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SusanW
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- Oak Creek, WI
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Q & A with a recruiter...
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NROTC
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SusanW's Discussions
NROTC help! PLEASE!
Replied Apr 27
SusanW's Page
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Congratulations! That is great news.
Thanks for your advice everyone. I told my son to talk with the office that handles student accounts before he heads home to find out if the late fees can be waived.
Calimom, that was our understanding as well, but not the reality of what happened. Apparently the funds were transmitted to the college by Naval Command on December 7, so it did take a while for the school to credit his account. We were told, too, t…
As an FYI to new scholarship recipients. Sometimes the military is not so expedient in paying the tuition bills. While my son's scholarship was activated in early October (major plan in place, etc), his reimbursement check for his books received in…
Thanks, MizzouMom! I'll tell my son to take a look. One another note (and here is the worrier in me again), with the President's address on Afghanistan tonight, the anti-war movement on my son's tiny (2000 student) campus is building steam. A march…
Thanks MizzouMom. Lots of good stuff there, although not cheap. We went out onto the Navy Exchange site tody and David bought some Asics running shoes for $56. These same shoes were on sale for $120 today at the local Footlocker store. Add in no sal…
Hi all. My son's friends would all like Navy PT type gear for Christmas. Where does one find inexpensive Navy-theme t-shirts, shorts, etc?
Interesting how different everyone's experiences are. My son completed his application online, talked to someone from Great Lakes once, had one interview with the CO of the local NROTC unit at Marquette, talked with a couple of 'scholarship counselo…
Me too!
Big surprise today. Got a text message from David saying he was coming home today (a six hour drive). He and a friend from Macalester were here for about 20 minutes this evening and then left for the night to stay with friends at a local college. Pe…
Daria, my son is like your kids. He would never let me be his friend on facebook! So, I'll just have to let my friend keep tabs for me. : ) I am so grateful for this group and for moms who understand.
I
I am new to the list but I wanted to add my son's university to the list above--- VIRINIA TECH! VT has a Corps of Cadets and he is on their "Skipper Crew." The cadets on the SC take care of the Cannon and fire it at all special events...Pass in Revi…
I was speaking with a friend yesterday, lamenting the fact that I hadn't heard much from David over the past week or so. She (a facebook user) commented that she thought that he was doing fine and sent me this photo that she found on facebook. (App…
Profile Information
- About me:
- My son has attends Macalester College and is a member of the University of Minnesota NROTC unit.
- I am here to support or represent my:
- Son/Daughter
- Stage of (Sailor’s) Navy Career?
- Thinking about joining
- When I heard “Navy,” I:
- Was proud and encouraged it
- From my experience with the Navy, the most important thing I learned was:
- Don't know yet.
- Through this Navy experience, I now believe:
- It was positive and maturing. Our relationship has grown stronger.
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Comment Wall (18 comments)
- At 7:31pm on November 12, 2009,
NavyMomXXXY said…
- Hi Susan, just wondering if you've had any updates about the battalion. I would imagine David is looking forward to coming home for Thanksgiving - it's really their first chance, although you did say he passed through on his way to Madison :) This is the longest time without a break, and that freshman year is really hard. But before you know it, they'll be home for Christmas, and the year is half over!
- At 9:11am on November 2, 2009,
NavyMomXXXY said…
- Hi Susan - Thanks for the update, and will definitely look forward to your PM. I remember when Leigh would say it was so cool to be walking Minnesota's campus with a couple of male midshipmen - the women would all be drooling. Wish the women's uniforms were as flattering - soon, hopefully. The enlisted's have changed, and the officer's should be coming. The white cover does stand out. It's so funny to be listening to all of you, and realizing that what we thought were unique experiences to our kids were, in fact, just part of the normal transition. That first 8 weeks is so long, and so new, it is difficult for the kids to adjust.
10 kids dropping in the first several weeks is a lot - but it may be just the way it is. A lot of kids come into ROTC with absolutely no idea what they are getting into - it's best that they leave early. There will be kids who drop for academic reasons, others that will be dropped for medical reasons (although ROTC tries really, really hard not to have that happen - our son broke his kneecap twice between March of his junior year, and graduating, and he still commissioned only two weeks late).
Leigh still has friends who are 1st class, will ask her what she's hearing - although she's currently deployed, which makes conversation a bit tough. She got to watch the first half of the Packer game last night (GRRRR). We were there, so made tape of Brett coming on the field for her.
