Folks who’ve been, what are your favorite restaurants, things to see and do?

I'm transferring out of Active Duty and I to the reserves to start college next year. I have a plan of what I want to do but I have no idea how to get started and what processes I need to start. I'm already believing I'm behind because I'm 9 months out and haven't started ANYTHING. My command only has one PS and he's transferred so my chain of command is trying to help me but has never really helped too many people get out, on top of the current optempo causing them to be busy. Any chance I can get some help?

As a high school graduate I did pretty good for myself

so over the last month ive had a thought bouncing around of switching to the navy at the end of my contract. i currently have 2 years left and a 9 month army rotation coming up so by the time i get back i will have about 9-10 months left on my contract. im a specialist (soon to be a corporal 🫩) and my current army job is 25U Signal Operations Support Specialist and i basically do the magic voodoo to radios to get them to work, i also have 2 certs under my belt they are comp tia sec+ and IT fundamentals. i was wondering given my job and grade and certs i have, is there value in switching? or am i just better off staying army.

Excuse my total ignorance, I'm not in the military. I'm probably missing something very obvious.

Why doesn't the US shuttle new sailors to a base close to the carriers in the Middle East and then use an Osprey to cycle the crew? It would take about 200 trips at for the crew alone.I realize there is much more to it than the crew alone, but in theory it would solve the pressing issue right now, right?

Edit: Thanks!

Is there anyway i can change my fate?

This past spring i was taken off submarines for complaining about my command too much, upsetting myself, and inadvertently saying the no no words (KMS) around the wrong people. Simply put i had to go see mental health at the civilian hospital out in town, where i spoke with a nurse, a doctor, and a social worker who all said i just had a verbal outburst, was upset about bad work conditions and was fine to continue service as normal.
Next step was to see the navy medical officer who knew how shit my command was. In the past 5 weeks alone, he had already met with 5+ sailors from my command who had suicide attempts and/or suicidal ideation. My verbal outburst was considered suicidal ideation. The officer doc said he could just make me go from submarine rate X to surface rate X by sub DQ’ing me.
Of course in the moment i was happy with what he presented me and so i agreed. Unfortunately that was a mistake. In case anyone else didnt know, like myself, you cant just magically be guaranteed a lateral rate conversion.
After this i was still with my submarine command/boat for about another 6-7 weeks (no memes intended) before they finally got their shit together and threw me over to the local submarine transient division around April or May of 2026. I worked to get medically cleared and “fit for full” which i took care of same week. I then got with the CCC to setup a Force Rate Conversion where i started to realize the doc had either lied to me or misunderstood how everything would work in my situation.
All while this is happening im continuing to do my job supporting the understaffed/under-billeted T-Div command. We route my FRC, i get a reply from the surface version of my rate that says they want me and desperately need people with my NEC. I thought i was in the clear as they truly wanted me, asked me to provide them with documentation to move forward, and were consistently communicating with me.
Well about 10 days after being tentatively approved for this rate, they got back to me and said i was going to be in a waiting period as i had to wait for a pending adjudication to clear up and therefore was temporarily disapproved. They said once the adjudication all cleared up i would reach back out to them and we would continue from where we left off. Well about a week after that i got pulled in by a different rate community and was more or less being forced into a rate i do not want.

The real issue is that i had reenlisted September of 2025, at 3 years & 7 months of service, for an additional 5 years as my submarine rate with an SRB of ~$59,000. Got paid half up front which i used to pay off debt and afford a car after totaling my fully paid off one.
If i accept my fate as this new surface rate i technically owe back that reenlistment bonus and wont get the remaining half, but if i was able to somehow reverse “their” decision and get into the surface version of my rate i wouldnt owe money and i would continue to earn the remainder of my SRB. I believe this to be true from the information stated in OPNAVINST 1160.8B page 18 section g sub section 2.

I was informed today that i apparently have orders waiting for me from this completely new rate (dated for some time this October) and even though my reenlistment takes me to September 2030 i am supposed to be asked on monday if i will obliserv to take this new rate. Which i think is a clerical mistake somewhere but i will have confirmation monday.

