DETAVIO SAMUELS: A NAVY Experience

This week I enjoyed a once in a lifetime experience on a Navy aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego, and the biggest question running through my mind was "what if?" What if I knew back in college what I know now about the U.S. Navy, would I have joined?

What if I knew the U.S. Navy was offering college and graduate students full-time salaries along with full medical coverage (100% medical and dental) to chase their dreams? One of a kind programs like the U.S. Navy’s Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program (BDCP) pay college students between $2,300-$4,300 per month as early as their sophomore year without requiring them to drill, train, or be called to serve while they are in school. In other words, students get to be students and live normal lives. They get to focus on the reason they went to school, which is to learn, as opposed to how they are going to pay for it. To make it even better, after graduation, program participants have a guaranteed job in fields such as management, engineering, science, aviation, and communication. Navy offers similar programs for those who want to be civil engineers, doctors, dentists, and nurses. Honestly, it's almost too good to be true. What if?



What if I would have known the U.S. Navy provides unparalleled leadership and career training? Recent graduates enter into the U.S. Navy as Officers and are immediately expected to lead. They manage groups of people (civilians and sailors) and are required to nurture the dreams of those who report to them while living out their own (e.g., being the best engineer or doctor they can be!). They are given the coaching and mentoring necessary to become true leaders who are willing and ready to make leadership decisions with significant impact. They get experience managing multi million dollar assets and budgets that are worth more than most people will be responsible for over the course of their entire lifetime. In addition, they design and deal with some of the most complex processes, systems, and technology on the planet. What if I would have known that while doing all of this, people in the U.S. Navy lead normal lives? On the carrier I got the chance to see people playing basketball, watching cable TV, playing video games, and finding other ways to enjoy themselves during their time off. What if?

To this day, I cannot say with 100% certainty that I would have joined the Navy, but I wish someone would have exposed me to the Navy opportunity so that I could have had the choice. Consequently, I see it as a duty and an honor to be responsible for getting this information to others so that one day they won't have to ask, “what if?”