I know a current submariner, she's 5 years into a 6-year minimum commitment and hates it. Unfortunately, once you're at the point where you can experience whether it will suit you or not, it's too late to change your mind: the Navy owns you.
I'm a former U.S. submariner. Probably 90% of my shipmates who had served at least 3 years would have said the same thing. They hated the Navy, hated sea duty, hated all of it.
And then towards the end of their commitment, with a several thousand dollar re-enlistment bonus on the table, most of them would sign up for another 6 years. The bonus would usually be blown in a week on a new vehicle.
Huh, looking at [1] and [2] she's looking at a $100k bonus...I can see how that would be tempting in spite of feelings that have dissipated with some shore leave.
Fortunately, I think she's connected enough to find employment worth that much in private industry, disciplined enough to be wise in how she spends the money if she does take it, and rational enough to make a good decision (kinda hard to drive the new Tesla when you're underwater as much as she is), but I can understand how a lot of sailors might look at a number with a lot of zeros and make an impulse decision.
My boat used to deploy to the Persian Gulf, and for many years as long as the boat spent at least a little time in certain areas, pay for that month was tax-free. A LOT of re-enlistments (with those 6-figure bonuses) were done to take maximum advantage of those rules.
