MSC New Hire Questions

I should be starting NEO in about 30 days. I have several question and thank you very much in advance for your advice and guidance. Can we receive FPO mail on the ships and if so what’s the approximate lead time ? Do they sell Nicotine Gum at the Ship Store ? Should I bring an old pair of throw away boots for the BTS fire training…etc… in New Jersey ? Do we receive the “official hire letter” at the completion of NEO or completion of training in New Jersey ? Thank you again for the advice.

[QUOTE=2015;150619]I should be starting NEO in about 30 days. I have several question and thank you very much in advance for your advice and guidance. Can we receive FPO mail on the ships and if so what’s the approximate lead time ? CAN RECEIVE, TIMES VARY Do they sell Nicotine Gum at the Ship Store ? PROBABLY NOT, STOCK-UP Should I bring an old pair of throw away boots for the BTS fire training…etc… in New Jersey ? FF BOOTS ARE PROVIDED Do we receive the “official hire letter” at the completion of NEO or completion of training in New Jersey ? USED TO GET ONE BEFORE NEO Thank you again for the advice.[/QUOTE]

That’s how I remember it, (not too long ago)

Jeffrox, Thank you sir for the info.

[QUOTE=2015;150619]I should be starting NEO in about 30 days. I have several question and thank you very much in advance for your advice and guidance. Can we receive FPO mail on the ships and if so what’s the approximate lead time ? Do they sell Nicotine Gum at the Ship Store ? Should I bring an old pair of throw away boots for the BTS fire training…etc… in New Jersey ? Do we receive the “official hire letter” at the completion of NEO or completion of training in New Jersey ? Thank you again for the advice.[/QUOTE]

I assume you will be in MSC / PM1. Everybody assumes there is one MSC. In fact , MSC is divided into several different segments, which PM1 ( the Naval Auxiliary segment) most people know of. Your going to NEO in Norfolk and they will explain this while your there. That is ALL you will be using to get mail is FPO addresses. Your name/ Ship Name/ FPO AE/ Zip. You will be an East Coast sailor and need to request the West Coast transfer (if you prefer West coast). Takes about a year to get. Trust me, West is the best. Mail takes about two weeks to find you. That is always subject to ships schedule and so many other things.

If you even have a ship store operator qualified and granted permission to run the ship store, it will have that Nicoret stuff if there is demand for it. People either smoke or they don’t. I don’t meet many in betweens. You can bring all you want. MSC ship stores are run buy people that are not paid to do it. At least that was the case a few years ago before I left MSC. I think they got a portion of the profit I guess. Many times I wanted some junk food and the store was not open.

Sure, bring what you want to Jersey. If your riding the bus up there, space is limited to what you can put in the hold. I drove up there, so I brought what I wanted and had transportation while there. Hire letter? I don’t remember all that. They called and said be in Norfolk at this date. We did all the stuff that week and it was on. The main thing you have to remember is that your on a year probation. They will drill that in your brain at NEO, “We can fire you for the least little thing for a year, because after that your ass is guaranteed a job for life”! Yeah, I got stories, LOL!

[QUOTE=2015;150619]I should be starting NEO in about 30 days. I have several question and thank you very much in advance for your advice and guidance. Can we receive FPO mail on the ships and if so what’s the approximate lead time ? Do they sell Nicotine Gum at the Ship Store ? Should I bring an old pair of throw away boots for the BTS fire training…etc… in New Jersey ? Do we receive the “official hire letter” at the completion of NEO or completion of training in New Jersey ? Thank you again for the advice.[/QUOTE]

Just bring safety shoes for the fire fighting training. They have boots.

MSC ship stores are smallish and tend to have only a preset variety of goods.
I worked there ten years and maybe bought something out the ship store 20 times, and that usually a hat or Zippo with the name of the ship on it.
But they have small toiletries and things you might use.
Feel free to bring anything special you enjoy like an E reader, books, gum or a brand of razor you like.
It’s not like you’re going to the moon. You will be able to go ashore and get stuff, well at least every 90 days or so … in a worst case forward deployed scenario, and that isn’t so common anymore.

If you decide you cannot deal with that, well, the gangway goes both ways …
It should be good.
Don’t buy into BS. Eyes open, mouth shut, learn, enjoy the experience and bank some coin.

Thank you gentlemen for the new-hire advice.