You should go talk to a recruiter. I'm not a navy diver but work at a command full of navy divers (Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1).
It's my understanding that Navy Divers are now their own rating (ND) and the school is considered an 'A' school course. That means that if you enlisted you could get the detailer to enlist you as a Navy Diver.
The detailers work at MEPS (Military Entry Processing Station) and would be the ones that you will need to talk to as a part of your enlistment.
First step is to see a recruiter and from there they should send you to MEPS to do the enlistment physical, ASVAB and other bits.
Ensure you get it in writing that you're going to ND class 'A' school after you finish boot camp BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR BOOT CAMP.
I don't think you have to be a Seabee to be a Navy Diver. Keep in mind if you enlist as a Seabee then you'll be an electrician or whatever you get rated as by the detailer and later becoming a Navy Diver would not be as simple as you would have to cross-rate which requires approval. That means even if you submitted a package to cross-rate it could get rejected for whatever reason such as say your current rating was undermanned or if NDs were overmanned. Additionally you wouldn't get the $15,000 enlistment bonus they're currently offering for Navy Divers. If you do enlist as an ND keep in mind you won't see that money until you finish 'A' school and earn your rating as a Navy Diver. From what it looks like underwater construction is a specialty school for Navy Divers, also referred to as a 'C' school. I don't think the detailers can guarantee you a 'C' school, you'd have to get that after already being a Navy Diver and I'm not sure how easy that is to get as I'm not a ND. You can always ask the detailer and try to get it in writing but they may not be able to do that for the 'C' school.
Easier to enlist in the rating that you want.
Not sure how big you are on fitness but Navy Divers are all big on fitness. You could get dropped from ND 'A' school for any number of reasons. You'll need to be able to do the following to complete school for the physical test...
500-yard swim using side- or breaststroke in 14:00 minutes or faster
(10-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 42 push-ups in 2:00 minutes
(2-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 50 sit-ups in 2:00 minutes
(2-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 6 dead-hang pull-ups: no time limit
(10-minute rest)
Run 1.5 miles in 12:45 or faster
Keep in mind test is all done at once, so you swim first then get 10 mins rest, do push-ups, get rest etc... till your done.
Some more info here: http://www.navy.com/about/navylife/onduty/navydiver/requirementsandtests/
One last bit of info, if you get dropped from ND 'A' school you would still be under contract with the Navy and they would probably shuffle you into another rating. You'd also lose any enlistment bonus and may not have that many options to choose from when picking a different rating.
It's my understanding that Navy Divers are now their own rating (ND) and the school is considered an 'A' school course. That means that if you enlisted you could get the detailer to enlist you as a Navy Diver.
The detailers work at MEPS (Military Entry Processing Station) and would be the ones that you will need to talk to as a part of your enlistment.
First step is to see a recruiter and from there they should send you to MEPS to do the enlistment physical, ASVAB and other bits.
Ensure you get it in writing that you're going to ND class 'A' school after you finish boot camp BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR BOOT CAMP.
I don't think you have to be a Seabee to be a Navy Diver. Keep in mind if you enlist as a Seabee then you'll be an electrician or whatever you get rated as by the detailer and later becoming a Navy Diver would not be as simple as you would have to cross-rate which requires approval. That means even if you submitted a package to cross-rate it could get rejected for whatever reason such as say your current rating was undermanned or if NDs were overmanned. Additionally you wouldn't get the $15,000 enlistment bonus they're currently offering for Navy Divers. If you do enlist as an ND keep in mind you won't see that money until you finish 'A' school and earn your rating as a Navy Diver. From what it looks like underwater construction is a specialty school for Navy Divers, also referred to as a 'C' school. I don't think the detailers can guarantee you a 'C' school, you'd have to get that after already being a Navy Diver and I'm not sure how easy that is to get as I'm not a ND. You can always ask the detailer and try to get it in writing but they may not be able to do that for the 'C' school.
Easier to enlist in the rating that you want.
Not sure how big you are on fitness but Navy Divers are all big on fitness. You could get dropped from ND 'A' school for any number of reasons. You'll need to be able to do the following to complete school for the physical test...
500-yard swim using side- or breaststroke in 14:00 minutes or faster
(10-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 42 push-ups in 2:00 minutes
(2-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 50 sit-ups in 2:00 minutes
(2-minute rest)
Perform a minimum of 6 dead-hang pull-ups: no time limit
(10-minute rest)
Run 1.5 miles in 12:45 or faster
Keep in mind test is all done at once, so you swim first then get 10 mins rest, do push-ups, get rest etc... till your done.
Some more info here: http://www.navy.com/about/navylife/onduty/navydiver/requirementsandtests/
One last bit of info, if you get dropped from ND 'A' school you would still be under contract with the Navy and they would probably shuffle you into another rating. You'd also lose any enlistment bonus and may not have that many options to choose from when picking a different rating.
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