Program Overview
Reactor Operators are the personell responsible for the electronic equipment and those who control basic reactor operation, such as start-up, steady-state, and shut-down. Electrical Operators oversee and maintain the ship's electrical distribution system and electrical machinery. Mechanical Operators work with the turbines, gears, pumps, and valves in the power plant. All three rates work together to safely operate a Naval nuclear power plant.
While in Recruit Training (boot camp), you will be assigned a rate. Available rates are Electronics Technician (ET), Electrician's Mate (EM), and Machinist's Mate (MM). The ET performs the Reactor Operator (RO) functions in a nuclear power plant, the EM is the Electrical Operator (EO), and the MM is the Mechanical Operator (MO). There are no known criteria as to being assigned a specific rate, but you can be guaranteed Machinist's Mate if you so choose. It is not possible to be guaranteed any rate other than MM, and if you are not guaranteed a rate, you have about as much chance of getting one as getting another.
After graduating from RTC Great Lakes, you will be flown to NNPTC Orlando, Florida. You will be met at the Orlando International Airport by a duty driver who will take you to the base and help you check in there. You will be assigned a barracks room and explained some of the basic rules of the command, then released for the day or sent to work at menial tasks ("smurfing" as it is called) such as general cleaning of grounds or buildings. You will be assigned an A School class and a section advisor, who will meet with you in your first few days at the command and explain more about life in Orlando. If you are not immediately placed into a new class, you will continue to "smurf" until your class begins. Usually, classes in NFAS start every week.
The true purpose of Nuclear Field A School is to teach you how to learn. Keep this in mind and you should do well. The material itself is not extremely difficult; much of it you may have seen in high school. You will take the following courses:
Soon before graduation from NFAS, you will be given the opportunity to sign a 12 month extension to your enlistment in return for automatic advancement to paygrade E-4. You have the choice whether to accept this offer, so consider it wisely. If you choose to be advanced, as most persons do, that ceremony will be integrated with the graduation ceremony from NFAS.
After graduation you will spend more time "smurfing," waiting for the next Nuclear Power School class to begin. Classes in NPS are generally spaced about 6 weeks apart. While awaiting a new class, you will attend a week-long Personal Responsibility, Values, Eduacation, and Training (PREVENT) course - classes on drug and alcohol abuse and training on such topics as sexual harassment. Also during this time you will be granted "grad leave": 10 days vacation, normally from Friday of one week to the Monday of the following week.
When NPS begins, you will notice immediately that the pace of learning has increased dramatically. In addition, the complexity of the material increases, demanding more hours of study than did NFAS. A typical NFAS student may spend 10 hours a week studying and doing homework; a typical NPS student will spend 25-30 hours. Notice that these hours are in addition to the 45 hours of instruction a week and must therefore take place during the late afternoon, evening, or morning before school. Note also that these are approximations, some students may need less extra hours and many students require more. Subjects in Nuclear Power School are as follows:
In addition, there are specific courses given to each rate which teach in-rate and cross-rate material. These courses are as follows:
After graduation from 26 week-long NPS, you will check out of the NNPTC Orlando, go on leave, and transfer to prototype. The Nuclear Prototype Training Units and Moored Traning Ships are functional nuclear power plants, operated by students under supervision and instruction of staff. When operating in the plant, the student to staff ratio is 1:1. The object of prototype is to learn how to qualify. Qualification is an integral part of your job in the Navy, and this school teaches you how to do that. For the most part, you study at your own pace, learning systems and procedures in whatever order you want, as long as you complete them all in the time allowed. It is here where staff pick-ups (SPU), Engineering Laboratory Technicians (ELT, the personnel responsible for chemistry and radiological controls), and Welders are chosen. Only persons who are Mechanical Operators are selected for ELT and Welder. The exact numbers of each type chosen depend on availability and the needs of the Navy, and change frequently. Also at this command you will fill out your "dream sheet," the input you give to your detailer concerning what type of ship or submarine you would like to be stationed on in the Fleet and/or the home port you would like. Again, selection depends largely on availability. After graduation, you receive your NEC, the four digit number that identifies you as being nuclear-trained. I stress the point here that UNLESS YOU GRADUATE from prototype, you are NOT nuclear-trained. Also after graduation, you are entitled to your Navy College Fund or enlistment bonus, whichever is in your enlistment document. You will receive orders to your new command and transfer there, most often taking leave enroute. Normally you are given 20-30 days in which to make the transition. You will arrive at your permanent duty station as a fully trained nuclear operator and join the U.S. Navy Fleet for the remainder of your enlistment.