Finally!

Great News! I signed my contract on December 1st and I leave to basic training in Great Lakes, on January 19th. Again there were not a lot of jobs to choose from and as I'm running out of time because of my age, I decided to take a Machinist Mate position and get my foot in the Navy. At least now, I can travel to Brazil without worrying about not being able to go to basic before April.

I will apply for American citizenship after A-School and that will make me eligible for more jobs later on, If I have the chance to change jobs I will go for it, otherwise I will get out after my contract is up. I'm pretty excited about this new challenge and the changes that will come with it.

I leave to Brazil next week to visit my folks and when I come back, I will get ready for basic training. I'm currently running 3 miles three times a week and lifting weight on my non running days and I'm feeling pretty good.

More updates coming soon!

Joining the US Navy - Another Try!

Hi everyone,

I'm going back to MEPS next week (December 1st) to see what ratings are available. As it has not been more than 30 days since my last trip to MEPS, I won't have to stay overnight. I'm leaving to Brazil in a few weeks and I would like to finalize this process, sign the contract and swear in before my trip.
Among all the ratings that were offered to me last time I was there, four of them picked my interest. As you know the rating that I wanted (corpsman), was not available to me because I went to Dental School in Brazil and according to the Navy that over qualifies me for that job. I'm not an American citizen and that narrows even more the jobs that I can pick from.
Eventually I want to be working in the medical field and that will be my goal as I join the US Navy.

That is it for now, I will post more updates soon.

Emerson Bertoni

Almost There!

Well, I was finally given the OK to enlist. Great news!

I went to Minneapolis last Sunday and on Monday morning I sat down with the classifier, to pick a job. I wanted to serve as a Corpsman (Medic) but because I went to Dental School in Brazil and I am considered a dentist (even though I'm not licensed to practice in the US), the rating was not available to me.

I'm also not an American citizen, so that narrows even more my options.

The classifier offered me a bunch of other jobs that did not interested me and I decided not to sign that day. He told me I can always change ratings after two years of service, so I am looking over some of the ratings that he offered me and I will make a decision by next week.

So pretty soon I could be finally joining the US Navy!

More updates to come.

Joining the US Navy

My Interview With the Naval Chief

My recruiter finally received the last reference from one of my professors, I stopped by at the recruiting center yesterday to finish some paperwork and I also had an interview with a Naval Chief. This all still part of the dependency waiver that I need.

Some of the forms that I completed a while ago have been revised and I had to fill them out again. I spent about two hours at the center and right before I left, I spoke with the Chief. He asked me a few things regarding my financial statement, the reason I want to join the Navy among other things.

The recruiter is pretty confident this last waiver will get approved, and told me he should be getting the final word by the end of this week. He told me he will be taking some folks to MEPS next week and that I could be going with them.

So, the plan now is to wait for his call and if I get the green light, I will be signing my contract and swearing in next week.

I will try to get in as a Corpsman but I have heard the Navy is pretty full right now. I will post an update as soon as I hear from the recruiter.

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Dependency Waiver

Last week I stopped by my recruiter's office to drop my financial statement and fill out more forms. I had to bring mine and my wife's pay stubs, and I also had to put down our monthly expenses. The recruiter asked me for three references (employers, professors, instructors).

As of today my recruiter is waiting to hear back from one of my references. It has been a long process and I just want to get over with.

Emerson Bertoni

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MEPS - Military Entrance Processing Station

Well, with the ASVAB out of the way the next step was to schedule a visit to MEPS. This is where applicants go thru a series of physical tests, visual exam, hearing test, blood test, urine sample among other things. It's a long day but nothing to worry about.

Because of previous knee surgery procedures, I had to see a local physician to have my knee evaluated. The doctor's report and my knee's xray were sent to the Navy recruiter and I also had to contact my orthopedist in Brazil and have him send me a medical report about my surgeries.

My medical pre-screening and medical reports were sent to MEPS for review and it took more than two months to finally get the OK to go in for a physical. I went to MEPS on June 24th.

I stayed in a hotel paid by the Navy and went to the station on the next day with a bunch of other applicants from all branches. Like I said before, it is a long day. I woke up at 4:30 am and I was in the bus that would take me to MEPS at 5:10 am. Besides the hurry up and wait, it was not bad. Everything is pretty simple!

Because of my medical history (knee surgery), I was disqualified but the doc recommended me for a waiver. So the day was over for me at around noon but for the majority of the folks that are not disqualified, the afternoon is the time to sign the contract and swear in.

So my waiver request was sent to the Navy and it took another two months to get the result. For some reason, now the Navy wanted me to see one of their orthopedist. So off I go to MEPS again. Stayed in the hotel again and went thru all the same fun stuff.

