely loves it.
And, I have to say, that he gained so much respect for his drill instructors at boot camp that it even gave him more resolve to pursue joining the military.
The only expense was $10 and we had to pay for his tactical boots. They were $40. The uniforms, the cost of the boot camp....everything else was paid for.
His boot camp had a total of 16 graduates, some dropped out and two were sent home for being legitimately ill, but of the graduates almost half were girls.
The Explorer program is para-military just like ROTC except it's sponsored by local law enforcement. The officers and drill instructors donate their time.
My son says it's a good way to know for sure if you even want to pursue a career in the military or law enforcement.
He says his boot camp was the hardest week of his life, but he's going next year too.

His dad and I totally support him, but we both agree that we won't sign his enlistment papers. He will have to do that himself when he turns 18.

Anyway, hope this helps a little.
Just a suggestion.

Very best wishes.

I agree, the Sea Cadets has a great program, as well as the Civil Air Patrol, which is sponsored by the US Air Force. The Marines used to have a program called Young Marines, which is similar to the Sea Cadets. All are excellent choices, and you should be able to get information on all by contacting the Navy and Marine recruiters and the Civil Air Patrol in your area. More power to you and your son! We need more young people who wish to serve their country through military service!

He's young enough now that I would REALLY encourage him to apply to the military schools for college. But, what that means is that he needs to be an outstanding student and leader in high school. He needs to volunteer in his community and take on leadership roles at school. I recommend this as the way to go in that he would then get a college education. If he was accepted into a military academy, he would be obligated to give them several years of his life in return. But, if he was disillusioned by the military after those years, he would have a college education to fall back on.

ALSO, the other option would be to go to a regular college and do ROTC at the regular college. He could then enroll in the military after college and be an officer (better pay, better options than enlisted). Again, he would have a college degree to fall back on.

Good luck!
L.

I don't know anything about it, but perhaps contacting the Navy directly might be the best place to start as they could give you all the info.

Good for you for encouraging your son in a direction that he's interested in, and that you feel will be good for him! I teach high school English to seniors, and I have recruiters come in and talk to my classes each year, just to let the kids know what some of their options are. They have so much information to give the kids! I've learned a ton listening to the presentations. Anyway, I agree with the others. Have your son (and you) talk to recruiters from all branches of the military. Then he will be able to make an informed decision. Good luck to your son!

There are many avenues to joining the Navy (or any branch of the military.) Is he considering enlisting? Going to the Naval Academy? Going to college via ROTC scholarship? Going to college and then to OCS (Officer Candidate School)? It makes a difference and it can be pretty competitive.

You can get literature from the Naval Academy and/or a recruiter. I don't know anyone who has done Sea Cadets, but I do know people who have enlisted, gone to the academy, ROTC and OCS. What he wants to do when he's in the Navy makes a difference as well. Some specialties are more difficult than others to get into. He doesn't necessarily HAVE to know what specialty he wants to go into right now; but if he DOES know, he can prepare so he will be more likely to be chosen for that rate/designator.

Feel free to PM me with any specific questions you have. If I don't have the answer, I can probably find out where to find it. (My son is still active duty.)

My son is an Army ROTC scholarship recipient at VMI (750 kids applied for the scholarship and 16 were given) - he did not do ROTC in high school, nor did he do any junior cadet program. It was unnecessary.
My son originally wanted to do Navy, but he was declined. We think he was declined because he wanted to major in Chemistry and they only want Engineering Majors -- keep that in mind as you choose his classes -- heavy on the Math and Science. (My son had a 4.2 high school GPA, so we know it wasn't grades.)
There is the USNA - You'll need to fill out tons of paperwork for the Academy, your congressman and your state rep. Fill out all of it. There are hundreds of kids applying for few spots. My suggestion is to look at all the service academies including the Merchant Marine Academy -- if you really want a spot, that's the place to apply, but it's not for everyone. The US Coast Guard Academy is the only service academy that does not require an appointment. So keep that in the back of your head as well.
There are a few other schools that are military schools across the nation - Virginia Military Institute, The Citadel, Norwich are all on the east coast. VMI has the most options as far as service goes - all four services are represented and if you aren't on an ROTC scholarship, you can choose your service. You can even switch between if you change your mind. 54% of the graduating class is commissioned. The other 46% go off to grad school or jobs.
You might start with your Navy Recruiting Center to see if they can offer some advice, BUT they want to recruit kids to enlist. They don't want to do ROTC -- they do it, but they are really all about enlisting. Just don't sign anything.
PM me if you have any questions. I'm happy to answer.
LBC