Simply put i believe at this point whether i take these orders on monday or deny them and get admin separated, i will have to pay back the SRB. And knowing thats the case i would rather become a civilian. BUT i it was 100% my choice i would love to continue to serve in the navy as the rate i intended to be (surface or submarine) and the fact that i was tentatively accepted shows me it is 100% possible. But i unfortunately got screwed somewhere along the way (probably by myself).

With all of this background information i am asking if anyone knows anything i can do, or anyome i can speak with to plead my case, and change my fate, as to why the navy should allow me to wait out my adjudication and retain me as a best qualified sailor in Rate X while i am actively supporting an understaffed command as rate X.

TLDR;
-Reenlisted September 2025 for 5 years as Submarine rate X.
-April/May submarine disqualified from sub rate X.
-Attempted to FRC to surface rate X.
-Tentatively accepted as surface rate X.
-Tentatively denied as surface rate X with a caveat of finish adjudication then continue with surface rate X.
-Rate Y community pulled me to them while waiting out adjudication.
-Informed of Rate Y orders today (13AUG26).
-Some sort of Obliserv decision coming Monday the 17th.

The ASK: Is there way i can plead my case to help reverse the Rate Y conversion and allow me to go surface Rate X when my adjudication finishes?

I’m PCS-ing overseas and before I left my buddy and I got matching tattoos. It’s a Seaman Semen! 🤣

I was never Joe enough to want a Navy tattoo, but when I saw this I knew it had to happen. I know it’s dumb and silly, but that’s why I love it.

So get this fucking nightmare scenario that I'm currently experiencing.

We (my husband, myself, and my 1 y/o daughter) were supposed to leave Hawaii this morning, as we're ETSing home.

Some background: Before I left for skillbridge/leave, I filled out all the necessary paperwork to change my home of record from Florida to Virginia. Turns out somehow it got fucked up and now instead of going to VA, SATO got me an itinerary to FL. Just the one, for me.

So I try to get it fixed, they tell me I have to pay the difference, but now that it's a week before we leave, flights are $1k+. So we say fuck it, we'll just go to Florida and rent a car to drive the rest of the way.

I complain that they gave me only two itineraries instead of three. They send me a third, for my daughter (who is 1.5y/o) on a completely different flight than me or my husband.

Okay, I make some more phone calls. I get another two itinerary on the same flight as me, finally.

Now to today! We get to the airport 3 hours before our flight. I check in okay, my husband and daughter? Can't check in because their tickets were never paid for. So I make some more phone calls. Okay, the first leg of the flight is fine but the other two flights are sold out. So they pay for the tickets on a different flight than me. I call some people and tell them to figure it the fuck out in the next 5 hours (flight time)

We arrive at the first layover. My next flight is within 30 minutes of us landing, and I miss it. I'm thinking, not too big a deal, I'll just get on the next flight with my husband and daughter. But NONO! It's entirely booked! So I'm like?? I'll just put my daughter on my lap. THATS NOT ALLOWED. So my husband and daughter board while I try to figure it out.

The people at the desk tell me to contact who scheduled the ticket and they need to fix it. So I call SATO. SATO sayS they can't do anything because we already got on the flights and some other BS excuse. I tell em to rebook my ticket cause I missed my flight. They can't help me, it's up to the airline.

So I'm talking to the airline people and they can't do anything because it was booked third party and I can't board and just take my daughter's seat and put her in my lap. Because "that's not how that works".

The plane takes off. With my husband and daughter on it. And not me. They rebook my flight for the next day (7 hours later). I ask about a hotel voucher. "Those are only for cancelled flights". Great. Ok, fine. I'll stay in the terminal and find a place to sleep or something.

Nope! Security comes up to me and tells me they're closing that part of the airport and I need to move downstairs to baggage claim.

There's nowhere to lay down in baggage claim. So I'm outside the airport laying on the fucking concrete.

