Switching Surface-Sub later in career
 

My son is in bootcamp now, going to Nuclear afterwards. I was reading about women in subs with applications be accepted from all ratings. However, there was a comment in the article that said women currently in Surface Nuclear ratings were not eligibe.

My son indicated he wanted subs, but one of his primary reasons was the extra sub pay. Any topic of money usually grabs his interest right away. I expect he will STARS reenlist for the bonus. I believe in the long run though, he would enjoy carriers more if he weighs all the pros/cons.

So my question is can one switch later in their Navy career to enlisted Nuclear surface if they have already earned their dolphins?

Thanks.

Sub service is volunteer only. If you non-volunteer then they will remove you from submarines. However, it's a negative thing for your career since the Navy spent thousands and thousands of dollars training him for Subs, only to have him not serve in that capacity. If something happens medically or something, that's looked at differently. But typically making that lateral move isn't something that's looked at glowingly.

Honestly the bubble heads I know wouldn't trade it for the world. They have very tight knit crews, get sweet missions to go on, a more relaxed atmosphere, and that feeling that they're more "special" than the rest of the fleet. Where as on the Surface side, that's not always the case. I came from a small ship, so we were very similar to a sub in the ways I mentioned. On big decks though, you're there with around 5000 people on deployment. It's much harder to establish that kind of "family" atmosphere when you can literally meet someone new everyday and still only know half the crew by the time you're done. They also never do independent operations, so the mission work can get a little more boring.

My advice is if he goes subs, stay subs.

/r
CTT1

Thanks. I was thinking more along the lines if he fulfills his 1st full contract in subs, and then re-enlists, could the change be made at that time? Would it still be negative for his career at that point?

You could change at that time and there wouldn't be much fuss about it. That would be the best way to do it if you wanted to switch.

/r
CTT1

All nukes are certified for sub duty,,,,their training is done on a sub at school...when my son went through with his buddy, my son went surface and his buddy went subs. I can ask him what the chances are of switching when the time for re-enlistment comes around.

Perfect resource to use!

/r
CTT1

Sorry this took so long, but I finally got in touch with my son....he said that if you start out subs you will stay subs...period. The only way you will get to transfer to a carrier from a sub is a medical reason that wouldn't be bad enough to get you discharged completely. So if you have ANY doubts about a total career on a sub, don't go subs! I asked if it was the same for carrier to sub..no, if you start on a carrier that is where you will stay....only possible change would be to become an commissioned officer.