Be interesting to hear the rest of the scuttlebutt. Have a good one
- At 3:07pm on October 20, 2009,
NavymomBarb said… - Susan: It sounds like your son is feeling similar to how my daughter is feeling and having a lot of the same problems! She called us during O week and asked us to come and pick her up. We told her she would have to stick it out, which she did, but was still unsure if she wanted to stay in San Diego or just come home. She had terrible homesickness, was way overwhelmed with the changes in her life, and seemed to have problem after problem. She was certain that she would never be able to keep up with classes and all the ROTC requirements...drill, color guard, naval science classes, PT, club attendance, etc. She also got sick her 2nd and 3rd week of classes. It is hard to be sick and away from home. She had been hospitalized for strep and dehydration last year and then again for tonsilitis...so is now prone to those kind of throat problems. Anyway, we had to talk her into sticking out the semester to get a better idea of how things go instead of just quitting when it got a little tough. She seems to be doing better...passed her PT tests with flying colors (much to our surprise...AND hers!), is doing ok in her classes, made some ROTC friends, and got over the homesickness part (I think it helped that it is already getting cold here and she has great weather where she is!). Now she is even talking about ROTC stuff for next year, so we are keeping our fingers crossed and saying a lot of prayers that things will work out. Hang in there...sometimes I'm not sure if it's harder for them or for the parents! Barb
- At 11:59am on October 20, 2009,
MizzouMom said… - Susan, I am so glad that things are looking up for David. I heard my daughter tell a friend this weekend that NROTC was both the bane of her existence and the highlight of her day most days. Then she just laughed because of the contradiction. I hope and pray that David will be able to determine with confidence if he is meant to be in ROTC. Knowing that you're where you're supposed to be and are doing what you're supposed to do can get you through a lot of tough times. Best of luck to you both!
- At 3:23pm on September 23, 2009,
NavyMomXXXY said…
- Leigh had a really tough time at first, because she was also one of those kids who didn't think rules applied to her - ultimately it will be up to David to decide what will be best for him. I love your options though - we did the same thing - said if you drop out and choose to return home, you will be working, and you will be paying us rent. Also mentioned something about availability of jobs for non-college graduates, and how Wal-Mart was hiring. Both our kids skated through high school, not working hard, thinking they could just breeze through life. Fred didn't tell us much, but we know he had a tough time - and Leigh certainly did. Both kids changed their majors, had to take summer classes to continue. At least in Leigh's case, I don't think she would have graduated from college if not for NROTC.
I do hope David decides he can do this - because the rewards can really be amazing. And we hate to see our children make short sighted decisions - on many, many occasions Leigh would call home saying she was dropping out of NROTC - which would break our hearts. Then 24-48 hours later, whatever crisis was going on would resolve, and then she would only hate a certain person or job. I'm hoping and crossing fingers, toes, etc. for you and David. Cindy
- At 8:24am on September 23, 2009,
NavyMomXXXY said…
- Good Luck - I can tell you this is what happens to most of the 4cs - they all get picked on. I can't tell you whether it's worse for David because he's off campus, but it is part of the process. In some ways, I think it is a testing process, to see how the middies respond.
Understand why your stepping away - it can be very painful when everyone else is talking about how well things are going - it is a different experience for everyone, and not the right one for all. Let me know if you need an ear. Cindy
- At 5:55pm on September 22, 2009,
NavyMomXXXY said…
- Hi Susan, wondering how things have been going - hope it's better
- At 9:05am on September 19, 2009,
NavyMomXXXY said…
- Susan, I put a couple of pictures on my page of family night. Truthfully, people were dressed in everything from jeans to suits, but we tend to be a bit more on the professional side, so dressed accordingly. The uniform of the day for the midshipmen is SDB's, which corresponds to business wear in civilian life.
- At 6:43pm on September 17, 2009,
Pattie H said… - Susan, One of the things my son did was create his own form that the college librarian could sign to verify that he was at his library studying during these hours. He may want to take that kind of initiative to create a form for accountability that would satisfy his advisor. (The unit adopted my sons form to use for other students as well). It is something simple he can do that shows initiative on his part.
- At 12:50pm on August 30, 2009,
NavyMomXXXY said…
- Hi Susan, glad you had a safe trip - and it is a beautiful day, isn't it? Hope it didn't rain all day yesterday in Minneapolis, cause it sure did here.
That's a lot of new midshipmen in the unit - it's going to keep the staff/1C's busy, that's for sure. By any chance do you remember the name of David's class advisor? If she graduated any time since 2003, Leigh would know her. Also, I'll pick her brain about the current 2C's and 1C's - who are good guys, who may be a problem for incoming 4C's.
What you said about communication doesn't surprise me - the 1C's plan O-Week, and all acitivities, and they don't always take parents into consideration. It is partly the military way, but it is also because they're still kids. David is now responsible for himself, and while parents are always welcome at the unit, it is the kids who make decisions.
I didn't know the midshipmen had to stay with their major - that is new, and may be a huge block to a lot of kids. Leigh started as a psychology major, and switched to history halfway through her sophomore year.
Make sure to plan to go to Minneapolis for the Parent's Night - it is for 1C's and 4C's and is a lot of fun. The kids put on skits about O-week and drill team performs - just a nice nigtht. It idid not correspond with UMN's parents weekend, but well worth going up for - usually mid October.
There is a website for UMN's NROTC unit, and it usually has a lot of pictures from the various events - just tried to bring it up, and it is under construction.
I don't know Julie - will try to find her on here.
I'm a little jealous - I loved having Leigh so close for four years - I would go to campus four or five times a year and we would hang out, go to the Mall of America, go to concerts, etc. Love Minneapolis, now don't have much reason to go.
Talk to you soon - Cindy
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