My son is currently at RTC and will go to Lackland AFB for the MA "A" School sometime mid to late October. Curiosity got me wondering about jobs in the Navy. I am assuming that most sailors have a day or two off during a week? Or do they work 7 days per week? Sorry if that sounds completely ignorant.
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Hi Carrie,
If it hasn't changed too much, It's pretty much like what I said before.
Inport:
Regular 8-hour work day during the week, weekends off, unless you have duty (every 3-4 days, depending on duty sections), then you stay onboard for 24 hours. Besides your regular work day you would usually have watch, which usually runs 4 hours, except for colors or duty driver. Duty days also have drills, such as fire, security alerts, etc. There are also various working parties for supplies and other stuff. Those are usually E-4 or E-5 and below, depending on the number of sailors aboard. I've done plenty of those. :-)
At sea,
Workday and watches, depending on watch rotation. everything runs on a constant schedule. Watches are usually 4 hours, but can be anywhere from 2-6 hours depending on work center and watch sections. Then there are also underway drills, such as General Quarters, Security, Man Overboard, Fire, etc. Basically most evolutions include going to GQ, for safety and security reasons. There's also underway replenishments (unreps and vertreps), for supplies and mail.
I hope this helps.
Todd :>
Anyone know what the MA work schedules are like when assigned to a ship?
Sorry for this re-post, but the test from an earlier reply disappeared and it took me awhile to get it back.
My daughter, Kasea, is in PRP, Harbor Patrol, in WA. The last section she was in she was putting in 16-hour days (8 on the water, 4 boat on/off-loading, boat prep, debrief, and 4 hours PFT). She would be scheduled 4 days, but then would get called in to augment, so 4 days would sometimes turn into a week or two.
She's in a new section now, so I'm not exactly sure what her schedule is, but she seems to like it better. Her section leader gave her a duty day off because she had to come in on a day off to augment.
I've found that every command, ship, and even section is different. Two people may be doing the same job, but their schedules will be different depending on where they are and what their command is like. I do know that her PRP time counts as sea duty, which helps with her sea/shore rotation, especially if you're interested in staying on shore.
When I was aboard ship (2 destroyers), our in-port days were like a regular job. I would work a regular work day and have liberty from around 4 until 7 the next morning. On duty days (every 3-4 days, depending on how many sections we had) I had to stay on the ship for 24 hours. Standard work day and watch, plus drills (fire and security). Watches were usually 4 hours, except for colors or duty driver.
Underway we had our work day and watch schedule. We stood watch at our equipment. Our watch rotation depended on how many qualified people we had in the work center. We also had GQ drills.
I know things have changed since I was in (1985-1993), but probably not too much.
Kasea wants to get to a ship so she can see what the real Navy is like. Shore commands run differently than sea commands. Plus, she'll get to travel and see different places.
I hope this helps.
My daughter is stationed at Kitsap (Silverdale, WA).
Her first unit was a combined Navy/Marine unit. She didn't care for that much because she needed Navy quals, not Marine quals, although she did qual on the M240, which helped her out.
Her second unit Was a Navy unit, Harbor Patrol. The section she was in did 16-hour days (8 on the water, 4 for boat prep, and 4 for PFT). She would be scheduled 4 days. That 4 days would turn into a week, sometimes two, because of augmentations. She wasn't happy.
She recently transferred to a new section and she likes it a lot better. They actually compensate her if they have to call her in on her day off to augment. I'm not sure what her current schedule is, but she's been happier with it.
So, I guess it all boils down to what unit, section, etc., that they are in. I know my daughter has applied for her Master's program. Hopefully, she can finish it off before she leaves this assignment.
If he does prp the days are long. They work 2 days on 3 days off then 3 days on and 2 days off. The hours are 16 to 18 hours a day according to my son. At least that is how it is in Silverdale,Wa.
Jeff....Generally it is a 5 day work-week. Schedules vary depending upon one's assignment....
Hi, Jeff!
Welcome aboard! My son, Colin, finished MA "A" school in April. He opted for the Riverines, and has had several more combat schools to attend since then. Currently at Camp Le Jeune in North Carolina.
But all along the way, he's had weekends off. Like a typical job. Sometimes his school goes late, or like next week, he'll be working the "swing" shift, since he has night training.
But as far as I can make out, the Navy's hours in general are like any other job. I've also heard but don't know that some MA jobs, like PRP, might have longer days but still 40-50 hours/week.
Dave