This time I was taken to a specialist and had more xrays taken. He examined my knee, we chatted for a few minutes and I went back to MEPS. Now the doctor's report was again sent to the Navy for consideration. Three weeks later I was contacted by my recruiter, with the good news. My waiver was approved!

Last Wednesday (9/16) I met my recruiter again and this time he initiated a dependency waiver. I'm married and I have three kids and the Navy wants to make sure that applicants with dependents, will be able to meet financial responsibilities with the Navy base pay.

Another hurdle that I have to overcome, but it is OK. I am patient. According to the recruiter, if the waiver gets approved I should be able to sign my contract next month. I began this process in April and this is almost October. What a ride!

Emerson Bertoni

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The ASVAB

ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is a tool used by the military to identify occupational fields that applicants are more prone to succeed. This is one the most important steps within the enlistment process. This test will determine which jobs you are eligible for and the higher the score, the more options you will have when picking a rating.

These are the areas covered on the exam:

• General Science - Measures knowledge of physical and biological sciences.
• Arithmetic Reasoning - Measures ability to solve arithmetic word problems.
• Word Knowledge - Measures ability to select the correct meaning of words presented in context, and identify synonyms.
• Paragraph Comprehension - Measures ability to obtain information from written material.
• Auto and Shop Information - Measures knowledge of automobiles, tools, and shop terminology and practices.
• Mathematics Knowledge - Measures knowledge of high school mathematics principles.
• Mechanical Comprehension - Measures knowledge of mechanical and physical principles, and ability to visualize how illustrated objects work
• Electronics Information - Tests knowledge of electricity and electronics
• Assembling Objects - Tests ability to select what mechanical device could be built from given parts.

Test takers get a score for each of theses areas and also an AFQT score, that is derived from the Word Knowledge (WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR) and Mathematics Knowledge (MK) portions of the test.

Now, most of my background is in sciences and mathematics was not one of my favorite topics in school. Most of the content covered on the ASVAB is high school level, and it had been almost 14 years since I saw that stuff. Oh boy!!! So I purchased two books and spent some time brushing up my math skills.

I had two weeks until test day, so I practiced and practiced and practiced some more. I concentrated my time on mathematics, word knowledge, general science and paragraph comprehension.

I did not sweat over all of the other stuff, tools, automobile, mechanics, electricity because they were not directly related with jobs that I was looking for.

So find out which sub tests you need to score well for the job you are seeking and concentrate on those areas. Here are some examples of rates:

• Air Traffic Controlman - (AR+2MK+GS=210)
• Engineman - (MK+AS=96)
• Seaman(Submarine) - (AR+MK+EI+GS=200)

I ended up scoring on the 70 percentile. Applicants can retake the test (after 30 days), if they wish to increase their score, but the most recent attempt will prevail. So if your score is lower on your second attempt, you will have to wait for six months until you can retake the test.

Taking the test does not commit you to enlist in the Navy.

Emerson Bertoni

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Navy Enlistment Process

Hi everyone,


I hope my posts can help folks that are thinking about enlisting or currently in the process of joining the Navy. I'm still in the process myself and it has been a long one for me. I will describe the steps that I have completed.


I'm a 34 year old male, married and after discussing with my wife the possibility of joyning the Navy, I decided to call a recruiter and schedule an appointment. I'm originally from Brazil and I have degree in the health field, so with that in mind, I was looking for a health related position within the Navy.


I first sat down with the recruiter on April 2nd of this year, and he was pretty helpful answering my questions. I had a couple of questions regarding eligibility:


Age limit - I was 33 at the time of my interview and the recruit told me for active enlistment, the age limit is 34, so I new I had some time.

Dependents - I have 3 kids but the recruiter was willing to request a dependency waiver.

Medical history - I was submited to 2 different sugeries om my right knee while in high school and after college. Again my recruiter mentioned we could request a medical waiver.


As you can see the odds were against me, but as the recruiter was willing to work with me, I decided to give it shot. My interview lasted for about an hour and with most of my questions answered, I scheduled the ASVAB test. April 27th!

Before you meet with the recruiter:

• Have an idea of what field you would like to go into. Do a serch and find out about the jobs offered by the Navy. This is a major decision, take your time and consider your options carefully.


• Write down questions to ask the recruiter. He or she will not share information unless asked, so have your list ready!


• The Navy has a zero tolerance policy for drug use. If you are taking ilegal drugs, you should stop now. Give the drugs time to clear out of your system before thinking about joining the Navy.

On my next post I will talk about the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery).

Take Care!

Emerson Bertoni

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