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Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

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Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

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If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

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My daughter wants to join the navy

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  • My daughter wants to join the navy

    My 18-year-old daughter spent last year at the University of Evansville studying business, economics and Spanish. Now she wants to join the navy rather than going back in the Fall.

    Her biggest complaint is that college wasn't challenging and she had ridiculous amounts of free time even when working 20 hours a week off-campus. She had a full load and was in the choir, but still spent only about 5 hours a day in class or working on assignments.

    They made her read books that she a) has already read, or b) doesn't want to read. (She was assigned The Scarlet Letter for the 4th time in her life.) She says, "I'm going to read books anyway, and I'd rather choose what I read myself than be told what to read by a stranger." She suffered through 2 semesters with a really snobby and nihilistic professor who basically said that if it hasn't got **** on it, it isn't literature.

    The navy will pay her to study, give her opportunities to travel, and add structure and activity to her days. She expects to take advantage of the college possibilities, which are available even aboard ship. She wants to work in cryptology, which would be conducive to a job later in Spanish or any other language

    I'm trying to think through all the angles of this. I'm not worried about my daughter taking care of herself (she has traveled halfway around the world by herself several times, beginning when she was 13.) But I fear she might find after she makes the 4-year commitment that she's not going to get as much opportunity as she expected.

    I understand why she's dissatisfied with the level of conversation around the dormitory (hair, movies, boys, hair, clothes, hair, boys, etc.). But what if she joins the navy and find that the mess room conversation is even worse? What if the requirements of the service prevent her from really studying effectively, so she ends up 4 years from now with a smattering of courses that don't add up to a degree? What if she doesn't qualify for cryptology, so instead she has to do something dull?

    If you know about life in the navy, please tell me what you think. What questions should we ask before the decision is made?
    And I won't be here to see the day
    It all dries up and blows away
    I'd hang around just to see
    But they never had much use for me
    In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

  • #2
    Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

    Putnam, my main concern would be we're in a war.
    You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

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    • #3
      Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

      True, but in general (save mainly the USMC) Navy personnel runs a relatively small risk compared to say ground forces, but I know what you are saying.
      2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

      2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

      2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

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      • #4
        Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

        I don't know anything about the navy, but has she considered trying a different college? Pretty much every college nowadays will have that basic level where they offer the "kiddy stuff" for everyone who just wants to get their degree and GTHO as soon as possible, but it's been my experience that if you seek profs out they will work with you and find interesting stuff for you to do. I'm working with an English prof right now on a project, and later this year I'll be working with one prof in logic and with another in fiction-writing (and possibly another if I can convince him to study Borges' work with me).

        I can understand her frustrations, and cryptology is definitely pretty fascinating, but it sounds like she's noticed the poor quality of most colleges nowadays and might be doing something unnecessary to do work that she finds engaging + challenging. I don't know much about Uni of Evansville, maybe it's filled with those Big School, Research-Oriented, Dun-give-a-****-bout-no-students profs, but at the smaller colleges it's pretty easy to find professors who are enthusiastic about stuff their students are interested in.

        I'm only saying this because I was pretty disappointed after my first year of college, too, and tried to do something similar. But my parents convinced me to give it at least one more semester, and while the things I detested didn't go away, I did find ways to make things bearable and then even engaging + productive. I think I would have really regretted quitting when I wanted to.

        What were the blocked out words from the nihilistic (ugh) prof? I can't figure it out.
        You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?

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        • #5
          Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

          Tell her to transfer to a better college. If the workload isn't enough for her at U of E, she is studying business so a transfer to Kelley shouldn't be difficult.
          However, if what she really wants to do is be in the Navy, then I'd say let her do it. I'd hope my parents would respect my wishes in the same way.
          Granted, I've never said I don't find college challenging.


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          • #6
            Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

            The Military in general provides a lot of opportunties, and if she's qualified for it, she'll likely get what she wants to do.

            However, unless something has changed in recent years, the Army is the only service where you are garunteed to get the job you sign the contract for.

