GUNNERS MATE (GM) TRAINING AT GREAT LAKES

[Vee, Michael's Proud Grandmother]

The purpose of this forum is designed to inform those parents of sailors who aspire to the rate of GM. It is intended to aide parents with what to expect once their sailor graduates boot camp (BC)..also known as PIR, and moves to the A-School side of the base. Questions will be answered by the family of sailors who are training to be GMs. If we don't have the answers, we will get them for you.

Please introduce yourself if your sailor is in the GM rate and provide background on your sailor so that we can get to know you. If you have specific questions about these ratings, and you ask them here, Will and Hoppi will be able to answer your questions. This will help all of us because the answers won't disappear pages down in the general forum.

I want to give Gary T. credit for this great idea; he just hired me as his secretary to put it together. So, jump in and we hope this will be helpful to all of you.

[Gary T]

Remember Vee, there is no such thing as a stupid question. We are here as a group to help each other by asking and answering questions. All of the information we have gleaned from our NAVAL journey is here to share and inform other who will follow. We may not have all the answers but we sure know how to get them. Thanks Bill, your input is invaluable. If it were not for old salts like Bill and you Vee, who would we ask. I am sure your question has been on many a parents tongue just waiting to be asked. I even fumbled around with the thought before Nick started A-School. Keep asking and answering those questions. This is why this Forum is so valuable for those with sailors who aspire to be G.M.'s Gary T.

[Vee, Michael's Proud Grandmother]

Hi Gary T, I was sorta joking when I made that comment about a stupid question because I ALWAYS try to tell the newcomers that no question is a stupid question. I see others are wondering the same thing. I thought you might know that answer about C school. I had forgotten that Bill's son was ahead of Nick and Michael and he sure had the answer for us. TTYL.....

[Elaine,Garetts mom]

Hello everyone, my name is Elaine and my son, Garett has PIR on 09/25. He will be in GL for his A school. After reading everyones posts, I see there is a definite hold on A school. What genreally happens while they are on hold? Also, I see that there was mention of C school. My son indicated that there was no C school.... Can someone clear this up for me? Thanks!!!

[Vee, Michael's Proud Grandmother]

Hi Elaine and a HUGE WELCOME to our GM forum. Yes, there is definitely a hold for A school. They do keep the sailors busy....and there is a lot for them to do on base besides duty, watches, cleaning, studying, etc. Did you see Bill's post about C school. I have not heard Michael talk about it and he is about 3 weeks from graduating A school, so I should know more soon. So, jump right in and ask questions here and on the main forum. We are all here to help support each other and answer the questions we can and get answers for those we can't handle ourselves. You have a great weekend and congrats to Garett's upcoming PIR.

[Elaine,Garetts mom]

Hi Vee, Thank you for the HUGE WELCOME! I really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly... I did read Bill's post (Thanks, Bill) This certainly gives me a better understanding about A school. You guys are a wealth of information and it's greatly appreciated!! Have a wonderful weekend!

[Ruth, Gun's Mom]

My son is a GM and never went to C school. There are different paths. From BC, he went to Pensacola for training, as I remember. It's been over five years ago. He was assigned to a carrier in Norfolk and ended up doing security. He might have been undesignated then, but ended up with GM after deployment, I think. The carrier went to "wet dock" and the Navy found out he had experience doing powder coating on metals so he has a "factory" job for close to a year. That wasn't something he really wanted to do, so he volunteered for individual augmentee and went to Afghanistan to run an armory as a GM. Now he's a recruit instructor at the GL simulation range. All this, and no C school. He wants to take college classes, but he's been told he can't--quite the opposite of what you usually hear about the Navy promoting education. That's frustrating for him so he is volunteering at a local HS in their jrROTC program.

To read more about GM, you can read the GM Moms page, too.

[Vee, Michael's Proud Grandmother]

Hi Ruth....nice post! THANKS :D Just amazing what we find out as we ask questions and get answers. I wonder if Michael has met Gun yet? Have a great weekend..........Vee

[Vee, Michael's Proud Grandmother]

Hi Susan H and WELCOME to our little forum here for GM Moms/Family....I will be more than happy to add you and Marissa to the list. Regarding the ARIs, PGs and drug situation, I do know that Will (our leader) addressed it early on in the main discussion group. If I were you, you might want to post what you asked here on the main page to get Will's attention. I know he will be glad to answer you again. I do know they are very aware of these happenings and do not condone any of them. Will can state it better. My Michael was sick during bootcamp and awhile thereafter for some time. I think it was getting acclimated to the GL area; he is a California boy. So, you hang in there tough for the ride and most of all, give Marissa all your support, encouragement and love...especially during her hold time coming up. Don't be shy about asking any questions here or on the main site. Have a great day!! Vee :D

[Gary T]

Michele, GM A-School is running about ten weeks to 11 weeks. Now add Thanks Giving and it may be longer. It is my belief they may be allowed to choose assignments on or about the 8th or 9th week. Bill Sick or Vee can be more accurate on this since their sailors recently graduated A-School. I do know they can pick there assignment based on the sailors rank in the class. The higher they finish the more choices they have. I have not heard of any instances where a two week leave has not been given between A-School and a sailors next assignment but there is always a possibility it may not.

