Trouble in A school - underage drinking

[Proud Navy Mom (Susan)]

First, let me say that I am not sharing this story to scare any Moms. I am sharing it in hopes that all of you Moms of younger sailors will talk to your kids, and that others will not have to learn the hard way. My son was only 18 when he graduated from bc and went on to A school. He had always been good at making smart decisions, and had never been in any trouble. He had been in A school for about 7 months and was looking forward to graduating and moving on. He and a group of his buddies went to a party one weekend, and were caught drinking. They knew that they were in some trouble, but thought that they would just get a slap on the wrist. What actually happened was anything but. (at least to him. I can't say what happened to anyone else involved) Many disciplinary actions were taken, but the worst for him was that he had to leave A school, and became undesignated. He is now in the security division on the ship that he is stationed on, but will not be eligable to go back to school for 24 months from the date of the incident. And as they are getting ready for deployment, he will have been in for 3 years before he can even apply again. It has been a very hard lesson for him to learn!
One thing that really didn't occur to me is that the A school experience can be very much like going off to college for the first time. He had never been away from home before, and was now out in the real world, meeting lots of new people, and perhaps being in situations that he had never been in before.
We have stood by him and supported him every step of the way, and pray that he will still get the opportunity to do the things that he had dreamed of doing in the Navy.
So, I guess the moral of this story is - Moms, talk to your kids and make sure that they know that the Navy does not take these things lightly. And a great big "thank you" to all of those who serve for this great country!

[Debby]

When my son was going through basic he begged and begged to become a Riverine... After a few weeks of this he went one more time to talk to the Chief who told him YES.. why now? Because they had a spot open due to someone drinking AND smoking pot and was now being court martialed and leaving the Navy...

My middle son who is Army has seen this several times also.. He's stationed at Ft. Drum he's 19 and the guys go to Canada to drink where it is legal at 19 they stay at a hotel.. he stay's on base because even though he'd be legal he doesnt want to take any chances..

I hope your son gets to realize his dreams... lesson learned I am sure.. but a tough lesson to learn..

Thanks for sharing I wish him the best.
Debby

[Ami E. Bird]

Thanks for your post. My son is also awaiting the results of "stupid decision-making". He is at Lackland AFB and is also 18. Like you, I am very proud of my son and support him, come what may.

[Melody Arganda (DeeDee)]

Susan-As I read your story, it sounded like what happened to my son. You can read my resonse to Sue, whose daughter got in trouble. My son was kicked out of the nuke program, and he told me later that the CMC wanted him separated from the Navy. He got sent to deck school and now is on the USS Carl Vinson in the deck department. I'm not real happy with that placement because he scored very high on the ASVAB, But his BM1 has him in a supervisorary position and they (Lt. Commandar, BM1) think he's the best thing that has come along. I hired a lawyer to clear his name and he's making a case to submit it to the Board for Correction of Naval Records. Yes, this was a big lesson to learn. I'm glad that he learned this lesson early in his career. I'm glad things worked out with your son. DeeDee Arganda

[Jean Anne]

Hey Susan, I agree you must explain to your young adult the difference between making "mistakes" in the civilian sector as opposed to making "mistakes" in the military. Active duty members are held to a high standard that at times far exceeds their civilian age peers. Have you ever googled the code of conduct? Since I have raised a family within the military structure I've always been careful with "teen" issues - guess you can say over the years I haven't been the popular Mom - oh well. Now that my son is completely on his own and deployed I pray he makes the right decisions for his body & career -- I support him by sending him little reminders "from the nest" when I know the ship is pulling into port - basically this is all I can do.

[Jor-Jean (AM Kyle )]

I had no idea the A school enviroment was like that, thank you for sharing. I'll be sure and talk to my son also. He's still 18 and will be when he heads for his A school.

[Sherry James]

Thanks Susan for sharing your son's experiences and the lesson along with it. You are so right about the fact that the Navy DOES NOT take underage drinking lightly. And those who are of age and Navy have to be aware of the penalty they can incur for aidding a youth to drink, even if unknowingly.

In short, they may pay a huge price for not thinking things through. So it helps if the parents and folks close to them can encourage them to make thoughtful decisions and avoid even the "appearances" of any inpropriatety. Thanks again for sharing with us. Very couragious and helpful of you.

May you & your son be blessed with a wonderful New Year

[Arlene Fitzgerald]

Thank you Susan for that information. I am kind of worried that my son may have thoughts of doing the same thing. We are very close and can talk about pretty much everything with each other, but sometimes the young ones can be presuaded easily after getting out of bc. He is only 19. He is very mature though than some his age and has made wise decisions in the past when it comes to those things. His PIR is in Jan 09. I will definetly be talking to him again about this. It's all up to him though to listen. We can only try! Thanks again. Arlene