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If you ask random people on the street to close their eyes and imagine a United States Sailor, more likely than not, the image that pops into their head is of an undesignated Sailor, commonly called “undes.” Young kids, fresh out of high school aimlessly painting the hull of a ship, monotonously swabbing a deck, or on their hands and knees cleaning heads. If you ask those Sailors why they joined the Navy, they might tell you “I didn’t know what job to pick,” or “The job I wanted wasn’t available,” or maybe it was just the only option they had.
While the outer shell of this image may have some truth to it, after all undes Sailors do find themselves painting, swabbing, and cleaning relatively often – the image does not show the hard work put in every day, the drive to succeed in an environment that makes it hard to stand out, and the ability to endure what is affectionately known as “the suck.” These attributes are what define an undesignated Sailor, and help mold them into the Navy’s leaders of tomorrow.
Whether rated or undesignated, the journey of every enlisted Sailor starts with a recruiter. “Get paid to travel the world while learning practical and applicable skills to use later in life” is what they say to entice future Sailors. However, this comes with the first big decision every Sailor needs to make – what rating to choose. There are over 90 ratings to choose from, ranging from culinary specialists who make food for the crew to fire controlmen who operate the various weapon systems on the ship. This choice can be overwhelming, especially for an 18-year-old coming out of high school.
“I didn’t know which rating to pick, so I chose undes,” said Seaman John Maciel, an undesignated Seaman aboard aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).
The Professional Apprenticeship Career Track (PACT) program gives undesignated Sailors three years to try out any rating they are interested in without having to commit to it until they are positive it is what they want to do.
“I have been able to participate in a bunch of cool evolutions, such as line-handling and [underway replenishments],” said Maciel. “People think being able to drive the ship is really cool and I get to do that pretty much every day.”
But with every decision comes a bit of give and take. The Navy gives undes Sailors the chance to experience everything the ship has to offer, but everything the ship has to offer includes doing the less glamorous jobs as well. Someone needs to chip the paint and swab the deck, as they are vital jobs that need to be done and that is where undes Sailors come in.
“The recruiter and detailer tell you that you can do this job or that job, but it’s a bit of a double-edged sword,” said Chief Religious Program Specialist Joshua Selvidge. “You can do it; you just have to be proficient as a deck Sailor first, which takes a lot of work.”
Selvidge started his Navy career with a special warfare contract but in boot camp decided to no longer pursue special warfare. He realized he wanted to become a hospital corpsman – his true passion was helping people. However, when he went to speak with the detailer he was told undesignated was his only option. Even though being undesignated was not ideal, Selvidge soon found out how he could take advantage of the opportunity to continue his passion for helping others.
“Pick a career you are interested in. I wanted to help people so I tried to be a corpsman. That didn’t work out, so I found a career that allows me to help people spiritually and morally.”
Being a religious program specialist has allowed Selvidge to follow his passion, but it wasn’t an easy road to get there.
“It’s not easy being an undes Sailor. You are worked hard and expected to meet the ship’s mission first before working on your personal career.”
The ship’s mission is the No. 1 priority for all ratings in the Navy, but it is especially important for the undesignated Sailors. Their contribution to the ship’s mission is not as stringently defined as it is for other Sailors, which means each undes Sailor needs to actively search out and find a way to contribute to the overarching goal of the ship.
“I learned how to get qualified quickly. As an undes sailor the most important thing you can do is figure out how to contribute to the ship’s mission – and that means being as qualified as you can be.”
Since Sailors are only allowed to be undesignated for three years and they cannot advance past the E-3 pay grade, getting qualified not only sets them up for success later in their careers, but is also one of the few ways they can separate themselves from their peers.
“If you build yourself as a great undes Sailor first, you will find success in any rate you end up in,” said Selvidge.
Since undes Sailors work all over the ship for many different departments, they end up experiencing more leadership styles than most Sailors experience during their entire career in the Navy. Selvidge attributes some of his success in the Navy to characteristics and leadership traits he picked up early on in his career as an undesignated Sailor.
“As an undes Sailor, you will experience significantly more leaders than those Sailors that are just in a single department,” said Selvidge. “That allows undes Sailors to see leadership traits that they like and take with them, or see traits they don’t like and they can make sure they don’t make those mistakes when they are in a leadership role.”
This system of cherry-picking traits and qualities allows undes Sailors to develop a solid leadership foundation for later on in their careers if they become chief petty officers, or apply to be warrant or commissioned officers.
Lt. Ilia “Rock” Reyes is currently a pilot for Helicopter Marine Strike Squadron (HSM) 77 attached to Ronald Reagan, but he started his career as an undesignated airman. Ever since Reyes joined the Navy, he knew that he wanted to be a pilot, but when he was coming out of college the available pilot slots were slim to none. Instead of tossing in the towel and giving up on that dream, he took the risk of going undesignated to improve the strength of his officer package.
“I took a gamble going undesignated because everyone knows you could end up anywhere; I got lucky and ended up with a squadron,” said Reyes.
Even though Reyes was only undesignated for a short time before being picked up for Officer Candidate School (OCS), he believes that his experience allows him to appreciate what the undesignated Sailor contributes to the ship in a different way than other Sailors.
“Officers that haven’t been undesignated before tend to only see the result of the work. They don’t know about the blood, sweat and tears that go into keeping the ship running because they didn’t get to experience it firsthand,” said Reyes.
Someone could easily see a Sailor chipping paint and think that their job is non-essential; however, Reyes sees every contribution, no matter how small, as an essential one to the ship’s mission.
“The job of undes is incredibly important to the overall mission,” said Reyes. “Look at the line shack. Some people just see Sailors washing a helicopter. I see Sailors preventing corrosion and keeping my helicopter mission-ready so I can fly each and every day.”
Even if some tasks may feel small or inconsequential, Reyes makes sure to go out of his way to let his undesignated Sailors know that everything they do is not only recognized, but is also vital to allowing him fly every day.
“For undes, it is all about the little victories,” said Reyes. “Daily tasks may seem unimportant, but they all add up. So, I make sure to thank them whenever I can for letting me go up and fly.”
While the life of an undesignated Sailor is not glamorous – or particularly easy – it does offer incredible opportunities for the Sailors willing to put in the extra work and take advantage of their unique situation. Maciel summed it up best, “There is not much you can do to prepare yourself for undes, but undes does a lot to prepare you for everything else.”
| Date Taken: | 08.04.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2021 09:23 |
| Story ID: | 411922 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 466 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Navy Runs on Un-des, by PO2 Gray Gibson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
