Contract Attrited

[leahy_j]

First, I have searched the forums for this and all the turned up was someone having a problem with their ASVABs.

My situation: I DEPed into the Navy as an HM on 27 July 2007. I got my SO contract In January of 2008. I was scheduled to ship out 21 August 2008. I got a medical rollback due to my shin splints, I was rolled until 07 October 2008. The shin splints still are not fixed, but are finally BEING fixed. They will not be fixed in time for the current ship date. I am not being given another rollback, so my recruiter encouraged me to ship out as an HM (or whatever I choose) and switch to SO later. I considered, but several people (including the brains of this site) gave very simple, wise, and VERY true advice. If you want to be a SEAL, go to BUD/S. If you want to be a Corpsman, go to A-school. Well, I do not want to be a Corpsman, I want to be a SEAL. My recruiter also mentioned an "attrite and rewrite" where I'm assuming they cancel my current contract and write me a new one for a different ship date. I am thinking that getting my contracted attrited is the best route for me. It will still give me the SO contract I want, AND it will give me ample time to fix my running. I'm afraid when I approach my recruiter he may lie to me (he's done it before) about my contract. I want to know if I CAN cancel this contract.
Anyone who knows the answer, your input is appreciated. Thanks!

[ziggybenji]

I hate to say this but if all else fails and your recruiter just doesn't want to work with you on getting the contract you want which in this case is SO, then f*** him. You have to remember that ultimately these guys are after their numbers for the month and he will more then likely try his darndest to get you shipped out because he doesn't get credit for it until then, or atleast that's how it was explained to me. Unless he is former SO he probably isn't going to bend over backwards for you, remember once you ship you will never see this guy again, so why should he care if he doesn't give you the contract YOU want. ****, you have to stick up for yourself and make sure you get yours or else you are going to take it in the rear end. What he probably didn't tell you is that to get out of your contract all you have to do is stop going to your DEP meetings and not show up on the day you’re sent out to ship. You are not officially in the NAVY yet so there is nothing they can do to you if you bail like that. With that being said, I would treat this as a last resort because you will then have to find another recruiter to start the process all over again beginning with MEPS because I am sure after that ordeal you will not want to have anything to do with this guy. Plus, more then likely you will have to get permission by one of the head honchos at MEPS to get back into DEP as I personally watched 3 guys get their asses handed to them on a silver platter about ditching DEP the first time and trying to get in a second time. They were ultimately processed back in though. I don’t know if this helps at all but I wish you luck with trying to get your contract back.

[tyjanium]

Leahy,

Many people have left there rating and gotten orders to BUD/S, that's how it was in the past before the navy starting offering the SEAL contract. You had to join, pick a rating and at some point during your enlistment you could drop a package and go to BUD/S. This is what you would have to do if you chose to go in as an HM. I personaly wouldn't advise this. You'll have A school to worry about and then you'll be get orders to your first command. At this point you'll have responsibilities as an HM, you may go to sea, get deployed to the desert, who knows. You may very well end up with a very high op-tempo and it can be very difficult to stay focused and find time to train for BUD/S. Sure, it can be done but believe me once your in, the navy owns you. Don't expect your command to cater to you and give you a bunch of time to train. Basically, what I'm trying to say is you are going to have so many things going on you could easily get side tracked. There is no need to make things harder on yourself. You mentioned you didn't want to be an HM, so don't join as an HM! If you have to go to a different recruiter then do it. DEP doesn't mean anything, you can walk away at anytime before you ship. My recruiter told me the SAME B.S. 12 years ago. Ultimately you are responsible for getting what you want. Your recruiter does not have your best interest in mind. Once you get on that plane to boot your recruiter has moved on to the next kid. Bottom line, do not ship until you are satisfied with your contract.

[mike0318sti]

I am an active duty Navy recruiter, and I can tell you, that not every recruiter is just after their numbers, or doesn't give a damn about the people they put in the Navy. From what you are saying, it sounds like an attrite and re-write is the best option. I just had to do that for one of my guys, he had a high ASVAB score, but didn't meet line scores for SEAL. He couldn't take the ASVAB again until after 6 months since he was already in DEP. So we attrited him/ DEP Discharge, he took the ASVAB, got the score he needed and DEP'd back in. He needs a vision waiver, which were still waiting to hear on, should come back next week, then he can re-class to SO. I wouldn't suggest just stop showing up and not shipping, just tell him what you are, or aren't going to do. I don't suggest shipping as an HM either, you can still leave with your SO contract and you should do it. As far as how an attrite/rewrite works, you get a DEP discharge and then you go back down to meps and do everyting over again, except most of the physical so you shouldn't be down there as long as the first time. What did your recruiter lie to you about on your contract before? I'm not sure what district your in but in Los Angeles, its no big deal to get a DEP Discharge waiver, you just go see the CO and explain the situation. Its not like you just backed out and changed your mind. You have a legitimate injury and need to recover. Hope this helps. Any more questions you can send me an e-mail.

MM2
Michael.L.Alvarez@Navy.mil

[leahy_j]

Thanks Mike, that was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. He never lied to me about my contract, but he lied about a referral I giving to my brother. My brother was in RTC when I DEPed in and I was trying to give him my referral. My recruiter said that I give the referral at RTC, and then I asked him about a month later and he said "no we do that right here in the office"....so the lie wasn't a REAL big deal. My recruiter is a pretty nice guy and so far has been really helpful. He's the Chief in charge of this whole "zone" or whatever you'd call it, so he knows his ****. I'm going to call my SO Mentor and motivators on Monday and talk it over with them, and then I'll talk to my recruiter. Thanks again!

[mike0318sti]

If your trying to be a referral for your brother, your recruiter can still take care of that when your brother gets back from boot camp and "A" school. As long as he hasn't gotten to his first command, before the referral DEPs in.

[leahy_j]

Oh he went to his first command, was deployed and returned already. Thanks anyway

[leahy_j]

Just an update. I got my contract attrited. My recruiter attrited it as a "refusal of obligation" or something. He explained to his chain of command my specific issue and they all supported it. I didn't get a rewrite yet, that way I don't have a deadline for my shins to be fixed. My mentor and zone coordinator both explained my situation to THEIR chain of command as well. All three; my mentor (retired SEAL Master Chief), coordinator (retired EOD Senior Chief), and recruiter (Chief) all volunteered to give me a full recommendation when I go to get a new contract. So I think my contract issue should be all said. Anything I should be concerned about?

[oldswabbie]

Refusal of Obligation? That doesnt sound good... Chief Cacy or Mike may be able to shed some light...

OldSwabbie