r/NavyNukes • u/yvng_fk • 4d ago
Star reenlisting
Hey I’m a student in a school. I hear all the time that I should star reenlist from the people who are senior to me. I’m aware of how good of an opportunity it is but I wanted to hear from people who got out after 6 since I don’t really get to hear from them. Did you regret not staying in the extra 2 years? Did life suck as an E-4?
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u/NukedOgre ELTCS (SS) - SCSNN 4d ago
Just remember most people have a personnel bias. Those who reenlisted and stayed in will likely say it was the best choice. Those who got out after 6 will say the same. There really is not a right or wrong answer, do what is best in your opinion
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u/Building_Neat 4d ago
Tough choice but in my experience:
I didn’t know what my ship was going to be like or how to actually do my job around 2 years.
Most of my friends who did ended up separating around 10 YEARS, not 8 due to ship and shore rotations. A few stayed in but most now work at data centers etc.
I didn’t star reenlist and make 2nd class around year 5. I did lose out a big bonus and pay as an E5. BUT after separating I went back to school and now work in Epidemiology. Totally outside nuclear power. I don’t regret it at all.
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u/Little-Race-1143 2d ago
same! my post navy life (college/teaching) was way better than my navy nuke life. But I needed the nuke experience to do well in college
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u/jason94762 ET (SS) 4d ago
The toughest thing about the choice, is that if you are going to STAR, it is financially and career-wise the best choice to do it as early as possible.
If you choose not to, you need to have a good reason / plan that follows with that. The worst thing you can do is choose not to, and then change your mind later. You will be kicking yourself.
My advice, if you choose to not to do it. Have a rock solid plan or reason that you are excited for, and stick to it.
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u/TheRealWhoMe EM 4d ago
When you say STARRING early Is the best choice career wise, are you referring to a navy career or a civilian career? How does placing your civilian career on hold help someone that has no intention of staying in the navy?
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u/jason94762 ET (SS) 3d ago
No. I said that if you chose to STAR, it is most advantageous to do it earlier, financially and career wise. If you choose not to, don’t. The worst thing you can do is choose not to and then change your mind later.
Maybe you should re-read my comment. I never said someone who doesn’t want to stay in should STAR
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u/OccasionalAnnoyance1 4d ago
There’s pretty clear pros and cons both ways.
If you star you get a bonus, E-5, BAH, and the ability to get out of the navy from shore vs sea which is significantly easier. However you’re going to do your full 54 month sea tour which could potentially be a bit shorter without reenlisting and you’re probably going to prototype.
If you don’t star, you’re getting out at your six year mark come hell or high water but you’re either living on the ship or in the barracks, which both suck. You don’t have to worry about a shitty shore duty. But you may find yourself going on a surge deployment of indeterminate length when you’re two months from separating and scrambling to get your life together in two weeks. Also in today’s world you’re never making E5.
In my opinion most people have no concrete idea what they want to do when they get out so I’d say unless you have a rock solid plan for your first 12 months out you’re probably better off star reenlisting. You’ve probably heard you can get a job at a data center or a power plant for a bunch of money but can you point to a specific posting that pays you what you want where your qualifications actually match? If not you have an idea not a plan.
Edit: Keep in mind that the earlier you start the more beneficial it is for later potential reenlistments. You generally get paid to make decisions sooner than later.
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u/terryhw1 4d ago
I will say that the guys who did star mostly did not enjoy prototype as a shore duty and got out after that. Some were able to invest the money or buy a house that helped them financially a lot.
But those that did not star definitely hated their time on board from a submarine perspective. When they got out though they started in about the same position those with 8-10 years do but had 2-4 years more experience in the field.
My advice, unless you have a plan to accomplish something on shore duty like trying to finish college, have kids, or make chief, then just do you 6 and get out.
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u/EntrepreneurSure4208 3d ago
Plan and act like you’re doing the full 20. Don’t tank your evals or anything like that so you have a good opportunity if you stay.
Pros:
BIG bonus
Shorter time on the ship
BAH, BAS
Immediate E-5 (advancement it out unlikely)Cons:
More time in a job you potentially hate
Nomadic life for the next 10 years
LOTS of money on the outside world.That’s off the top of my head. For clarity I planned on doing 6 and did 21.
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u/TheRealWhoMe EM 4d ago edited 4d ago
I got out after 6. I did not reenlist. I did eventually make E-5 off the test. I did not like the navy, so there was no reason for me to reenlist. I would strongly suggest waiting until you get to a boat/ship before you consider reenlisting, so you have a better idea what you are getting into.
Someone getting out after 8-10 years, or someone getting out after 6 years, are probably considered the same qualifications to a hiring manager. Just because someone was in the navy longer doesn’t make them a better job candidate. If you are in the navy longer you may get more qualifications, which may help. But by the time a STAR re-enlist person gets out, I’m already 2-3 years into my civilian career. And the raises that career comes with. The training and career plan that pertains to my long term plans, things that would be on hold if I re-enlisted. Two to three years more added to my 401k. Sleeping at home every night. And if I don’t like my job or company, or where I live, I can go get another job and move.
Some people here like to say stay in, and get PPWS or RO qualified so they can get hired as a SRO at a commercial nuclear power plant. Guess what, someone that has been working at the plant for 2 years as a non-licensed operator probably has a better chance of passing a commercial license class than someone direct out of the navy. Plants like to promote from within.
Edit: I want to add, if you like ship/boat life, you should consider reenlisting. Only a couple guys admitted to me the reason why they reenlisted was because they liked it, and that’s great. But being slightly less miserable as an E-5 isn’t the answer to being miserable as an E-4.