            In all other branches, while they try to get you into the school of your choosing, if they have an urgent need for you somewhere else, you will get stuck there.

            Now, thats the negative.

            For the positive, if she wants the things you described above, the military in general is the way to go. My brother has taken college courses while he's been in at local colleges all paid for by the Army. He could not however take them when he was deployed, probably different from the Navy.

            Some other questions, Does she REALLY like the water? Does she get Sea sick easily? That would be another question for a Possible Navy entrant. My Uncle was in the Navy and he had spent most of his life on a boat in one way or another, but he told me even then, there were some days if you were out to sea and a good storm came up, the sea sickness could not be avoided and it was harder to get rid of because you can't just get off the boat at the end of the day. You live there.

            Also does she have thick skin? I mean in a way of taking critisim and getting yelled at. No avoiding it in Basic, but even beyond that you run into a CO thats just a dick.

            I was in the army and have never regretted for even one day that I served my time. I think its an experience every kid coming out of high school should do or have to go through. It would teach a lot of kids responibility, respect for authority and pride in their country that many kids don't have coming out of high school, especially today where so many of them seem to be spoiled brats.

            Some things she should ask when talking to a recruiter:
            1. What are the chances that she will get the job she would like to do after she finishes basic training?

            2. Where are the typical locations for that job? Is it most commonly deployed, stateside, and where? You would hate to find out, the only place they use your job is in a small post in Antartica.

            3. She needs to take the ASFAB. What score is required for the job she wants. Doubt this will be an issue for her as she sounds pretty smart, but its a question to ask.

            4. What kind of signing bonuses are available right now? This could be significant, because they may have other jobs that she really likes with higher signing bonuses.

            I'll think of others later, but this may at least be a start for you.

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            • #7
              Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

              Originally posted by SoupIsGood View Post
              I don't know anything about the navy, but has she considered trying a different college? Pretty much every college nowadays will have that basic level where they offer the "kiddy stuff" for everyone who just wants to get their degree and GTHO as soon as possible, but it's been my experience that if you seek profs out they will work with you and find interesting stuff for you to do. I'm working with an English prof right now on a project, and later this year I'll be working with one prof in logic and with another in fiction-writing (and possibly another if I can convince him to study Borges' work with me).

              I can understand her frustrations, and cryptology is definitely pretty fascinating, but it sounds like she's noticed the poor quality of most colleges nowadays and might be doing something unnecessary to do work that she finds engaging + challenging. I don't know much about Uni of Evansville, maybe it's filled with those Big School, Research-Oriented, Dun-give-a-****-bout-no-students profs, but at the smaller colleges it's pretty easy to find professors who are enthusiastic about stuff their students are interested in.

              I'm only saying this because I was pretty disappointed after my first year of college, too, and tried to do something similar. But my parents convinced me to give it at least one more semester, and while the things I detested didn't go away, I did find ways to make things bearable and then even engaging + productive. I think I would have really regretted quitting when I wanted to.

              What were the blocked out words from the nihilistic (ugh) prof? I can't figure it out.

              U of E is a pretty small private college. But from what I hear (I went to USI in Evansville) from a lot of friends who went there, U of E trys to weed out a lot of people in their freshman year with that mundane crap. She may find it more interesting in her second year once she gets past the freshman requirements as well.

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              • #8
                Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

                How high did she score on her ASVAB and other testing? The higher the score the more choices she will have. She should know if she qualifies for crypto before she goes in i would think. My brother origionally went into the Navy to be in the nucular school and knew he would be going before he signed up. The Navy's need for crypto people would obviously be the deciding factor in her placement.

                I never served in the military, an old sports injury kept me from joining the AF, but have heard that it can be rather boring. My wife knows of doctors in the clinic that she used to work in that had all of their medical school payed for by the Army and will be debt free when they leave the service.

                As for the war/safty angle, I would think that the Navy, other than Seals/special ops or pilets, would be the safest branch to be in right now.

