What are the Requirements to join the Navy

What is the basic eligibility to join the United States of America Navy as my cousin is interested in applying for the same?

[Kiran Chandar]

To join the US Navy, one must meet certain qualifications and commit to serve a specified amount of time. It must go without saying that the Sailors in the world’s most capable naval force seize themselves to the highest personal standards.

If one is new to the military, one will be expected to meet the following Active Duty service requirements:

AGE
To serve as an Enlisted Sailor, one must be no older than 34 but at least 17 years old. If one is not yet 18, one must have parental consent. To serve as an Officer, one must be no older than 35 but at least 19 years old depending on the program desired.

CITIZENSHIP
To serve as an Enlisted Sailor, one must be a U.S. citizen or, if one is a non-citizen, one may join the Navy if one has entered the United States on a permanent residence visa or have an Alien Registration Green Card as well as have
1) Time-honoured a bona fide residence, and
2) Recognized a home of record in the United States. To serve as an Officer, one must be a U.S. citizen.

FAMILY
One can enlist or join the Navy if one is a single parent; but note, the Navy will generally not allow one to enlist or join if one has more than two dependents under the age of 18.

FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS
In certain cases, one must prove that one can meet the current financial obligations.

EDUCATION
normally speaking, one must be a high school graduate, have earned a GED or have met other high school equivalency needs to enlist as a Sailor in the Navy. To become an Officer, one must have received a 4-year BS or BA degree from an accredited university and have strong grades.

DRUG/ALCOHOL POLICY
The Navy has a zero acceptance for drug/alcohol policy. Early in the enlistment or commissioning procedure, one will take 2 urinalysis tests. One is also asked questions about prior drug and alcohol use.

MEDICAL/LEGAL/MORAL STANDARDS
The Navy also applies medical, legal as well as character standards to the application, including traffic offence history, criminal history, citizenship status and more.

Here are some important details one wants to know when considering service in the Navy:

SERVICE COMMITMENT
The amount of time one is required to serve on Active Duty depends upon numerous factors, including the interests, the background, the pursuit of an Officer or Enlisted position, or whether or not one is taking advantage of Navy education opportunities.

In general:
Enlisted positions characteristically require an initial service commitment of 4 years (positions involving longer-term training may involve longer service obligations).
Officer positions classically require an initial service commitment of three to five years (again positions involving longer-term training may involve longer service obligations).

ENLISTED BASIC TRAINING
If one has never served in the military before and are entering as an Enlisted Sailor, one will need to first attend Recruit Training – also known as Boot Camp.

OFFICER TRAINING
Unless one is entering as an Officer through certain college options programs (namely the Naval Academy or NROTC), if one have never served in the military the he will need to attend an Officer training course – Officer Candidate School (OCS) or Officer Development School (ODS) – depending upon the background. Depending on the career field, one may also attend additional specialty schooling at a later date.