SeaCadet

We "do the job" all the time while deployed. Officers get a little less opportunity to do hands-on stuff because of all the meetings and administrative nonsense, but even officers can get outside the wire and do God's will if they want.

Some of it will be monotonous no matter what--it is a deployment--but it is also very rewarding. And there is never an IED call that is like any other. Every single one is totally new. I love it.

If you're trying for Navy EOD, you should know it's a little more time on the school end. They do dive school first and after the rest of us graduate they have one more phase, Underwater Phase. They say it is much more physically demanding but I had fat Navy guys in my class that made it through and are EOD today. One thing I like about EOD though is that we're all one big family. An EOD tech is an EOD tech whether he's a jarhead, zoomie, squid or grunt. I don't know any other MOS that is like that.

Another thing some kids can't cope with is the failure cutoff is much higher. Most public and private schools in the US consider failure anything below a 70. At EOD school it is anything below 86 (and some tests it is anything below 90). You get used to it but it is tough at first.

So: three hours of studying plus eight hours of class plus another hour or two for PT, and that's not a lot of free time you'll have. It drives you crazy after awhile, but the good news is that since all the material is highly classified, you can't take it home to study. This means that when you're off, you're off and your time is yours. I'm a huge gamer (obviously) and so I forbade myself from gaming during the week to allow for the other stuff, but I still had plenty of time to socialize, drink, game during weekends, etc. and I ended up graduating with a very high GPA. Would have made honor grad but I flunked one test early on and a retest only counts for an 86 even if you ace it.

First reason people flunk out is conduct. The Captain in charge of the schoolhouse tolerates absolutely zero drinking incidents--one fistfight, traffic accident, noise violation etc where alcohol is even remotely involved and you're out. It is also in Destin, FL which is a huge spring break location, so a lot of guys have trouble balancing the studying with the partying. I did my fair share of the night life but I had college already so I was used to balancing the two wisely. A lot of kids right out of high school don't know how to do that.

The other thing is academics. Obviously it is very tough but there are plenty of dumb guys that make it through. You honestly don't have to be that smart, you just have to be clever and be able to think quickly. It helps immensely if you make full use of "study hall" time...there is two to three hrs a day of that and it is not mandatory, but I'd suggest you use the full amount every day.

Hey man, sure, ask away. I'll answer whatever I can. I am Army EOD, not Navy, but I can answer basic EOD questions and put you in touch with my squid brothers if you have Navy-specific questions.

You might want to get with Rigger82 also. Found THIS about Corpsmen at Army Jump School in Fort Benning.

Yep, have a look HERE. (United States Navy Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman)

Sure, I will answer the best I can. I have been out since 1992. So some things have changed. If i don't know an answer to your question I will try to find out.