Domestic Violence is incompatible with military service and contrary to the Navy’s core values. If you have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, you are ineligible for enlistment; however, there are exceptions to the rule, which are discussed below.

If you have a conviction for domestic violence, as defined in Title 18 U.S. Code Sections 921 and 922 as discussed below, you are ineligible for all military service – not just the Navy. Domestic violence offenses may also include, but are not limited to, assault, assault and battery, and disorderly conduct convictions in which the perpetrator and victim meet the conditions of the domestic violence rule. The domestic violence rule must be applied regardless of whether or not you were charged with domestic violence.

Rule: The crime of domestic violence means any crime which includes the attempt or use of physical force or the threat of use of a deadly weapon, where you (the perpetrator) are the:

1. current or former spouse, parent or guardian of the victim; or
2. you and victim are parents of a child; or
3. you cohabitated with the victim as a spouse, parent or guardian; or
4. you were serving in a role similar to spouse, parent or guardian of the victim.

This rule does not apply to deferred prosecutions, pretrial diversions, or similar alternative dispositions in a domestic violence case. These are not considered convictions for purposes of this rule, but will otherwise require waiver processing. Deferred prosecutions are not the same as deferred or suspended sentences, which are the result of a conviction. All questionable cases will be forwarded to Navy Recruiting Command’s legal department by recruiting personnel.

Waivers for domestic violence convictions (misdemeanor or felony) are not authorized, per the Lautenburg Amendment to the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968.

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2011 Military Pay Chart

Information Systems Technician (IT)
Nuclear Field
Aircrew Rescue Swimmer Program
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
Navy Diver (ND)
Special Warfare Boat Operator (SB)
Special Warfare Operator – SEAL (SO)

The maximum benefit is $65,000, and it is taxed as income. Loan repayments can be made to qualifying loans like Stafford, Perkins, Ford, and other loans that typically are described as “Title 4″ loans.

LRP participants may utilize the GI-Bill; however, to qualify, you must re-enlist for a second term (and have served a minimum of 24 months of that second term).

Currently, all active programs, with the exception of the Full Time Support (FTS) and the New Accession Training Programs (NAT), are eligible for the LRP in rates that ship to boot camp in FY-2011. See your Recruiter for complete details and updates.

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2010 Military Pay Chart
2011 Military Pay Chart

Holiday stand-downs have been part of CNRC’s operating procedure since RADM Voelker implemented it back during the holiday season of 2000, his first year as Commander, Navy Recruiting Command.

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First of all, the approval of a medical waiver is the responsibility of the Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC). The Admiral makes a decision with input from a qualified medical authority.

To dispel a myth, Navy Recruiting does not use the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) to make recommendations for an individual’s physical/psychological condition to enter Naval service.

Nearly a decade ago, in an effort to reduce applicant waiting time (which often times extended three months or more), CNRC added to the staff a medical department. Commander, Navy Recruiting Command’s medical staff (CNRC 00M) which includes a doctor and a small cadre of Navy Corpsman who work at the CNRC headquarters in Millington, Tn. now makes the medical recommendations to the Admiral in a fraction of the time.

The Process:

You first must be permanently disqualified (PDQ) by the MEPS medical department. The disqualification could come from your initial medical document reading, you do not make a trip to MEPS, or during your physical at the MEPS the doctor determines you to be permanently disqualified. Temporary disqualifications are not reviewed for medical waivers. Here is a post I made last year which lists many of the medical conditions that may be waiverable. Conditions not normally considered for a medical waiver.

If the MEPS PDQ’d you based on the medical documents submitted, CNRC 00M must direct MEPS, if 00M determines a waiver may be possible, to provide you with a physical. 00M’s direction to MEPS may include consultation(s), a visit to an outside specialist like an orthopedic doctor or a cardiologist.

Note: You need to be prepared to make more than one visit to MEPS depending on consultation requirements.

Once the final results of the MEPS physical and consultations are complete (including blood work), those results will be sent to 00M for review. 00M will then make a recommendation to the Admiral (usually within 3-5 days depending on back load).

If the MEPS PDQ’d you during the physical then 00M may direct further testing via consultation, or make a final recommendation to the Admiral for approval or disapproval without further medical tests.

I hope this helps you understand the process for a medical waiver, and hopefully make it a little less intimidating. As always, feel free to email your questions!

