SO - Special Operations (Navy SEAL) - Contracts

[Patrick]

SO - Special Operations (Navy SEAL) - Contracts

My son Owen who is 17 and a senior is talking to a Navy recruiter regarding DEP. Owen has taken the ASVAB, and our understanding is he scored an overall 85%. Owens primary interest is SO - Special Operations (Navy SEAL). With a secondary rate of HM if he cannot qualify for the SO rate. The recruiter is telling him that assuming he passes his MEPS physical, and the required scores on the ASVAB are meet, that if offered, he would not be able to select SO as a primary selection in his contract, but that it would rather be a secondary selection which he would have to request while in basic training. Is this correct?

 

It will be in his contract that he is requesting that rate right?

 

According to usmilitary.about.com he would sign a contract to enlist in the DEP program, and again before he goes to basic. The recruiter is telling him that he would sign a third contract before he begins SEAL Training Challenge if selected. Is this correct?

 

In what contract would he need to make sure that he has requested SO, and any verbiage regarding any enlistment bonuses which have been promised, in the DEP contract, or the active duty contract? Or neither as it would be specified in a specific SEAL Training contract? 

 

The recruiter has also promised a 30k bonus if he does the SEAL Training Challenge?

 

Is there no way he will be offered the SO - Special Operations (Navy SEAL) rate even if he qualifies during MEPS?

 

Thanks for your replies

[NavyDads Co-Admin, Calvin]

Patrick, I will try to help you with your questions. My Grandson is a SEAL and I followed him through training. When I get home from work I will get back with you. What part of the country do you live in?

Have a Nice Day.

[Patrick]

Thanks guys. I appreciate any info! We are meeting with the recruiter this afternoon, and my wife and I are supposed to be signing a document allowing Owen to signup for DEP?? Not sure how long before he would go to MEPS. I just want to make sure that if his interest is SO, that he knows it needs to be in the contract along with any incentives. It sounds to me that it would be in the active duty contract signed before shipping out to basic, and that BUDS is part of A-School? And that it is not requested sometime during or after basic. Ofcourse this is assuming Owen qualifies for the Program based on ASVAB scores, and passing the MEPS PST.

 

Thanks again.

[Patrick]

Right, and he will sign a contract to enter DEP at MEPS. Then when he goes to boot camp he will sign another contract which would include the rate he has chosen, in his case SO if he qualified? This would mean that after boot camp he would then go to A-School which would include the specialized training for SO. Is this correct?

thx

[Jack Flash]

I'd be very interested to know how this all shook out...

Patrick, are you still on the site?

[Mike]

As I understand it 30k bonus' are a thing of the past(500 seals in 5 yrs program the had prior). Tell him to hold out for SO contract only. Recruiter (used car salesman) will tell you a lot, but at 17 don't rush into a contract! He can get get into nrdspecwar workouts w/ mentor. When you go to recruiting office tell them you want to sign up for SO only contract. Recruitor will try to get you to sign some other stuff.DON'T!!. If they won't work w/you on this, google Navy SPECWAR recruiter. Call the SEAL mentor for your district & talk to him first! Before the recruiters get him in a soft contract that becomes hard. Then it'll 2or3 times harder to get you shot at an SO contract. If the NAVY trains you for a job [not BUDS], they're gonna make you do it awhile before you get your SO chance. I am by no means an expert, merely speaking from personal experience.

[Rick Binkley]

Successful completion of SEAL training now pays $15k...and as Mike said, do not sign any contract if it isn't what you want. My son initially signed an MM contract for subs when SO was what he wanted.(He had been trying to get through MEPS medical hassles for over a year because of a scalp laceration when he was 4 yrs old).His SO mentor was who navigated through all the paperwork and got his SO contract for him.

 

[Jack Flash]

I spoke to a former SEAL yesterday about this very thing, and he had two very good points. On one hand he says that once the Navy invests considerable dollars into training and education for some particular rate (job)- they are then somewhat reluctant to lose you --even to Special Operations... So it becomes a little more difficult to make a switch later, versus selecting SO and entering the program straight away.

On the other hand, evaluating what it takes, he was honest in saying that for himself at leasr, there was no way he was ready for SEAL training at age 18. He just didn't have the maturity required and mental toughness that it takes to endure and ultimately succeed through the intense trainig regimen

For those very reasons, my own son recognizes that the SEAL program is likely beyond him at this point in his personal development. This very kind SEAL is connecting us with an Active Duty Rescue Swimmer for us to sit down with and chat. I'm so impressed with the professionalism, and sheer kindness of each member I encounter. I'm so proud to be (even loosely) associated with such a fine group of men and women that our Navy has trained up.

[Rick Binkley]

Jack, my son is 20 and when I spoke with him yesterday, he was talking about the "kids" in his division not taking things seriously or talking too much...I still think of my son as a kid but it showed that he had matured. My thoughts were that my son wasn't mature enough at 18 when this journey began. I feel fortunate that those roadblocks that prevented him from joining earlier were there in order for him to "grow up".

[Jack Flash]

Ha! As a Dad-- that's pretty funny...in a wonderful sort of way.

[Nicholas]

I am currently working with our specwar/specops mentor to obtain a diver contract, the process is the same for all specwar jobs including SEAL. You are required to go to MEPS and pick a non-specwar job first and then work towards a challenge contract. The mentor will not work with you unless you are currently in DEP for liability reasons, also the Navy is not going to spend time/money working with someone who is not under contract. If your son wants to be a SEAL he will HAVE to sign a contract for another job first and enter DEP. Since a mentor will not work with him before he is in DEP there is no way for him to qualify for SO before entering DEP as he will not have taken and passed the PST. Here is the order and way obtaining a challenge contract happens:

 

Enter DEP with a different rate

Contact mentor and schedule time to do the PST

If/When he gets competitive PST score his mentor will reccomend him for a challenge contract

His scores will be placed in a national draft with all other scores of SO hopefulls

If/When selected, he will sign a new contract with the rate of SO

He will have to continue to complete PST's untill his final ship date and continue to improve on his scores or risk having his contract revoked (for us we PST every 2 weeks)

 

As for the bonus, we had a guy that I was working with that had an SO contract and just shipped on manday, he had a 15k bonus

 

Hope this all helps and I wish your son the best of luck. (oh, tell him to run.... A LOT!!!)

[Jack Flash]

I think you are describing what's known as a "spot holder job," and you are right in saying that it is one way to go about the enlistment process, but it isn't "the only way." for example, my son has not signed on for any rating of any kind, and after going to MEPS (several times) for medical clearances, he got cleared to test for the PST on a weekly basis while participating in the Challenge Program trying to earn a contract for Rescue Swimmer.

He's taken the PST three times so far and last week he was told to that today (MondayCMOS was to come to the Recruiter Office instead of reporting for another PST. When he got there he was told that his scores have been entered in the draft and that a contract should be coming as a result. He has to get another eye exam today and his blood pressure rechecked at MEPs on Wednesday, but if everything is okay medically, he could have his contract in hand by next week (I'll believe it when I see it).

The point is, you do not have to DEP in ahead of your contract. My son will DEP in with contract in place and a ship date assigned.

[Curt]

My son's experience was almost identical to that described by Nicholas. He left for BC last Wednesday. Good luck & hang tough.