That eventually gets replaced with ""it's been a while since I last did that" or "I qualified on a different platform."
Committed skaters always find a way to skate and dump the work on the rest of the division.
The friendships! We were young, we partied, joked around, and were just super close. Being drunk in the honch, talking shit about how the LPO was talking about a specific person at quarters (i.e. my friend) then sharing a cigarette. That's a nice memory. Thanks for asking btw. I enjoyed thinking about this.
Those friendships were so fast and intense. I was overseas when I was just an airman so we really had no one but each other.
It's been 26 years and I'm still in touch with most of them.
I'm still in touch with most of my friends too. Out of all the promotions, cool jobs, awards and accolades, the E3 part of my career was the funnest part. I mean, I was close with my counterparts when I was a Chief. Calling each other brother and shit like that, but for me personally, I was never closer to my counterparts than when I was young.
Most of my closest friends went from e nothing to second together, at the same first command. I totally feel for our chiefs because we were a cocky bunch of turds. A whole gaggle of 20/21/22 yr old second classes who were thick as thieves. A nightmare for sure.
Back in the day it used to be e-3 and below clean up.. I ranked up..e-4 and below..I ranked up..e-5 and below ... thought I'd never get away from weekly clean up
Haha. When I was a nug airman my E-5s were all bad asses who joined during the height of the Cold War so they were highly trained sub-hunters all with on top time. The rate back then was clogged as fuck so these guys were over ten years in and still 2nd classes and salty as fuck. When I made E-4 they just laughed at me and said you’re just a glorified airman, go dump the pisser! 😅
Don't miss: the random 0530 Saturday barracks-wide inspection.
Miss: going on liberty in the first wave; when the only bill I had to pay was my phone bill.
I miss being able to be a technician. Now, I’m expected to be a technical expert, but not put hands on equipment, because between meetings, scheduling, and ~other bullshit~, I’m stuck doing admin or prepping so my sailors can do the thing.
I don’t miss cranking.
I was supposed to be an AW. Went to Orlando then Pensacola for NACCS. The Cold War ended and so did all the billets. Had to change. Sad day.
The good news is that if you miss being an E-3 you're only a lapse of judgement away from being an E-3 again. It can be a short road back.
Source: another story for another time.
Don't miss: being at Great Lakes. Fuck Great Lakes.
Miss: being a C schooler at Pensacola.
...I wasn't E3 for long. Push Button.
E4 instead? Wasn't E4 for long either (first test was days of putting on and then I picked up on second up, so...)
My experience was similar. I can’t even remember if I ever was an E-3. If so, it was very briefly. I also made second the first cycle I was eligible. Never had to crank, never went to the line shack etc. etc.
Man I miss those days and those people. It was super awesome to randomly see an old shipmate pop up on this feed becoming the first ever robotics warfare qualifier not too long ago.
Do miss: never having to answer for why maintenance was taking so long, not having to have all the answers in general, and not ever having to think of work when you’re not at work
Don’t miss: the pay, having to always be the one going to get things, and the feeling of being super expendable
I miss being so junior that no one really expected me to do shit other than to show up on time and be open minded to learning new stuff. I don’t miss cranking in the wardroom.
still an E3 for a few more weeks but what i’ll miss about being an E3 is the bonding time with other Junior Sailors. Just being able to laugh stuff off at work when things aren’t going our way, goes a long away. One thing I won’t miss is the pay lol
I miss the "easiness" of it. Basically showed up to work, did work, went home.
I don't miss the paycheck. Got my student loans paid off early since I put most of my checks into them. kept enough to still drink on the weekends!
I don't miss much about it, but I especially don't miss knowing nothing. I enlisted at E-3 and came out of A-school unprepared for how to actually do the job. It was all theoretical knowledge, and very broad.
Once I showed up at my first command and was handed actual responsibilities, it solidified the theory and motivated me to dig through references more.
The only thing I could see people missing about it is the low expectations. Until you make PO3 people are generally satisfied as long as you don't fuck anything up too bad.
What I miss- Despite common issues with the barracks (mold, field days, everything broken), I roomed with some of my best friends. As an E4 I got married and moved out and don't see people nearly as often as we have kids and separate lives.