Waiver Process for Prior Drug and/or Alcohol Dependency

If you have been psychologically or physically dependent upon drugs or alcohol, recruiting personnel may request a Commander, Navy Recruiting Command eligibility determination when the pre-service dependency has been resolved in such a way that there is little likelihood that such behavior will recur. Your MEPS physical must include a psychiatric consultation.

You may be considered a good risk for entry into the Navy if:

• a. You have successfully abstained from drugs and alcohol for more than two years,
• b. Your employment history or school attendance subsequent to rehabilitation is favorable, and
• c. You appear well motivated.
• d. A minimum of two years has elapsed since release from treatment.

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The C-SORT, when combined with the PST run and swim (run time and swim time added together) is predictive of success of a candidate in the training pipeline. The band scores (scaled from one to four) are added together. The two band scores added together have to be four or greater to be eligible for SO classification. The candidate still must meet the basic PST requirements and program requirements, in addition to the combined C-SORT/PST band score. If a candidate does not meet all requirements, he should be told “NOT NOW” and encouraged to improve his PST Score. The C-SORT cannot be re-taken. If a candidate does not qualify, he should be considered for classification into one of the other Warrior Challenge ratings.

ASVAB line scores required for SO are GS+MC+EI=165 or VE+MK+MC+CS=220

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Confirmation testing applies to any person who was given a retest on any version of the (ASVAB) who’s ASVAB score increased 20 AFQT points or more than their previous test score, and the two tests are taken within 6 months of each other, they are required to take the confirmation test. If 6 months passed from the date of the retest then the confirmation test is not required no matter what the AFQT point increase may have been. The rule applies regardless if it was an enlistment or a student ASVAB when deciding if a confirmation retest is required.

Confirmation testing cannot be given at a school or MET site, it will only be conducted in the MEPS and it is a full version containing all sections of the ASVAB.

If you fall into the above rule and you complete a confirmation test your AFQT from the confirmation test must be compared to the previous test. If your confirmation test AFQT is higher than the AFQT from the previous test, or the AFQT from the confirmation test does not decrease by more than half the value of the retest’s gain, then you have met the required criteria for a successful confirmation test. The results from the test that made you take the confirmation test in the first place becomes the score you will use for enlistment, not the confirmation test scores.

If confirmation ASVAB test AFQT goes down more than half of your initial point increase below your previous retest AFQT you will be required to complete a confirmation interview.

An example; If you got a 33 AFQT on the first test and two months later you take a retest and score a 59 AFQT. Because the test was within 6 months the 26 point increase of your AFQT will require you to take a confirmation test (unless you wait 6 more months). If on the confirmation test you scored a 45 AFQT which is 14 points less than the retest AFQT (greater than half of the 26 point increase) – you will require the interview.

The interview will determine the cause of the anomaly and scores associated with the confirmation test are held from further processing pending results of that interview.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask questions!

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When recruiting is tough, the branch having difficulty will lower standards – i.e. take more non-high school graduates, except people with borderline height weight issues, favorably consider more waivers, reduce ASVAB requirements, etc.

The opposite is true when a branch is doing well, each service has a finite number of personnel budgeted for so expect the branch to get much more picky about who they accept.

The current performance of our economy is forcing people to look at all their options, including service in an active or reserve component of the armed forces. If you see the military as an option in your future you may want to mosey on down and talk about your options. Depending on the type job you want you may already have to wait almost a year to leave for boot camp.

DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for January 2009

The Department of Defense announced today its recruiting and retention statistics for the active and reserve components for the month of January.

· Active Component.
· Recruiting. All services met or exceeded recruiting goals for January.
· Army – 9,658 accessions with a goal of 9,000; 107 percent
· Navy – 2,948 accessions with a goal of 2,948; 100 percent
· Marine Corps – 3,720 accessions with a goal of 3,406; 109 percent
· Air Force – 2,600 accessions with a goal of 2,597; 100 percent
Retention. All four active components continued their success in fiscal 2009, meeting or exceeding January retention goals.
· Reserve Component.
· Accessions. Five of the six reserve components met or exceeded
their accession goals for the month of January 2009. Although the Army
National Guard fell short of its January goal, it is well ahead (114 percent) of its
annual goal.
· Army National Guard – 4,913 accessions with a goal of 5,577; 88 percent
· Army Reserve – 3,223 accessions with a goal of 3,128; 103 percent
· Navy Reserve – 712 accessions with a goal of 712; 100 percent
· Marine Corps Reserve – 879 accessions with a goal of 567; 155 percent
· Air National Guard – 896 accessions with a goal of 703; 127 percent
· Air Force Reserve – 683 accessions with a goal of 683; 100 percent

· Reserve Attrition. Losses in all reserve components were within acceptable limits.

