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Comment by Reid's Ma on June 4, 2015 at 3:20pm

Yes, the Navy can do anything! But don't fret, you'll learn to go with the flow. My son wanted to go to DLI out of boot camp and qualified, however MEPS lost the DLAB results :-(  He finally took it again and they sent him to DLI--another great experience. 

Comment by DNavyFamily on June 4, 2015 at 2:56pm

Yes- after A school and C school CT's and IS's have some great opportunities to deploy and work with multi-nationals and the other branches.  Also provides some fantastic skill sets for future civilian opportunities not just government but international trade, banking, international law if they go that route, you name it.

Comment by Reid's Ma on June 4, 2015 at 2:52pm

DnNavyFamily, my son had none of those jobs you described when he was assigned IA! but he did make great friends in 3 branches of the military and still gets tog with them stateside. As a CTI, some deploy and some will have jobs that will never deploy.  

Comment by DNavyFamily on June 4, 2015 at 2:45pm

Sorry for the choppy grammar and spelling on my post- my wireless keyboard battery is dying and I'm hitting "Add Comment" without first checking!  Sorry!

Comment by DNavyFamily on June 4, 2015 at 2:44pm

It's extremely rare if ever.  At the height of the Iraq and Afghan campaigns the did that to corpsman, EOD, SeaBees, some aviation people, and some quartermasters. I doubt it would happen to CTI's at al- at least not out of Basic.  A CTI will deploy to place where needed- that comes with that or any special rating like that.  But- it's often exciting, rewarding, and in the company of great shipmates and sometimes duty stations with our allies.  A lot of money and time has been put into screening and selecting future CTIs so unless there is a big issue or problem, they want/need to see the recruit get to DLI. 

Comment by Reid's Ma on June 4, 2015 at 2:35pm

maryland_mom, before my son became a CTI (he's been in 11 years) he was sitting at his job on a destroyer, and his XO came in and announced "one of you are going to Iraq, and ******, it's YOU". Because of his prior experience, he was the only one qualified to go. I had never heard of IA but I studied up on it. He spent 2 months with the Army getting ready to deploy, then 8 mos. in Iraq where he was safe and lots of experiences he can't talk about. Unlikely that your son would go IA out of boot camp. In fact, my son has not met another sailor who has been an IA in any of his duty stations. If anyone has another experience, we want to know more!   

Comment by DNavyFamily on June 1, 2015 at 11:44am

Fun advice- once you find out your sailor's language, help them with the immersion process and also make it fun for you all too.  Write a letter and then run it through Google Translate in that language.  CTI is NOT a cakewalk- the more they eat, sleep, think, dream in their new language, the happier everyone is.  Encourage them to write back to y ou the same way as well as the rest of the family.   Encourage family to do the same.  It will not be a perfect translation but fun, nonetheless.   Fun way for any brothers and sisters at home to 'go secure' to complain about how hard mom and dad are now that you are gone hahaha!  Find an English-language version of the news in a country that uses the language. This will help family understand the important mission and cultural attributes that come with the language. Make DLI fun, show support, embrace the language, embrace and support your daughter or son in this super-critical rating.  From experience, I cannot tell you how huge the impact is on any children back home- you'll see so many benefits I can't begin to start.

Comment by HealthHopeHappiness on May 16, 2015 at 6:17pm

My husband is leaving for basic in a few weeks then DLI after that. This is all new for us - first move and new enlistment. I feel like we're just kind of feeling around in the dark trying to figure things out. Any advice or can anyone shed some light on how things will be (housing, the move, etc?) thanks!

Comment by Desiree on May 15, 2015 at 5:35pm

My fiancé and I are expecting to be stationed at Ft Gordon after he graduates DLI in October. If anyone has any advise on what to expect i would totally appreciate it.

Comment by brismom on May 15, 2015 at 5:24pm

@ejrwelch  Thanks for the info! She did mention something about "cutting the grass" at Gordon! lol  A lot of people have told her it is so much better than at DLI...Hope so, because what a roller coaster ride these last 16 months have been!!

@BrownEyedMomma-So she is just beginning! All I can say is "support" "support" "support"!! It's hard for them, but very hard for us to not be able to help them!!  Just keep pushing and Praying!!

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