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MCSN Carpenter · 09-02-2009, 11:54 AM

Well I just found this site, and so far I must say I am quite impressed. If I had known there was a resource like this while I was in DEP, I would have been MUCH better prepared for everything going on. But enough about that - let's talk about the MC rate.

It really doesn't surprise me that there is no information about the MC rate on here - no one in the Navy or anywhere else seems to know much about it. I never got a straight answer, and most of the people I ran into in boot camp didn't even know that MC was a rate. I will do my best to enlighten any undecided deppers reading this post, because I honestly believe I have the coolest rate in the Navy and it's kind of a shame that no one hears about it.

MCs are Mass Communication specialists, and simply put, we are here to tell the story of the armed forces in general and of the Navy in particular. We write news stories, take pictures, appear on broadcast television, produce broadcast television, do radio broadcasts, design and publish magazines, newspapers and websites. We also act as liaisons for non-military media outlets, effectively making us public affairs specialists ....... Basically we do everything having anything to do with media.

MC is a relatively new rate, made up of the now obsolete rates of JO (Journalist,) PH (Photographer's Mate,) LI (Lithographer,) and DM (Illustrator/Draftsman.)

As a navy MC, there are many places in the Navy where you can end up. Writing for military publications like "Stars and Stripes" is a major one, as is handling media and public affairs for carrier groups and amphibious transports. More specialized jobs are endless. You could produce the recruiting videos that perhaps got you here (I'm here because I thought they were cheesy and I wanted to make them better.) You could be the personal photographer for the CNO, the MCPON, several dozen admirals and other important people, or even the Navy press representative for the president. One small branch of MCs is based in Los Angeles and all they do is coordinate the use of Navy assets when Hollywood wants to make a movie with them. The possibilities are incredible, and the job, while challenging, is a lot of fun.

One of the coolest things about being an MC is that you get to go everywhere. Other rates just sit in their corner of the ship and do their job. As an MC, you go to all of them and tell their story. The average MM doesn’t know much about what a DC does, and the average DC doesn’t know a whole lot about being an AO. They all work together to accomplish the same mission, but they often only see their little part of the world. As an MC, you get to find out what everyone does, to explore every nook and cranny on a carrier and bring all kinds of amazing things to your shipmates who wouldn’t otherwise know about them. Taking pictures of the captain on the bridge one moment and an F/A-18 coming in to land the next before going to an interview on the things HT’s do everyday to keep your ship afloat is standard fare for an MC. We go everywhere and see everything – and we have a blast doing it.

That’s about all for my schpiel on being an MC – if you have any particular questions, feel free to ask them – I’ll answer the best that I can.

09-02-2009, 11:54 AM	#1
MCSN Carpenter Newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 9	What is a Navy MC? Well I just found this site, and so far I must say I am quite impressed. If I had known there was a resource like this while I was in DEP, I would have been MUCH better prepared for everything going on. But enough about that - let's talk about the MC rate. It really doesn't surprise me that there is no information about the MC rate on here - no one in the Navy or anywhere else seems to know much about it. I never got a straight answer, and most of the people I ran into in boot camp didn't even know that MC was a rate. I will do my best to enlighten any undecided deppers reading this post, because I honestly believe I have the coolest rate in the Navy and it's kind of a shame that no one hears about it. MCs are Mass Communication specialists, and simply put, we are here to tell the story of the armed forces in general and of the Navy in particular. We write news stories, take pictures, appear on broadcast television, produce broadcast television, do radio broadcasts, design and publish magazines, newspapers and websites. We also act as liaisons for non-military media outlets, effectively making us public affairs specialists ....... Basically we do everything having anything to do with media. MC is a relatively new rate, made up of the now obsolete rates of JO (Journalist,) PH (Photographer's Mate,) LI (Lithographer,) and DM (Illustrator/Draftsman.) As a navy MC, there are many places in the Navy where you can end up. Writing for military publications like "Stars and Stripes" is a major one, as is handling media and public affairs for carrier groups and amphibious transports. More specialized jobs are endless. You could produce the recruiting videos that perhaps got you here (I'm here because I thought they were cheesy and I wanted to make them better.) You could be the personal photographer for the CNO, the MCPON, several dozen admirals and other important people, or even the Navy press representative for the president. One small branch of MCs is based in Los Angeles and all they do is coordinate the use of Navy assets when Hollywood wants to make a movie with them. The possibilities are incredible, and the job, while challenging, is a lot of fun. One of the coolest things about being an MC is that you get to go everywhere. Other rates just sit in their corner of the ship and do their job. As an MC, you go to all of them and tell their story. The average MM doesn’t know much about what a DC does, and the average DC doesn’t know a whole lot about being an AO. They all work together to accomplish the same mission, but they often only see their little part of the world. As an MC, you get to find out what everyone does, to explore every nook and cranny on a carrier and bring all kinds of amazing things to your shipmates who wouldn’t otherwise know about them. Taking pictures of the captain on the bridge one moment and an F/A-18 coming in to land the next before going to an interview on the things HT’s do everyday to keep your ship afloat is standard fare for an MC. We go everywhere and see everything – and we have a blast doing it. That’s about all for my schpiel on being an MC – if you have any particular questions, feel free to ask them – I’ll answer the best that I can.