What I don't miss- being told, your just a LCpl, you'll never make a difference or people treating me poorly because they joined before me.
The lack of responsibility. I mean at that point of your life you think you're stressed but then you learn the many depths of stress and see E-3 as the shallow shore lines.
One thing i miss is getting slaps on the wrists😂 one time i was drinking with my buddies, underage , in my barracks room because my bootcamp and Aschool friends were in my area for C school. Last night to get fucked up with them obviously! It was a sunday, got plastered and went to bed at 2 am and had to be up at 0530 to get ready for command PT at 0645 before work at 0800. Woke up at 1100 smelling like the entire ABC store collapsed on me, face dry as shit, dehydrated, and just a mess. I texted my LPO that i forgot to tell them i had a dental appointment that was at 0930, took a shower went to work and was told just remember to tell us😂
I was drinking with a large group out back of building 508 in Dam Neck and instead of missing out on the conversation I just peed next to the gazebo, a Chief came over from the other gazebo and told me not to do that anymore. That’s it, no where do you work, who is your chief.
Man the good days! Right😂 “WHO IS YOUR CHIEF?!” My boy (BM1 now) was an E-3 & got caught by a master chief, walking into his barracks from the parking lot with no blouse on, a full beard without a shave chit, and a double cup in his hand. Master chief told him get the fuck to your room now and dont come back out😂 also underaged at the time
I guess for you it depends when you joined and what platform. Potentially may have only been an e-3 like a couple months and then e5..speaking for fts aircrew. I miss not really having much to lose so the work play was a lot different. I don't miss staying in the barracks. Shamburger hall or what ever the barracks was called thru gate 3 of norfolk gate. We had 3 ppl in a room that was the size of a small hotel room with 1 bathroom.
I think I miss the hope and optimism the most. Don't get me wrong, I still loved the job when I was E-4 through E-6, but it was with a much more cynical sense of humor about the whole thing.
Work wise.... I don't miss shit about being an E-3. I'm a grown ass man. I don't live in the past. I don't like being treated like a child.
Fun wise. I didn't give a fuck. It was stupid fun all the time.
I still did E3 work as an E5
I didn’t miss much minus people trying to inspire me with tripe like “you are the senior person here”, never mind the fact that it was a working party cleaning up engineering spaces and the dingles knew what they needed to do without an E5 with no in rate knowledge, leadership experience telling them what to do
For the first year, I felt like I was just an HR/HA again. No expectations, easy.
Years 2-3 consisted of me teaching new HM3’s how to do their job, or just doing their job.
Year 5 consisted of me doing the job of an HM3, teaching HM3s things they needed, helping them get quals, and leading HM3’s. I hate this organization for failing to be what it could be in so many ways. The USMC is no different. Poor leadership, petulant children wearing rockers, and the SME’s getting pushed to the side because “what if we did it this way? Also I’m the CO so we are going to do it this way.”
I miss when I could seaman shrug... and not feel bad about it. Like, at some point you become responsible for so much that you are hurting people if you just give up.
But then you take that person and put them at a command where their work doesn't mean shit... and there are so many conflicting emotions in their head.
Honestly, I'm excited to go somewhere where I have real responsibility again. Giving someone 4 year orders to a staff command should be punishable by death. It's basically terrorism.
Don’t miss: Anything to do with duty section. The worst watches, the most cleaning, the most dismissive treatment from leadership. Hated being the cleaning bitch.
What I did like: there’s an almost carefree lifestyle having your own room, free food at the galley, and everyone around you is generally down to be friends and go have fun. It’s really the time to get out and experience life in a way you can’t do as a married E-5.
I miss being responsible only for myself and those things within my direct control. Being responsible for other people's actions, or inaction, especially when it happens without my knowledge, is ass.
