Getting stationed in the Navy

[Melbatoast]

I don't know how things are going for postings out of QL3 school now, but a few years ago my trade was heavily biased toward Halifax, no matter what your personal situation was.  We had a 43 year old family man from BC, who had an 18 year old daughter in grade 12, get posted East.  In fact there were only two West Coast postings from my course, and zero on the following course.  I franky feel it's similar these days because I don't notice a lot of Ordinary Seaman SONARs out here.  The other operator trades were similar.  I suspect NWT and NET would be a little more blanced due to desperate straits with regard to people needed on either coast.

We've had a couple of guys come back after spending some time in HFX, including the older guy, but it took a lot of lobbying on their parts.  Rare changes, and one is posted to FAP and the other got stuck on the 280 (worthless postings IMO, as they are career death for sonarmen).

 

[CallOfDuty]

  Hey Navy_blue.....why would an ET get moved to Ottawa?

 

[aesop081]

  Hard sea trades don't tend to move much why not put them where they are happy?

Because you will NEVER make EVERYONE happy.  There will always be someone bitching about their posting.........ALWAYS.

Everyone who joins should know that they will end up where the military wants them.  THATS THE BOTTOM LINE. I have been posted to 5 different bases in 13 years.  I graduated navigation school in 2005 and was posted to Greenwood, NS ( my kids live in Alberta). 2 months after arriving in Greenwood , i was posted AGAIN to Comox.  This is the life everyone choses when they join the military. I have said it many time son this site, if you canot handle the way it works , get a job civy side.  If you should stay in the military long enough and get promoted to CWO/CPO1, you may one day find yourself employed as career manager and then it will be you having to make tough decisions on posting people where they do not wish to go. At the low end of the totem pole ladies and gent, you only see a fraction of what goes on in the career shop and you are not aware of all the issues that usualy come up before a name gets put to a position.  Therefore, without all the facts, all your complaining about your posting is nothing more than bitching.

 

[Navy_Blue]

Again There is no where to send a Jr NCM ET other than HFX or EQM.  Until I reach some high rank they can't afford to shift our people around anymore.  With personnel shortages the way they are they should do everything in there power to make us hard sea trades happy.  You piss people off and we will loose them simple as that.  You can say "fine let them go" but we can't afford it.  The Navy needs everyone it can get.  Sometimes its allot cheaper and easier to make peoples family happy than throw signing bonuses and spec pay at the problem.  Almost every trades manning is looking like an upside down pyramid.  Everyone on top is leaving in five or so years.  The rest of us are being forced to sail more and pushed through training with little experience on the job.  The added pressure is making allot of people release.  I'm in this for the long hall and see this pyramid as a great opportunity but it comes with sacrifices.  In my trade people are getting the QL5's with under three years in.  Two years ago they where putting guys through with 10 years time in.  Of the 12 on my course we're gonna loose 4 maybe 5.  Just because of this stress from being constantly pushed through.  They are all gonna re-muster to "easier" trades.  We can't take those losses.  NET's are coming off the courses in droves.  They joined to sail not sit in the CF's anal school system for 3+ years.   Again our situation is allot different than the Airforce and the Army.  If I joined the Army I would expect to move often I joined the Navy to keep my family in one spot.  From the way it looks now I'm not moving anywhere except out to sea.

 

[Melbatoast]

Again There is no where to send a Jr NCM ET other than HFX or EQM.

This isn't completely accurate.  The Sonar trade has a large number of shore billets across the continent - 35? - for Killicks (Whidbey Island being the major one, but others as well).  And despite the tons of free money that gets thrown at you, including now full IR benefits, no one wants to go.  It's crazy.

There are a number of billets opening in Ottawa for other junior ops trades due to this Canada Command stuff, too, according to the career managers.  5 per trade if I recall correctly.

