The Recruiting Process

After coming to the realization that teaching just wasn't going to work for me, I started to look for new opportunities. This search took me in many different directions but ended up with me sitting down in front of a Navy Officer Recruiter. I had no idea what I was in for from the very start. The first real step in the process to become a Naval Officer involves taking an test called the Officer Aptitude Rating Exam (OAR). If you want to become a pilot or go into intelligence the exam has twice as many sections to complete. As I had no interest in either designation, I took the easier portion. My questions were based on three core areas; Math, Reading and Mechanical Comprehension. If anyone reading this is contemplating taking the OAR at some point in the near future, spend some time studying and taking practice sets. You want a high score as that is one of the major factors in deciding whether you are officer material.

After I took the OAR and submitted all my paperwork (there was a lot of paperwork) all I could do was sit back and wait. The officer selection boards meet on average once a month at different times for different designations. My three choices included supply, surface warfare (SWO) and oceanography. Sometimes, as in my case, the boards only review a certain number of applications, so you are tabled for the next month. This was probably the hardest time in the whole application process because nothing I did was going to make a difference at this point. I used my free time to lift weights and run since the next big step after being selected was a physical readiness test (PRT) also known as a physical readiness assessment (PRA). I am still not sure why the same test goes by two different names.

Upon being selected as an officer, I underwent an intensive medical screening, which was not fun but definitely necessary. After the screening, I reported for the PRT and actually ended up having to complete it twice before reporting for Officer Candidate School (OCS) in October. My recruiter was there for me through the whole process, he was a tremendous help in guiding me through each of the steps.

Introduction and Build Up

So this is going to be the first time I have ever put words to paper (or internet) in trying to describe my life and experiences. I hope I can do justice in describing my life past, present and future.

I will start with a little background and see in what direction my thoughts take me. I grew up in the Midwest, central Indiana to be more specific. To this point, that still feels like home to me since I spent the first 23 years of my life there. I was never that popular in school and I didn't play any sports, at least not particularly well. My focus was and to a large degree still is on academics. I was the quintessential nerd going through high school and college. I filled in my free time with academic teams and clubs, student politics and a zeal for current events. That stuff is all rather boring though so moving on.

My life got interesting after I graduated from college and started my first year of teaching high school biology. I had the goal in mind of imparting my knowledge and experiences on a new generation. Needless to say it didn't really work out that way. Anyone interested in teaching needs to realize that they will spend most of their time in either managing the classroom environment or dealing with crazy administrators. My experience as a teacher was that education is no longer student centered, but driven by standardized test scores and the need to institutionalize the process of learning. I will spare readers the grizzly details of my weekly fights with department heads and administration. So my total time spent as a teacher lasted for less than a year.