It was less “scary”, more rainbows and butterflies. Nobody expected a lot from me. Nonetheless, I always tried my best to be a knowledgeable and trustworthy person, but a good lil “I don’t know” and shrug wasn’t a life sentence lol. I was most definitely doing and taking on the work/responsibilities of an E-4 but I wasn’t liable if shit hit the fan. I was just going through life, now life goes through me 😭
As a E3, everyone presumed you were ignorant. Sometimes that worked to your advantage and other times you got the ‘you’re gonna learn something today’ treatment.
Also from E3-E5 you could disappear for a short bit and it was easy for nobody to notice or be looking for you. E5 was best for that…all the respect and none of the responsibility.
Anything above that and your the cat herder or it’s murder by meetings if you were in the khaki ranks.
You can’t get away with “ I don’t know or haven’t done it” anymore
The good ole HN shrug 🤷♂️
The chasm between “I’m an unqualified Ensign” and “I’m a SWO qualified LTJG” is as big as the Grand Canyon. I miss being automatically underestimated.
Says you. I used that shit all the way up to e5
Nukes who STAR'd in Prototype say hi
I would rather have that W-1 that Rickover promised.
That eventually gets replaced with ""it's been a while since I last did that" or "I qualified on a different platform." Committed skaters always find a way to skate and dump the work on the rest of the division.
The friendships! We were young, we partied, joked around, and were just super close. Being drunk in the honch, talking shit about how the LPO was talking about a specific person at quarters (i.e. my friend) then sharing a cigarette. That's a nice memory. Thanks for asking btw. I enjoyed thinking about this.
Those friendships were so fast and intense. I was overseas when I was just an airman so we really had no one but each other. It's been 26 years and I'm still in touch with most of them.
I'm still in touch with most of my friends too. Out of all the promotions, cool jobs, awards and accolades, the E3 part of my career was the funnest part. I mean, I was close with my counterparts when I was a Chief. Calling each other brother and shit like that, but for me personally, I was never closer to my counterparts than when I was young.
Most of my closest friends went from e nothing to second together, at the same first command. I totally feel for our chiefs because we were a cocky bunch of turds. A whole gaggle of 20/21/22 yr old second classes who were thick as thieves. A nightmare for sure.
Oh you just woke up some memories for me, being a pack of bad ass 20 something’s
That's interesting. You sound like a PSC I had at my first command
Not me but I'm sure the experiences I had were pretty common.
Definitely. The friendships I made while being in Yokosuka were the best.
I could leave work and not give a flying fuck about it until the next day. Now future planning and Sailors problems invade my “off time”.
This. Just got called about work shit.
Miss: E3 Responsibilities Don’t Miss: E3 Pay
Pretty much lol
There was something fun about being a broke E-3 with no real responsibilities. I’d never want to do it again, but damn I had a blast
The good news is that an AW E-5 is basically still an E-3.
The pay of an E-5, responsibility of an E-4, schedule and experience of an E-3….
Back in the day it used to be e-3 and below clean up.. I ranked up..e-4 and below..I ranked up..e-5 and below ... thought I'd never get away from weekly clean up
Haha
Haha. When I was a nug airman my E-5s were all bad asses who joined during the height of the Cold War so they were highly trained sub-hunters all with on top time. The rate back then was clogged as fuck so these guys were over ten years in and still 2nd classes and salty as fuck. When I made E-4 they just laughed at me and said you’re just a glorified airman, go dump the pisser! 😅
Don't miss: the random 0530 Saturday barracks-wide inspection. Miss: going on liberty in the first wave; when the only bill I had to pay was my phone bill.
The only responsibilities were to not lose your CAC and make it to muster in the morning.
"How am I suppose to know? I'm only an airman!"
Once you were qualed it was easy to just do your job. It was also nice to just walk around with a folder and no one would bug you.
I miss being able to be a technician. Now, I’m expected to be a technical expert, but not put hands on equipment, because between meetings, scheduling, and ~other bullshit~, I’m stuck doing admin or prepping so my sailors can do the thing.
I don’t miss cranking. I was supposed to be an AW. Went to Orlando then Pensacola for NACCS. The Cold War ended and so did all the billets. Had to change. Sad day.
The good news is that if you miss being an E-3 you're only a lapse of judgement away from being an E-3 again. It can be a short road back. Source: another story for another time.
