Friday, July 10, 2020

Recommendations For A Young Man Leaving For The Navy

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I'm a member of a men's group on Facebook that revolves around a really great book that I think all men should read called How To Be a 3% Man by Corey Wayne. Now, it's primarily a guide on how to understand women, but if you've read the book a number of times you begin to realize that the principles in the book simply lead you to be a better man in general.

Anyway, one of the young men in the group reached out to me because he knew I had served in the Navy when I was younger, and he is getting ready to ship out to boot camp at the end of August. Based on some of my other posts in the group, he felt that I had my proverbial shit together, and asked me if I had any advice for a young man getting ready to ship out.

I told him that I did indeed have some advice. I also said that I didn't have my shit together when I was in the Navy, but wisdom comes from experience... and experience comes from bad decisions.

Anyway, I thought I would share with you what I told him:
  • When you get to boot camp, keep your head down, follow orders and try to be invisible. Do not try to stand out. It will make your time there go much smoother… trust me.
  • Embrace the suck – A lot of the stuff you do in the military sucks, but you can get through it if you have a good mental attitude about it.
  • Stay away from females in boot camp. After you haven’t seen a hot woman in weeks, the chicks there start looking better and better… It’s a mirage, and they are trouble. It’s not worth it.
  • When you get to ‘A’ school, pay attention and learn everything you can about your rate. Most of the time, you will have to unlearn everything you learned in school when you get to the fleet, but doing well in ‘A’ school often has benefits… like first pick of orders.
  • Read “Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey – I wish I had that knowledge when I was your age.
  • Take advantage of living on base/ship and eating the free food at the galley and save your money. At your age, if you can just put $200 per payday away in a Roth IRA, you can retire as a millionaire. That’s no bullshit. That would be on top of your pension should you choose to make the Navy a career, and it will grow 100% tax free.
  • When you go overseas, don’t just go bar hopping and tail chasing like I did. At least one day in every port, play tourist and see the sites. I wish I had done that more.
  • Always keep your uniforms well pressed, take pride in your appearance and take pride in your work. It will pay off, and you will advance faster than the other guys in your division.
  • Whatever shit position they put you in for general quarters, line handlers, mess cranking etc – Always try to do the best job you can to stand out, and try to qualify for whatever leadership role is available in that position. For instance, try to be the line captain for line handlers. Every time I did that I would just get moved out of that shitty position altogether into something much better. Besides, it gives you a goal to pursue instead of complaining about the sucky position.
  • Don’t get married until you are established in life. Doesn’t matter if you stay in the Navy or not. Women are dream killers. Follow your passion, get established in your career and worry about starting a family after that is done. It is too difficult to do it after you have a family you need to support. – I did it, but it was hard working full time, going to school full time and trying to be a father and husband.
  • Listen to the following audiobooks – Or read them on paperback:
After I sent him this stuff, he was very appreciative. I told him that I hope he follows at least some of this advice because if 40 year old me told 18 year old me this stuff, 18 year old me wouldn't have listened. 18 year old me thought he knew everything!

What advice do you have for a young man getting ready to ship out? 

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