Now with ref: to abbreviations write them down and throw them out here, someone will surely have an answer especially if it is GM related. Gary T.

[Vee, Michael's Proud Grandmother]

Hi Gary....I'm playing catch-up. I just checked Michael's progress and he started A School on July 8th and graduated September 18th. I believe there was 1 holiday in that time...Labor Day. So, that will give you an idea. Now we wait to see how much longer he will stay in GL and what he will be finding to do on base during his hold. He will then move to Virginia or San Diego to begin his C School. Of course, he is hoping it is San Diego. Then he will be off to Hawaii and the USS Lake Erie for his sea duties. Maybe some of our kids will end up together one of these days and get to know each other. Hope all is well with you and your family. Vee

[Vee, Michael's Proud Grandmother]

Hi Michele, This is Vee and I have been on vacation for the last 8 days. Welcome to our unique N4Ms group. I see that Gary T and Bill have held down the fort for me during my time away. B/Z to both of them....Thanks, guys! I would like to know your daughter's name so I can update our roster of parents with GM kids. My Michael just completed A school last Friday, Sept. 18th. I am still on the road and when I get home I can tell you exactly how long his A school was. I am thinking it runs about 59 "butt in seat" days from start to finish. Michael got his orders about a week before he finished school. He will be stationed in Hawaii and is assigned to the USS Lake Erie. He will be going to C school either in Virginia or San Diego for VOS (vertical operating system). I believe this is the same school that Bill Sick's son, Brett, will be attending. Brett is just a few weeks ahead of Michael in his Navy career. So, Michael now goes back on hold and may not report to his C school until some time next spring (April perhaps). He most likely will see most of another winter in the GL area. It's late now and I am using the computer at the motel, so I need to sign off. Again, WELCOME, and do not be shy about asking any question....Vee

[Bill S.]

Greetings to all you GM Moms and Dads.
The following 1st paragraph is a re-post from the GM Training page on GL Q & A. I wanted to put the whole time line together so it would be easier to follow. So.. he goes.
Greetings, Bill Sick here. My son Brett is a Gunners Mate E-3 currently in his sixth week of A school at this posting. 06/29/2009. Brett left for boot on the 13th of Nov. 2008 and had his PIR on the 9th of Jan.2009. His first stop was the USS Franklin for INDOC and hold for 17 days. He moved to the USS Enterprise on 01/26/2009 and then completed his SCC course on 02/11/2009. The next day he moved to the USS Decatur and was on hold for 12 days and moved to the USS Cole on 02/24/2009 where he was on hold for 42 days. He began his ATT training on 03/26/2009 and completed that course on 04/21/2009 and remained on hold for 35 days until beginning A school on 05/26/209. Brett's class was the second to start the new pilot program with instructor based learning. Prior classes were self paced but took to long to complete. The thinking with the pilot program is to move them through faster and give them more hands on when they get to their duty station. His target date to graduate A school is the 3rd or 4th of August 2009.
Brett actually graduated A school on Aug 15th 2009. The week of the 3rd thur the 7th they had Crew Served training which is multiple personnel weapons ( more than 1 person required to operate the weapon ) The following week of 10th thru the 14th they had FATS ( firearms training simulator/ weapons qualifications ) and received their cannons at graduation on the 15th. The day of their graduation is the day that the Sailors who qualified get to pick their C school assignment. The following is from Brett when I asked him to clarify how the Duty Stations are assigned.

"They put it on the projector and said "this is when the bitching and moaning starts...They put it up and I said make the best of it because it is what the Navy wants anyway..So after the people picked...BY AVERAGE...I came about 5th and I picked what would set myself and my family up for the best dollar decision I could make...and with having Alivia on the way I picked something I could Guarantee would get me to see her birth and have a few months before shipping out...they let us pick by average...and all FC'S pick orders so GM's were just doing it....I made the most sound decision I could and C schools are better anyway..not everyone got it...people with low averages got the short end of the stick. But I had to mix in with people too..If I hadn't been in with the other class I would have gotten "better" orders...I love my orders just because I can be with my family before deployment."

Brett is now doing Yeoman duty for the SDC's and loves it. He was doing office duty"in charge" the other nite. All the Sailors came to him for whatever they needed and if it was something he was not able to handle he was to call the SDC. He has been doing Yeoman since Aug. 17th. He is now classified as non duty. No more dog duty and he gets liberty as soon as he is done for the day which is usually 1130 hours every day. He will be doing that job until he leaves GL on October 1st to come home for leave. He reports to Norfolk on October 17th for C school to start classes for VLS (vertical launch systems) C school runs about 197 days. He reports the his ship USS Donald Cook DDG 75 on April 15th 2010.

So there you have it. From start to finish. Boot camp to Fleet. It will have been 558 days of classes and holds. As of October 1st, Brett will have been in GL for..........321 days!!!! Long story short, tell your Sailor to FIND A JOB!!! The time will fly and they will be much happier rather than sitting around complaining. If you need any more info or have a questions, PLEASE, send me a message thru my profile and I will be more than happy to find the answer (if I can).
Godspeed to our Sailors and the VERY best of luck to you and yours. Sincerely, Bill Sharon and Brett