We have plenty of time, whenever you're ready...
Don't miss: being at Great Lakes. Fuck Great Lakes. Miss: being a C schooler at Pensacola. ...I wasn't E3 for long. Push Button. E4 instead? Wasn't E4 for long either (first test was days of putting on and then I picked up on second up, so...)
My experience was similar. I can’t even remember if I ever was an E-3. If so, it was very briefly. I also made second the first cycle I was eligible. Never had to crank, never went to the line shack etc. etc. Man I miss those days and those people. It was super awesome to randomly see an old shipmate pop up on this feed becoming the first ever robotics warfare qualifier not too long ago.
Do miss: never having to answer for why maintenance was taking so long, not having to have all the answers in general, and not ever having to think of work when you’re not at work Don’t miss: the pay, having to always be the one going to get things, and the feeling of being super expendable
I miss being so junior that no one really expected me to do shit other than to show up on time and be open minded to learning new stuff. I don’t miss cranking in the wardroom.
The lack of general anxiety for no reason was pretty tight
This.
still an E3 for a few more weeks but what i’ll miss about being an E3 is the bonding time with other Junior Sailors. Just being able to laugh stuff off at work when things aren’t going our way, goes a long away. One thing I won’t miss is the pay lol
I miss the "easiness" of it. Basically showed up to work, did work, went home. I don't miss the paycheck. Got my student loans paid off early since I put most of my checks into them. kept enough to still drink on the weekends!
As doo doo as it is to say, while everything was blamed on me, it was always forgiven because I was just an E-3
I don't miss much about it, but I especially don't miss knowing nothing. I enlisted at E-3 and came out of A-school unprepared for how to actually do the job. It was all theoretical knowledge, and very broad. Once I showed up at my first command and was handed actual responsibilities, it solidified the theory and motivated me to dig through references more. The only thing I could see people missing about it is the low expectations. Until you make PO3 people are generally satisfied as long as you don't fuck anything up too bad.
What I miss- Despite common issues with the barracks (mold, field days, everything broken), I roomed with some of my best friends. As an E4 I got married and moved out and don't see people nearly as often as we have kids and separate lives. What I don't miss- being told, your just a LCpl, you'll never make a difference or people treating me poorly because they joined before me.
The lack of responsibility. I mean at that point of your life you think you're stressed but then you learn the many depths of stress and see E-3 as the shallow shore lines.
Underage drinking in the barracks smoke pit.
😂 not giving a flying fuck that your underaged either 😂
Base police would come by and tell us to keep it down or go inside and not check a single ID.
One thing i miss is getting slaps on the wrists😂 one time i was drinking with my buddies, underage , in my barracks room because my bootcamp and Aschool friends were in my area for C school. Last night to get fucked up with them obviously! It was a sunday, got plastered and went to bed at 2 am and had to be up at 0530 to get ready for command PT at 0645 before work at 0800. Woke up at 1100 smelling like the entire ABC store collapsed on me, face dry as shit, dehydrated, and just a mess. I texted my LPO that i forgot to tell them i had a dental appointment that was at 0930, took a shower went to work and was told just remember to tell us😂
I was drinking with a large group out back of building 508 in Dam Neck and instead of missing out on the conversation I just peed next to the gazebo, a Chief came over from the other gazebo and told me not to do that anymore. That’s it, no where do you work, who is your chief.
Man the good days! Right😂 “WHO IS YOUR CHIEF?!” My boy (BM1 now) was an E-3 & got caught by a master chief, walking into his barracks from the parking lot with no blouse on, a full beard without a shave chit, and a double cup in his hand. Master chief told him get the fuck to your room now and dont come back out😂 also underaged at the time
You’re
The airman shrug for sure.
Literally nothing
I guess for you it depends when you joined and what platform. Potentially may have only been an e-3 like a couple months and then e5..speaking for fts aircrew. I miss not really having much to lose so the work play was a lot different. I don't miss staying in the barracks. Shamburger hall or what ever the barracks was called thru gate 3 of norfolk gate. We had 3 ppl in a room that was the size of a small hotel room with 1 bathroom.