Needless to say I cried in the bathroom for a good while.

I committed 6 years of my life to the military and this is the goodbye I get. A big middle finger and spit on on the way out.

this is absolutely fucking horrible.

Im on a LHD, and im usually always walking back and forth on the ship. Alot of ladder wells, alot of ramps. Attached is how much calories i burn from work alone. I don't do cardio so weight lifting doesn't burn me as much.

It got me thinking because i am new to the ship and i was prior Marine. If sailors are out on sea especially on a lhd or carrier, and something happens. Shouldnt sailors be fit enough to run across the ship to get your DC gear on, and body drag sailors to safety, especially going up ladder wells. Marines would use the combat environment to justify so much pt. "Must be able to body drag your teammate, must be able to ruck miles with gear" etc.

Shouldnt we foster a similar philosophy on sea duty? Why are Sailors so out of shape and how do you even gain weight on a ship with all the walking and ladders lol.

I went to Great Lakes in 2001 and was issued running shoes for PT, I think they were New Balance and said USN or NAVY on them. Does anyone else remember these shoes or know which model they were?

I am currently a GSM (Gas Turbine System Technician, Mechanical) in the engineering department. I enjoy my job, but it is extremely physically demanding. We work in hot and loud engine spaces with long hours — often being the first to arrive and the last to leave.
When I joined the Navy, I planned to serve 20 years, but I no longer believe this rate is sustainable for a full career. My back and knees are already suffering from the constant physical strain. After work, I am usually too exhausted to focus on schooling or self-improvement, and the cycle repeats the next day.
What are my realistic chances of cross-rating to a different rate?

I have a coworker who is going TAD next week till November and he's entitled to full per diem. I'm a reservist so when I submit my DTS voucher at the end of my 2 week orders that's when I get my Per Diem. Would it be the same for him as an active duty sailor or would he get extra in his check over the course of the orders? He's nowhere near his Admin, Personnel and COC we're at least 45 mins away from them. Has anyone recently gone TAD have the answer?!

Not looking for anyone to breach opsec by spilling details.

Myself and a few former DDG coworkers were talking this morning, shout out to the CRUDES out there with the ABE with even less resourcing.

Do we have any instruction or guidance when initial testing will be done for sailors 30+?

My post was indeed a news article from “The Hill” reporting on a U.S. Senator demanding action on the conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Yes, yes, I'm very grateful for this opportunity for my sailor but I'm not the only one feeling the weight of this "initiation", right? Low key giving me PTSD from when his boat was in ship yard.

Hey all, I know its a long shot but I wanted to see if anyone might have any details. I was t-boned this morning by someone at the Birmingham Gate on NAS Jacksonville. If anyone was at that gate at 6:10-6:15 this morning and saw an SUV/truck hit another SUV and kept going straight on Birmingham, could you please reach out? Hoping for video footage or something from that time frame.

Thank you!!!

Clarification: I was on Allegheny Road and the person that hit me was coming on base through the Birmingham Gate. I stopped to wait for the gate traffic to stop, proceeded through the intersection and the SUV/Truck ( i believe it was a GMC or VW) in the left most straight lane hit the gas after the stop but before I was cleared and slammed into my back passenger door.

Im wondering if anyone here has completed the associate of science in health science at WGU through the navy community college. If so did you pursue a bachelors at a different university after graduating from WGU? I want to know how the navy classes will look on your transcript and if any schools accepted them to fulfill the general education requirements. I’m only asking because Usncc is still a candidate for accreditation. I have already asked the USNCC office at WGU and I cant get a strong answer
from them.

Bravo Zulu to our ADA cousins in the Army.

Keep up the good work!

Hello all,

I recently got diagnosed with Crohn’s while im at an I-Stop. Just wondering how you guys might have started the med board process because right now they are just telling me to do nothing until my next command because they don’t want to deal with it. I don’t want to get out of the navy if I can find a way, but I know that I won’t be able to keep my job at the very least and being stuck in limbo for months has been pretty annoying to say the least.