Naval Acadamy was the go for me, so I could learn the basics and learn all the commands that I needed to survive. I then tried a couple of the single missions to give me experience in dealing with escorts and air patrols.
I then moved on to a career, but starting with the stock version for awhile and then moving on to GWX (that will sort the men from the boys

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Have a look at the FAQ sticky at the top of the page for more help and suggestions.
BTW Alice, Welcome aboard!