But yeah, everyone initially spends four years or so in HFX or ESQ, for sure.  And most other trades have no where else to go, but you get what I'm saying... :-X

 

[Seaman_Navy]

I just have a question for you. I'm gonna start my QL 3 NCI op soon and I want to know how far in the course you know where you will be posted. I guess it's at the end, but it is possibly a little bit before the end of the course so you can prepare to move or find an appartment if you stay on the west coast? What happened for you guys?

 

[Navalsnpr]

As for cost of living, PLD (Posting Living Differential), is usually a good indicator on the differences in cost of living between two areas.... Before anyone jumps down my throat... notice I said usually!!!

The Halifax rate did indeed increase from last year, however Victoria/Esquimalt did not.

• HALIFAX/374/280/1 OCT 05
• VICTORIA-ESQUIMALT/464/348/NO CHANGE

The cost of living has been on a steady rise in Halifax but I can't comment on the status of the cost of living out West.

As for Posting Preferences, ensure that you let your Career Manager, Chain of Command and Orderly Room know what your preferences are and any circumstances that would lead to a deterioration of your quality of life are as well. IE. sick family member, joint/shared custody arrangement etc.

As was stated earlier in this thread, and as it will be always stated at your Career Manager's Briefing... Service Requirements are the # one Priority of the Career Manager. They will try and help when they can and when they are kept informed!!

 

[Melbatoast]

The cost of living has been on a steady rise in Halifax but I can't comment on the status of the cost of living out West.

The PLD adjustment is a result of some sort of weird averaging across the country, and doesn't really reflect reality.  Living in Victoria is very expensive - if you make less than 100k a year (household) you will not own a home in Victoria itself, full stop.  Even then you will be tight - average home price has got to be near 500k.  A half decent condo is around 200k in the city, and they're asking that for nice ones in Langford.  Even Sooke and beyond are getting ridiculous, and the Olympics are only going to make it worse.  Lots of people live in Duncan, which remains (relatively) inexpensive but couldn't be more inconvenient.

I just have a question for you. I'm gonna start my QL 3 NCI op soon and I want to know how far in the course you know where you will be posted. I guess it's at the end, but it is possibly a little bit before the end of the course so you can prepare to move or find an appartment if you stay on the west coast? What happened for you guys?

It depends.  Sometimes they know early on in the course, sometimes it will be the last month.  Don't sweat it, as you'll have time to get your stuff together. 

The schools try to schedule your NETP course after your QL3, too, so that's at least 5 weeks to get your affairs in order.

I was an oddball in that I did my OSQAB (old style NETP) before my QL3, so by rights I should have been out of Nelles block right after my QL3.  But I had two weeks of block leave afterward and didn't do anything but sit around because I'm a terrible procrastinator.  Then my ship started sailing relentlessly as soon as I was posted, leaving me with no real time to look for a place.  I'd come back from sea to find notes on my bed from Base Accomodation telling me to get out - had to have happened at least half a dozen times.

At any rate, I finished QL3 at about the end of July and didn't move out of Nelles until October 1st 

 

[RowdyBowdy]

I just have a question for you. I'm gonna start my QL 3 NCI op soon and I want to know how far in the course you know where you will be posted. I guess it's at the end, but it is possibly a little bit before the end of the course so you can prepare to move or find an appartment if you stay on the west coast? What happened for you guys?

My QL3 we didnt find out untill the last few weeks but other people in other trades seemed to find out much earlier in their course.  No one really had any problems.

 

[Sepulchrave]

The PLD adjustment is a result of some sort of weird averaging across the country, and doesn't really reflect reality.  Living in Victoria is very expensive - if you make less than 100k a year (household) you will not own a home in Victoria itself, full stop.  Even then you will be tight - average home price has got to be near 500k.  A half decent condo is around 200k in the city, and they're asking that for nice ones in Langford.  Even Sooke and beyond are getting ridiculous, and the Olympics are only going to make it worse.  Lots of people live in Duncan, which remains (relatively) inexpensive but couldn't be more inconvenient.

