By Ivy N. McQuain
NDG Contributing Writer
Did you know that there are more opportunities for women to join the United States Navy or the Navy Reserves? The tract to enlist more women to serve their country comes at a time when women are being highly sought after for their leadership abilities, creative thinking and dedication to their country. The Navy, like the other military branches, is showing an interest in women enlistees to show that they have desire to being more diverse and competitive.
Lieutenant Commander Amy Simek, Operations Officer for Navy Recruiting District – Dallas states, “Women enlisted in the Navy creates a more diverse workforce which enhances all avenues of mission accomplishment. The Navy understands that with a diverse workforce we are able to explore new ideas for more effective and efficient problem solving.”
To date there are more than 48,000 female enlisted Sailors in the Navy doing a myriad of different jobs.
Simek, who has been in the Navy for 12 years, stated that the recruiters who talk to many women who are interested in enlisting do not know the opportunities that are afforded to them through the Navy. Some of the traditional reasons for not enlisting include having children, family commitments, inability to travel, what will be required once enlisted, and understanding the actual benefits. However, now there are more opportunities for women in the Navy than ever before. The enlistment term is generally five years of which will be served onboard a naval ship after finishing eight weeks of basic training (boot camp) at Great Lakes, Illinois and follow on training at a technical school. Enlistees will then have the opportunity to travel abroad and throughout the country, depending on their selected platform (job), which they usually receive once they pass their complete physical.
The benefits of enlisting into the Navy include money to pay for education, travel to new places, learning a marketable skill, as well as gaining leadership and management experience that increases promotion opportunity both in and out of the Navy. Women who are interested in the Navy can enlist up to the age of 34 for active duty. For Navy Reserves the maximum age to enlist is 39. The minimum age for both is 17.
“The good thing about enlisting in the Navy is that you can receive an education, real world experience fine tuning a variety of skills, and have the opportunity to lead,” says Simek. “And right now I am seeing more opportunities open for women and more highly qualified women applying for those jobs.”
For those women who want to serve on a part time basis they can choose to enlist in the Navy Reserves.
For more information and recruitment offices near you in the Dallas/Fort Worth areas visit www.Navy.com or call 1-800-USA-NAVY.
The US armed services – Navy, Marines, Army, etc…all offer material compensation. However, they can never offer enough material to pay for ones Soul. Usually, killing or threatening to kill so that multi-national corporations can maintain international dominance is what you do in the armed services. And don’t give many any of that talk about defending the free world because that is just hype. And I’m not even going to get into the way women are treated by men in the armed services…all for a little money. Just say no to the Navy and the others. Say yes to peace.