UPDATE: Looks like I might be “spot on”
From an interview today;

“It’s not just about the monthly recruiting goal,” Randy Noller, a Guard Bureau spokesman, said. “Right now, we are over our end strength and can slow down on recruiting.”

The Army National Guard now has 366,200 soldiers in its ranks, which exceeds its authorized end strength of 358,200 troops, Noller said.

Since the Army National Guard is recruiting fewer new soldiers each month, it can “increase the quality of people coming in,” Noller said.

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• A spouse by marriage, not to include a common law spouse. A spouse is not considered a dependent when the spouse is on active duty or serving as a SELRES in Reserve Component of any service. A spouse in the Individual Ready Reserve is considered a dependent.

• Any natural child (legitimate or illegitimate) or child adopted by the applicant, provided:

(a) the child is unmarried
(b) is considered a dependent under the laws of the state having jurisdiction
(c) the applicant claims the child as theirs
(d) the applicant’s name is listed on the birth certificate as a parent
(e) a court order establishes paternity or if any person makes an allegation of paternity that has not been adjudicated by a court.

Note: A Child Support Order is required by all Active Duty applicants who have out of wedlock children prior to processing. The order must be from the State the child resides in.

• Unborn child(ren). Unmarried applicants who self-admit to being the father of an unborn child(ren) or for whom a positive legal/medical paternity determination has been made are considered to have a dependent(s) for enlistment and affiliation purposes.

• Stepchildren of the applicant.

• Stepchildren of the applicant’s spouse.

• Children from the spouse’s previous marriage that are under the age of 18.

• Any parent or other person who can be claimed as a dependent on the applicant’s income tax return.

WARNING: Relinquishing custody does not terminate dependency.

If you have any questions about the information above and for individual determination of your circumstance, see your local Navy Recruiter.

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The rules of tattooing, branding and body art extend to those wishing to join the Navy. Below I have quoted a section of the Navy recruiting manual which discusses the topic.

Four criteria will be used to determine whether tattoos/body art/brands are permitted for Navy personnel: content, location, size and cosmetic.

(a) Content. Tattoos/body art/brands located anywhere on the body that are prejudicial to good order, discipline, and morale or are of a nature to bring discredit upon the naval service are prohibited. For example, tattoos/body art/brands that are obscene, sexually explicit, and/or advocate discrimination based on sex, race, religion, ethnic, or national origin are prohibited. In addition, tattoos/body art/brands that symbolize affiliation with gangs, supremacist or extremist groups, or advocate illegal drug use are prohibited.

(b) Location. No tattoos/body art/brands on the head, face, neck or scalp. The neck area for purposes of this regulation is any portion visible when wearing an open collar uniform shirt. In addition, otherwise permissible tattoos/body art/brands on the torso area of the body shall not be visible through white uniform clothing.

(c) Size. Individual tattoos/body art/brands exposed by wearing a short sleeve uniform shirt shall be no larger in size than the wearer’s hand with fingers extended and joined with the thumb touching the base of the index finger. Tattoos/body art/brands that exceed size criteria are waiverable provided they do not violate the content or location criteria.

(d) Cosmetic Tattoos. This regulation does not prohibit cosmetic tattooing to correct medical conditions requiring such treatment. For the purposes of this regulation, cosmetic tattooing refers to medical or surgical procedures conducted by licensed, qualified medical personnel.

(5) Mutilation. Intentional mutilation of any part of the body is prohibited. Mutilation is defined as the intentional radical alteration of the body, head, face or skin for the purpose of and or resulting in an abnormal appearance. Examples of mutilation include, but are not limited to a split of forked tongue; foreign objects inserted under the skin to create a design or pattern; enlarged or stretched holes in the ears (other than a normal piercing); intentional scarring on the neck, face or scalp; and intentional burns creating a design or pattern.

(6) Dental Ornamentation. The use of gold, platinum, or other veneers or caps for purposes of dental ornamentation is prohibited. For purposes of this regulation, ornamentation is defined as decorative veneers or caps. Teeth, whether natural, capped, or veneered, will not be ornamented with designs, jewels, initials or other similar ornamentation.

UPDATE as of 15 OCT 2009: “Cosmetic tattoos applied in good taste so that colors blend with natural skin tone and enhance natural features are acceptable. Exaggerated or faddish cosmetic styles are not authorized. Permanent lipstick colors shall be conservative and complement the individual.”

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