Am I reading this DOD Manpower Report correct, SAM Sea Air Mariner enlistment was drawing down and only 1000 had this enlistment?

https://www.ida.org/-/media/feature/publications/e/ev/evolution-of-the-militarys-current-activereserve-force-mix/d-4968.ashx

By the end of the Cold War, this scenario had become obsolete. In the case of ships, as the size of the fleet declined, the Navy moved to a policy of fully manning all its ships so that these ships would not require RC augmentation in the event of war. In addition, the problems of maintaining ships in standby status with part-time personnel and the impracticality of rotating part-time personnel to deployed units made employing reservists, other than full-time support (FTS) personnel, to operate ships unworkable, and the Navy Reserve Fleet (NRF) disappeared.”

“To backfill the petty officers who went to the fleet, the Navy initiated the Sea/Air Mariner (SAM) program to attract new recruits to the Naval Reserve by offering tuition assistance. However, this program proved unsuccessful because its benefits and 6-year obligation compared unfavorably with Army and Air Force programs.66”

So what if you had an enlistment that was no longer wanted and a duty assignment that was also drawing down?

So thanks for checking in and caring to ask. Good question maybe you can help me figure out what my main goal would be posting this on all sorts of military sites. I was oringally hoping to find other SAM Enlisted assigned to FFGs. I thought well surely there are hundreds. The internet would allow us to connect share stories. It would of been irregular and rare if I found only hundreds of SAMs on FFGs on the internet considering there are about 500,000 Navy Personnel.

My posts do not find hundreds or even 10 other SAMs on FFGs. I never met another one the ships I was on. I met 2 in bootcamp. There were 120 recruits in bootcamp. That is about 1 percent. My posts to find another have found Crickets!

There are analogies to what it would be to assign a 18 year old apprentice to deck on FFGs with a SAM enlistment. 1 it would be similar assigning that kid to space shuttle shoot them into space every month give him expectations to have 100% qualifications some operationally send the home with no medical care access and call that training! Or learn to play NFL by giving him the whole play to read by himself with no pay at home and then just throw him into the game every month with a full squad that has actually trained together who is in full combat operational conditions.

Those sailors had no idea how to connect with me and me to them. Was I supposed to a great college student trying to an officer or a full time combat ship sailor? Would not every 18 year old get confused overwhelmed? Where are the other Navy sailors that had to experience this?

My doctors at the VA say I never had a chance to adapt to a ffg physically or mentally. Who would say otherwise. I was just 18 and this lasted till I was 23.

It would be one thing to say I failed at something completely normal in the Navy and was unable to adapt like bootcamp where I was meritorious.

My mom younger brother and sister and fiance watched me go from a high school varsity athlete and meritorious bootcamp graduate to a complete mess sea and motion sickness dropping out of college being sent to sea rotated on and off the ship for years to the point I could not even get out of it and complete a Navy Army Transfer in 1998 physically disqualified by MEPS and sent back to the ship. Then the VA said I was not even a veteran for veteran purposes which alone was a 5 year battle. So that is 13 years right there. 8 Year enlistment and 5 year battle with the VA. My mom would pass away in this time frame.

I would be reintroduced 2005 to my missing dad when he was found incompetent in VA care in Virginia discovered to have the true identity of a Army Infantry soldier 1966-1968. I was all along the son of a Vietnam Veteran who was recruited into this SAM enlistment that promised to allow me to attend college with the goal to be an officer by 22.

This enlistment and this duty assignment both drawn down were both individually created to save money.

I went homeless.

I am doing research. I can not find 1 good report on the SAM or the NRF FFG program as they both were born and then drawn down in basically the same time from of the Cold War lasting in the 1990s.

I am trying to piece my life back togetether socially economically.

I mean would it not of been a good ride if this ships were fully funded and manned? I would of adapted quite well and succeeded honorably.