So what is the rental market like? I'll need a 1 bedroom apartment in a few months.

 

[Melbatoast]

So what is the rental market like? I'll need a 1 bedroom apartment in a few months.

Depends where you want to live.  You can live for cheap in Esquimalt proper, around $600/mo for a one bedroom.  In nicer areas you're looking at around $750 to $850.  My building is a condo-style complex, and I pay just over $1000 for a one bedroom plus den.  I live sort of near UVic (actually down the street from Camosun College Landsdowne).

The rental market is really tight, with very few vacancies, so make sure you look early!  Don't discount basement suites, either.

 

[S McPhee]

Is it unheard of for someone in the Navy to be stationed in the same city for there entire career?  I know that is definitely not the norm, but I was wondering if it does/can happen.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

I know of people that have been here in Halifax for 20-25 years, you will just move from ship to ship and any shore based unit.

 

[Melbatoast]

Yeah once you have a Home Port Division, you are more than likely going to stay with it for your career unless you want a change (and we've been getting a number of returnees from Halifax lately).  There are exceptions in some trades (NAVCOMMs can go to reserve units as Masters, SonarOps can go to Whidbey Island as killicks, etc) and some ranks (as a PO2 you are in the zone for a possible posting to Ottawa), but you can bet on a number of continuous years wherever you are homeported.  There's enough disturbance at home with 200 days a year at sea, you don't need to be uprooting your family every three years as well, is what I suspect the reasoning is.  And I don't disagree!

I do believe officers are quite different and can go from coast to coast, but don't quote me on that.

 

[S McPhee]

What role does the Navy play in Ottawa or why is there Navy postings there?  I couldn't help but wonder about this one.....

 

[FSTO]

Ottawa is where the Chief of Maritime Staff is located. That is the place where the paper pushing Navy is located. In the officer world it is populated by a few Lt(N) (they know where the coffee machine is located and where the best Tim Horton donuts can be found), tons of  LCdr's (who actually make the coffee and buy the donuts) a plethora of Commanders and Captain (N) (who deliver the coffee to the Flag Officers) and then rounded out by Commodore's, and Rear Admirals whose only job is to make the Vice Admiral a very happy man when he is flooded with coffee and his face is glazed with donut paste.
On the NCM side there are only a few Petty Officer1st Class and Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class who stand around and laugh at the officers.

(Seriously, there are many interesting and vital jobs to the Navy in Ottawa)

 

[NCRCrow]

Jobs for NESOPs in Ottawa:
CFEWC
NEWC
J2 Imagery
LEITRIM (JIFIC)

 

[navymich]

If you are looking for decently priced accomodations in Victoria-area, and you have dependents living with you, don't forget about the PMQ's (can't comment on the ones in Hfx, as it has been years since I have been there).  You will find alot of people badmouth the Q's, but the people living in them have changed.  Used to be that you lived there because it was all you could afford, now you live there 'cause you want to.  Great starter places to as you are trying to get oriented to a new city.

And if you happen to get posted to the opposite coast that you want, work on word-of-mouth to fellow tradesman where you want to be.  I've seen it happen where you are allowed to switch spots.

 

[Collin.t]

I know this is a very old topic, but when it comes to Victoria, James bay has good appartments at a decent price, my studio was 635$/month and that was in 2004. A friend of mine had a basement one bedroom apt, with a huge living room for 500$ and about 50 meters from Dallas road. Downtown on Herald st. there were loft apts being built and going for 800$ a month. I know today the prices must be a little bit more expensive but with the salary those price were ok.

www.mls.ca and www.craigslist.com are good place to look for accomodation. You will find something if you want to and are not extremely picky. Took me an hour to find a place and sign for it.

 

[tasop_999]

A good place to search for rental property in Victoria is at www.brownbros.com.  This company is one of the major rental management companies in Victoria and they have a pretty good reputation.. I lived in one of their buildings for five years.