U.S. NAVY ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN (ET) BUCKLE

Although they serve in the same general rating as Sailors in the ET, ETV, and ETR ratings, Electronic Technicians Nuclear Power (ETN) have to meet substantially higher eligibility requirements and undergo considerably more training. ETV and ETR Sailors, for instance, are obligated to a five-year enlistment period; by signing on to the ETN rating, on the other hand, Sailors are committing to six years of active duty.
 
Such a requirement is completely understandable given the time and expense that are necessary to train Sailors as technicians responsible for working on nuclear power plants. Indeed, Sailors in the ETN rating are classed into an entirely different group—the Nuclear Field—than their ET counterparts.
 
Along with Sailors seeking to become Nuclear Power Machinist’s Mates (MMN) and Electrician’s Mates Nuclear Power (EMN), ETN aspirants must be less than 25 years of age when they enlist and possess a high-school diploma with at least a year of Algebra under their belts. Further, those who enlist hoping for a career in the Nuclear Field do not get to choose the rating they will be working in. Instead, that determination is made at the Navy Recruiting Center—but those who are selected will enter the Navy at the E3 paygrade, and their advancement to E4 is accelerated as soon as they finish the ETN Class “A” School in Charleston, South Carolina.
 
Until recently, the Navy would deny entry into the Nuclear Field program for any enlistees who had been convicted of using (or known to have used) narcotics, marijuana, inhalants, or other controlled substances. But as of this writing (August 2016), waivers are granted for individuals who would otherwise qualify but at some point prior to their entry into active duty tried marijuana on an experimental basis.