Can you leave base after navy boot camp graduation?

Answer 1

You're usually granted a 24 hour liberty after your graduation ceremony and before you ship out. After that, you typically will receive a week or two of leave before your next assignment, which is typically your first A school for most. Of course it all depends on Navy scheduling and requirements, but once you're a bonafide sailor, you're just like any other working stiff in the Navy, albeit an unqualified one. You're subject to the liberty and leave regulations of any other sailor, and like anyone else, must request it and have it approved. Typically though they grant you time to go home and show yourself off to friends and family - good PR. I actually did a couple of weeks with my old Recruiter after Submarine School - many years ago.

Answer 2

NO! You will not get leave no matter what you may hear. You will receive about 3 days of liberty, which means you can leave in the morning and will have to come back at night. You will get liberty right after you graduate on Saturday, then you will have Sunday and Monday for liberty also. You will fly out sometime on Tuesday (likely extremely early in the morning).

Answer 3

No you cant just quit, your not officially held to your contract until after you finish the crucible at the end of recruit training. You will either do your time or get kicked out unless something medical comes up.

Answer 4

Not easily, and most people who do regret the decision for the rest of their lives.

Essentially, once you sign the contract and enlist, you're a government employee, and they don't willingly let go without a price to you. It's important to note that Boot is a weeding out process though - they don't want to retain anyone who isn't qualified to be there. However, whimping out isn't considered a viable excuse.

To do so, you'd have to retain legal counsel and prove to the Navy that you're not qualified to enlist, or your legal status has changed. This can be dicey, since it puts you in the position of possible fraud should you tell them something later that you didn't on your entrance tests. Same with any medical "problems" you might come up with - pretty much anything that'll disqualify you, save for a major accident or being struck by lightning, would've been found on your entrance physical, so admitting to a known disqualifying medical problem they didn't find and you didn't admit is fraud. In any case, they're going to verify your claim, and if it doesn't pan out, it's attempted fraud.

Wil they prosecute? Not likely, but you'll lose any slot you had for your rate school, and you could wind up as a nobody somewhere you don't want to be. They'll probably just give you an other than honorable discharge, and that in itself has to be explained down the road in your life should you want any job worth mentioning. Of course if you prefer a job with a nametag, then you're good.

Essentially what you're contemplating is breaking a legal contract between you and the government, and the government isn't going to let you go on your terms. As I said, it can be done, but not without a legal and psychological cost to you down the road in your life.

Boot Camp isn't that bad - it was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had in my life. The key to getting through the BS is just to remember it's a mind game - the whole purpose is to weed out those who can't function as team players very well or not at all. If you made it through Kindergarten and High School (and you must have or they wouldn't take you) then Boot will be simple by comparison. Later on, once you get to the fleet after schooling, it's an experience you'll never regret.

I won't sugarcoat the stresses of Navy life, but any job afterward will be simple in comparison. And if you understand how to navigate and play the game (which everyone eventually does) you can make it work for you rather than the other way around.

I have an old friend of mine who I bailed out on more than one occasion (he was a perennial screwup) who turned out to be one of the best game-players I've ever known. He knew better than I did how to navigate the system and make it work for him. Once he found his way, he eventually made Chief and retired - as a Recruiter no less.

If you're wondering where it might lead you, check my bio page for a glimpse. Granted, I've paid a price, as many sailors do, but the things I've done and seen were worth it. Don't rob yourself of that experience.

Answer 5

no