Tons of Navy/Navy Reserve Questions?

Question

I have heard so many stories of how in the Navy you dont sit at your base until each deployment, that you go out to sea for several days/weeks leading up to a deployment, and sometimes you go out to sea even more than that. 3 weeks out, 2 weeks in, one month out, one week in, is this true? or does it vary. I am wanting to go for the Master-At-Arms Rate(Yes I know they go to Iraq,Kuwait, Afghanistan,etc and I do not care). Are they on ship alot? How does this rate work with the Navy Reserve? With the Navy Reserve after you complete basic and "A'" School do you go back home or do you have to go to a duty station for a little while?

ANY info would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

first part: yes. it's true.  when you are on sea duty you can conceivably be underway quite frequently for  bits here and there.

first term Active Duty  MAs are seldom on ships.. and if they are, they are carriers and Gators.  Reservists will go back to the drill unit and do their weekend a month there, and their 2 weeks a year at an operational command..either a ship or larger shore installation( usually overseas).  

Answer 2

I'm in the Marines but we are counterpart of the Navy, they after all give us the cruise.  You will be on lengthy deployments but that shouldn't be a concern but a blessing.  Don't you recall those commercials?  It is an adventure?  I took it as one!  Not sure why you would rather be a Master-at-Arms when you can become a Corpsman.  They are true grit as a Marine, we even consider them a Marine but a squid.  And why  the Reserves?  I wouldn't settle my first enlistment as a weekend warrior if I was you.

Answer 3

Some good answers so far.

We have hundreds of bases overseas, all of them are fully manned.

Some surface ships ['targets'] have MAs. I spent a lot of time at sea, but never on a ship that had MAs.

MA is a good rate.

When a ship is gettin ready to go out for a long extended cruise, it needs to work up to that ability. Go out for short periods and train the crew. That is why they have a weird schedule.

Answer 4

Navy Active do a lot of tours around the World so yes you are on a ship a lot. It's not usually weeks at a time it's more like months, ex: 6 months. A lot of the times you stop a lot so for instance one week you may be in Greece, two weeks later your in Italy. That was just a example. For your reserve question yes once your done with basic and schooling for your MOS you go back home.

Answer 5

Mutt answered this question very well....   But...   The VAST majority of Master at Arms are stationed ashore... less than 10% of their rate is aboard a ship.  But likewise you can count on allot of overseas assignments at least 50% of the rating is assigned as base security for Naval bases overseas...

Answer 6

Active duty Navy, if you are stationed on a ship, you will go out for short time between deployments, unless the ship is in the yards for an overhaul. It can be for a few days, it could be a week or two, or it could be for a month. It varies depending on what you are doing when you go out. You go out even more as you get closer to deployment to make sure everything and everyone is prepared for the deployment. These short trips are not always out to sea, although most are. I was stationed on a ship out of San Diego, and we visited many places along the west coast and Hawaii.

As for reserves, once you are done with boot camp and A School, you go back home and start your weekend drills.

And yes, some MA's are stationed on ships. We had about half a dozen on the ship I was on. Bigger ships will probably have more, just as smaller ships will have fewer, or maybe none.