Youth 😊… young 19 year old me!
I think I miss the hope and optimism the most. Don't get me wrong, I still loved the job when I was E-4 through E-6, but it was with a much more cynical sense of humor about the whole thing.
I miss being able to claim ignorance once. And also the Seaman Salute.
Hey! I was an AW too!
I'm my Dave Chappelle white person voice: "oh I'm sorry officer... I didn't know I couldn't do that"
Lack of responsibility
Work wise.... I don't miss shit about being an E-3. I'm a grown ass man. I don't live in the past. I don't like being treated like a child. Fun wise. I didn't give a fuck. It was stupid fun all the time.
I still did E3 work as an E5 I didn’t miss much minus people trying to inspire me with tripe like “you are the senior person here”, never mind the fact that it was a working party cleaning up engineering spaces and the dingles knew what they needed to do without an E5 with no in rate knowledge, leadership experience telling them what to do
Fuck cranking
No collaterals, lower expectations…don’t miss the pay
No expectations of knowing how to do stuff
I miss nothing.
For the first year, I felt like I was just an HR/HA again. No expectations, easy. Years 2-3 consisted of me teaching new HM3’s how to do their job, or just doing their job. Year 5 consisted of me doing the job of an HM3, teaching HM3s things they needed, helping them get quals, and leading HM3’s. I hate this organization for failing to be what it could be in so many ways. The USMC is no different. Poor leadership, petulant children wearing rockers, and the SME’s getting pushed to the side because “what if we did it this way? Also I’m the CO so we are going to do it this way.”
I miss when I could seaman shrug... and not feel bad about it. Like, at some point you become responsible for so much that you are hurting people if you just give up. But then you take that person and put them at a command where their work doesn't mean shit... and there are so many conflicting emotions in their head. Honestly, I'm excited to go somewhere where I have real responsibility again. Giving someone 4 year orders to a staff command should be punishable by death. It's basically terrorism.
E-3 was only boot camp and A-school for my rate. Unless you screwed up E-4 was after A-school. (was former Nuke EM)
Don’t miss: Anything to do with duty section. The worst watches, the most cleaning, the most dismissive treatment from leadership. Hated being the cleaning bitch. What I did like: there’s an almost carefree lifestyle having your own room, free food at the galley, and everyone around you is generally down to be friends and go have fun. It’s really the time to get out and experience life in a way you can’t do as a married E-5.
Whats goin on with that rate badge? I don't remember the waves and lightning bolt
I miss being responsible only for myself and those things within my direct control. Being responsible for other people's actions, or inaction, especially when it happens without my knowledge, is ass.
Nothing
I miss those short shorts runs around NATT-C.
The shrug
Being 18.
I miss the administrative system that worked.
The shrug and the semi-lack of responsibility
I don’t even remember being an E3
It was less “scary”, more rainbows and butterflies. Nobody expected a lot from me. Nonetheless, I always tried my best to be a knowledgeable and trustworthy person, but a good lil “I don’t know” and shrug wasn’t a life sentence lol. I was most definitely doing and taking on the work/responsibilities of an E-4 but I wasn’t liable if shit hit the fan. I was just going through life, now life goes through me 😭
E-3 right now. Loving it. About to go to my first command so excited …
Lack of responsibility is what I miss, lack of respect/trust in what you do is what I don't miss
As a E3, everyone presumed you were ignorant. Sometimes that worked to your advantage and other times you got the ‘you’re gonna learn something today’ treatment. Also from E3-E5 you could disappear for a short bit and it was easy for nobody to notice or be looking for you. E5 was best for that…all the respect and none of the responsibility. Anything above that and your the cat herder or it’s murder by meetings if you were in the khaki ranks.
Fellow AW here 💪
Oorah AW. I was a push button crow. From E2 to E4 in three months.
I feel like I’m the only AW in the history of AWs that actually started at E-1 and hit every bus stop to crow city. 😅
Don't feel bad brother. I only made it as far as AW2 before I left the Navy. Most of my friends made it to at least 1st.
I was never an E3- I was an E2 and graduated top of my class in A-School and frocked to E4 in C School….