ok. . . here goes nothing. I just got out of the navy after 4.5 years (I'll spare the puddle pirate jokes
)
since you said you have no college background (and I's assuming no college credits either) you will most likely go in as an E1. they might have some stuff you can do in a delayed entry program to make E2 before you go in. there might also be promotions for outstanding recruits in boot camp. (I personally joined as an E1, spent time in delayed entry program and made E2 and was promoted to E3 right out of boot camp) but really the pay difference from E1 to E3 really isn't that much and the base pay for those grades is pathetic. you, however, having a child, will be able to draw dependent BAH right away so this WILL supplement your paycheck. but you said your marriage is running aground. . . so if you get divorced a large portion of that check will be taken from you automatically and go directly to her(since she will most likely have custody). since you have a dependent and are receiving BAH you will not be able to get a barracks room on base (those are reserved for single sailors not receiving housing allowance. so unless you can afford an apartment (with or without roommates) on an E3 w/ dependent BAH (where a good portion is taken away form you) you will have to live on the ship you are stationed on. depending on the size of the ship you are station on you will be sharing a berthing with anywhere around 10-50 people.(only officers get state rooms) these racks are tiny and you have very VERY limited space (a lot of your bigger possessions you will have to either sell or put in storage). on the plus side to living on the ship, it' almost impossible to be late for work in the morning. getting on to any military base and finding a decent parking space in the morning is a nightmare! plus you get 3 meals a day every day for free (the quality of these meals is arguable)
ok, onto military life. . . while you are in port it is just like any other 8-5 job. you show up in the morning, you do whatever work you have to do, and you leave in the afternoon. you don't have to spend any of your free time on the ship or even on the base for that matter. you will, however, have to stand duty days. depending on the rotation it could be anywhere from port and starboard (every other day if your CO is a dick) or once a week or so. on these days you cannot leave the ship for the full 24 hours.(weekends, holidays, your kids birthday, it doesn't matter) and you will stand watch. be it a quarterdeck watch, a roving watch, an engineering watch. . .
underway: ask yourself very seriously if you get sea sick.no? have you ever been in 25 foot seas? no. I was one of the lucky one who never got sea sick but I saw a lot of people who looked like death warmed over any time the boat took a little rock.(I personally loved the feeling. it was like getting rocked to sleep every night) when you are underway you also work a lot more than in port and also stand at least one watch a day. I had some awesome times and saw some great stuff being underway. you will never see the stars more clearly then in the middle of the ocean on a cloudless night. and you will never have more fun being a shellback initiating wogs when you cross the equator.
you will also get to go to some awesome places that you would have never dreamed of being able to go to. the travel truly is the best part of the job. but the travel can also last a long time. a standard deployment (in the navy at least) is 6 months and you can always get extended. I did nearly 8 months on my last deployment. that's 8 months without getting see my girlfriend or any of my family.
keep in mind also that there is a difference between underway and deployment. deployment is 6+ months somewhere and underway could be anywhere from 1 to 2 days to one to 2 weeks just off the coast doing training. you go underway a lot. if you added up all the days I spend underway for a year that I didn't go on deployment it would easily add up to half the year or more.
leave(vacation): so long as you have the days and it does not interfere with the ships schedule it should usually be no problem to take leave. of course there are some situations where they will deny you (too many people on leave already, preparing for some major inspection, etc) also it's no big deal to take off in your car on a friday for a weekend trip to where ever you want so long as you make it back to work on time come monday.
ummm . . . if there are any more questions go ahead and ask. I'll be more than happy to answer them.
: DISCLAIMER : my time was spent in the navy so obviously this is not EXACTLY how the coasties do things but I know it is very similar.
ok just one joke! why does the coast guard have a minimum height requirement of 6 feet? that way if the ship sinks you can just walk to shore!