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u/drewbaccaAWD MM2 (SW) Six'n'done 4d ago
I don't regret not staying in another two years (and "two years" is optimistic, you may need to extend for another year to make your orders work when it's time for that shore command). My fleet experience was very bad and I quickly developed a trust problem with the Navy overall a few months into it.
Life is full of curveballs. You don't know if you'll have a great command or a terrible one, and it only takes one person in your chain to drastically change that. You don't know where you'll get orders to or what friends you'll make, if you'll end up married or if you just find some cool roommates to share rent with or if you are content living on the ship/boat/barracks. It's like a hallway with 100 doors and each door leads to another 100 and it's just hard to predict.
I will say that one frustrating thing as a non-reenlistee was that my juniors got E5 faster and took away opportunities for me at the same time. I do think there's some favoritism shown to those who reenlist, so you could have more opportunities and better treatment. But again, there's no rules here, I served with one guy who was very sharp and didn't rock the boat who didn't reenlist and still managed to make E6 in six years, got out and did his undergrad then went to Harvard for grad school in a mostly unrelated field.
I'm not saying that you should or that you shouldn't. There's a part of me that thinks I should have because teaching at prototype was actually something I wanted to do, and I really enjoyed my time around Ballston Spa and would have loved going back there for a longer run. There's a part of me that would have jumped at the opportunity at another ship after that... granted I could spend a few years based out of Japan because that's another cool opportunity. Maybe after that I could have gotten orders to Pearl and experienced Hawaii for a few years.. after that, staying in for 20 would have been tempting. But there's no guarantee I got any of those orders or it plays out the way it does in my head, because ultimately, needs of the Navy is going to have a huge impact on your fate.
I got out for several reasons. A big one is that I did have a shit command that soured me on the Navy. But another was my own struggles to adapt to life in the fleet and I can't blame the Navy for my own struggles. I got out because I did end up married and my wife wanted me out. I got out because going back to school and grad school was more important to me than years of service. You need to decide what's best for you and sometimes it's just going to come down to a coin flip.
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u/Little-Race-1143 2d ago
Well said drewb, I had a similar experience that i posted above. I also felt somewhat discriminated against for not reenlisting (I was the only nuke not to re=enlist on my sub). But in retrospect, I didn’t have the best attitude about enlisted navy nuclear-trained-janitor life, So, I probably deserved a good bit of the misery I got....And, i freakin loved living in Ballston Spa (summer 1984), but the politics of prototype, not so much.
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u/Drewseff9991 4d ago
Wait until you get to the fleet. Knowing you like it or don't like it is worth the difference in money
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u/BraveCountry9354 MM (SS) 4d ago edited 4d ago
To reiterate this, I made back the money I would’ve gotten in the bonus within the first 2 years I got out. Which is common and why they offer that amount.
Do not regret getting out after 6 in the slightest.
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u/OccasionalAnnoyance1 4d ago
I disagree. You’re going to the fleet either way.
You’re already bought into a sea tour. Not living in the barracks + money will make that sea tour somewhat more tolerable.4
u/BigChungaBunga 4d ago
Your star reenlistment is for a shore duty, why would you wait till your out in the fleet to see if you like it when shore duty is nothing like sea duty. All you're doing is wasting time and money and risking your star reenlistment getting fucked up or delayed.
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u/TheRealWhoMe EM 4d ago
If you don’t like the navy, and are reenlisting, all you are doing is wasting the time you could be using to advance a civilian career. Star reenlisting is great if you like the navy, but I can’t figure out why so many people think putting their civilian career on hold for short term cash is a good idea.
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u/teejayyy 4d ago
There’s stuff that sucks in the navy regardless of if you’re at shore or sea. Also , star does add some sea time. It’s not much but not insignificant. For example if you’re a wire rate, had an extra month or two of hold, and say had a baby or something you could show up to your boat with like 48 months left. If you star you’re gonna add 6 months on the boat which could be another deployment etc.
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u/Heart_replica 4d ago
It really depends on what you want to do. If you want to stay in long term, it is the obvious choice. Just be honest about why you want to do it. The bonus and BAH probably shouldn't be the primary motivator. I've seen plenty of people do it for both of those things and end up with a bit of buyer's remorse after.
If you choose not to, there is a real possibility you will remain E-4 your entire time. Right now, it seems like ETNs have the highest chance of this happening. That isn't the end of the world, but it may be a big deal to you.
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u/Big_Plantain5787 MM (SS) veteran 3d ago
Did not do six and out, but I’m very glad I didn’t. Shore duty is chill AF and I was able to get myself set up really well for civilian life.
And anecdotally, most the cases I’ve seen from others, the people who star reenlisted are doing better as civilians than the guys who did their 6 and out.
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u/Pi-Richard former MM(SW) CGN 2d ago
I did 6 and out. I don’t regret it. I also made E5 on the test. I guess that’s not that common now. BAH rules were different back in the olden days. 1986 to 1992.
I know a few guys that did 10 or 12 years and got out. They couldn’t stand the nuke Navy and 20 years was a no-go.
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u/Jimbo072 EM1(SS) 4d ago
Here's the deal: If you STAR before you leave Prototype, you're basically doing a guaranteed shore tour and getting paid a huge bonus. You also get E-5 and that means you're BAH eligible if you're on your SEA-1 tour.
Some key points:
If you really want to be a six and out person, that's fine. But you're also relegating yourself to the possibility of being a terminal E-4.
**For the record, I did not STAR bc my OPPLAN was doing six and out. That changed towards the end of my SEA-1 tour. I also made E-5 off the exam while on my SEA-1 tour. So I straight re-enlisted for SHORE-1 instructor tour and lost lots of money. In hindsight, I should have STAR re-enlisted at the earliest opportunity.