YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy has launched a new recruiting program that offers sailors almost three years on terra firma and an associate’s degree before they join the fleet.
The Accelerate to Excellence program allows select recruits to earn an associate’s degree in industrial management technology with emphasis in electronics engineering technology.
“This program continues the Navy’s emphasis on post-secondary education for sailors,” said Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Braun, a spokeswoman for Commander, Navy Recruiting Command. “Additionally, the program seeks to bring in better educated and qualified sailors into critical technical fields.”
Participants in the pilot program will attend a community college of their choice for two semesters before actually joining the Navy. They do not drill or report to any official chain of command.
During this time, the Navy doesn’t pay for tuition or books, but it does provide a $475 monthly stipend to help defray expenses.
After completing two semesters of college, A2E recruits attend boot camp. Then, the newly minted sailors report to the Navy’s Air Technical Training Center, in Pensacola, Fla., where they attend skills training — “A” school — for the job they signed up for.
Next, the credits they earned before basic training and those earned during “A” School are combined and rolled over into one of the two qualifying degree programs at Florida Community College in Jacksonville, where the sailors complete the remaining classes needed to earn their associate of science, or A.S., degree.
Accelerate to Excellence, or A2E, will be tested for the next three years, the projected length of time it will take recruits to complete their first year of college, ship to boot camp and complete the final phases of the program, Braun said.
For now, A2E is open only to the aviation support equipment technician, aviation machinist mate, aviation structural mechanic, aviation electricians mate and aviation electronics technician ratings.
“If the program proves successful, CNRC will look into expanding it to other technical fields in the future,” Braun said. “Limiting the rating choices in the initial pilot allows for careful monitoring of the program.”
Currently, the program is offered only to recruits in Texas and Florida.
The program is budgeted for $4,750 in stipends for each participant, plus the cost of books, which is currently estimated at $2,500 for the last semester at Florida Community College.
The program is only available to new recruits, but fleet sailors were more than happy to share their opinions about the program.
“It sounds like a great idea to me,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Jones, an operations specialist stationed aboard the Yokosuka-based cruiser USS Cowpens. He’s taking classes during his off-duty hours through the University of Maryland University College.
“Before you even get to the fleet, you could have your degree,” Jones said. “That way, you would be able to focus on learning and doing your job.”
But not everyone thinks an education makes the sailor.
“Seamen belong on ships, and airmen should start their careers in the Line Shack,” Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Consolver, sailor of the year for Electronic Attack Squadron 141 in Whidbey Island, Wash., wrote in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.
“Let the kids learn the basics of seamanship and the aircraft that will be their bread and butter,” he said. “I would much rather go to sea with someone who knows the ship than someone who can spell-check me.”
Basic requirementsRecruit eligibility requirements for the program include:
Carrying at least a 2.8 high school GPA.
A score of 50 or higher on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test.
Meeting the ASVAB composite scores for the specific job description, or rating, chosen.