                As for her outlook on college, in my opinion, the first year is always the worst. As she progresses into her major classes they usually get better.

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                • #9
                  Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

                  What were the blocked out words from the nihilistic (ugh) prof? I can't figure it out.
                  It's an allusion to Monty Python and the Holy Grail: How you can tell it someone is a king or not.



                  I appreciate all these comments. Keep them coming. Ken, she scored at the 99th percentile in the ASVAB.



                  .
                  Last edited by Putnam; 07-01-2008, 03:51 PM.
                  And I won't be here to see the day
                  It all dries up and blows away
                  I'd hang around just to see
                  But they never had much use for me
                  In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

                    Originally posted by Gyron View Post
                    U of E is a pretty small private college. But from what I hear (I went to USI in Evansville) from a lot of friends who went there, U of E trys to weed out a lot of people in their freshman year with that mundane crap. She may find it more interesting in her second year once she gets past the freshman requirements as well.
                    That, too. Theoretically what most colleges offer as fresh requirements isn't too bad, it's just that most profs view them as **** classes and don't put any effort whatsoever into them. Combine that with the widespread apathy among most students nowadays and it makes for one hellish bunch of hoops you've got to jump through to get into second year.
                    You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?

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                    • #11
                      Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

                      The English class I took freshmen year was an absolute joke as were a lot of my other gen ed. classes. Sophomore year though pretty much every class I took was time consuming, and with her choice of majors its definetely not going to get easier.
                      Last edited by Trader Joe; 07-01-2008, 03:56 PM.


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                      • #12
                        Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

                        I still don't get it. I even googled.

                        Edit: OK, found the quote. Must be something I need to see within the context of the movie.
                        You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?

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                        • #13
                          Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

                          A CTI in the Navy...the cryptologic filed you're talking about...interprets intercepted communications. The trainees go to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, which is a big deal.

                          BUT, they're not looking for Spanish...they want Spanish, they got Spanish in the form of millions of Hispanic Americans. They're looking for Urdu, Arabic, SerboCroatian, etc...if your daughter wants to learn one of those, the field would be a good choice. If you've already taught her Kyrgyz, she's a lock.

                          And the barracks / shipboard life will include conversations that are crude in the extreme, while being as shallow as a sheen of sweat. If she can't get along with college freshmen, she's going to experience the same, if not worse, in the service. I'm not saying she has that problem...

                          The educational opportunities can be restricted in the service. You're right to be concerned. The Army is my background, though I worked with Navy folks often. It is not uncommon on an Army post to not have much beyond business admin and criminal justice degrees available locally. (This is overseas, you understand.) Shipboard, I guess, could be better?? I don't know.
                          Last edited by kester99; 07-01-2008, 04:01 PM.


                          [~]) ... Cheers! Go Pacers!

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                          • #14
                            Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

                            Originally posted by Mourning View Post
                            True, but in general (save mainly the USMC) Navy personnel runs a relatively small risk compared to say ground forces, but I know what you are saying.
                            Interestingly, we have Navy personnel here where I am. It must have been awful getting here through the desert from the Persian Gulf. It always surprises me to see them. I think they were lied to about shore leave.

                            A couple of things I would ask.

                            How long are deployments? AF seems to have it somewhat easy with 4 month deployments whereas the Army and Guard are here from 12-15 months.

                            Is there a delayed entry program? I think going into the service as an officer would be a great path AFTER graduation. Of course, a lot go into the service to to get education benefits.

                            Make sure benefits are etched in stone. There are a ton of guys over here who feel like the recruiters weren't quite honest with them.

                            I suppose if it was my daughter I would tell her to face boredom in lieu of other things and enter as an officer if she decided the military was for her after college.
                            The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

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                            • #15
                              Re: My daughter wants to join the navy

                              Our best friend's daughter just graduated HS and is headed for the Navy. She is to go to Texas for languages.

                              If you'd like the contact info for her I will give her your your's and she can establish contact with yor daughter that way.

                              I salute your daughter.

                              PM would be best
                              Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

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