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Comment by ismenia on February 22, 2017 at 8:08pm

Still waiting for the box, I don't know why this has become so important to me. Does anyone know anything about April's graduation? Day?

Comment by ismenia on February 21, 2017 at 8:19pm

No box yet, is only been a week. Still looking for apartments in chicago.

Comment by Shelley (Doug's Mom) on February 14, 2017 at 7:41pm

Thanks, Allison! That was a very helpful reply!

Comment by CherylG on February 14, 2017 at 4:17pm

I appreciate the long responses, it answered a few of the questions I still had! Thanks again!! 

Comment by Allison on February 14, 2017 at 3:06pm

Sorry. I know I'm a frequent poster of long posts. I tend to "nuke" things and feel like I need to explain it all. I'm big at overthinking it. Anyway, CherylG, have no fear. ET A School is long and very detailed. He'll earn a lot of useful credentials that can help qualify him for some good civilian jobs and he'll earn quite a few credits depending on what college he wants to attend if he's going that route. He'll get more training than he'll know what to do with in the civilian world.

Comment by Allison on February 14, 2017 at 2:56pm

Bandmom, that's another thing. Make sure he understands that quitting does not mean going home. I can't tell you how many girls walked into my unit thinking they'd be out in a couple days. I knew what it was before I arrived because I had to do paperwork with my RDC for a girl from my division that went before me, so I was devastated they day I had to pack up my things in front of my whole division and go. It will sound really tempting sometimes because he'll hear rumors about watching movies and calling home more often, but I only met one girl who actually felt like it was still worth it by the time she went home a month later. It's not the worst place to end up in bootcamp if an injury or anything happens, but I always want to warn people that if you just think you can't do this, do it anyway because seperations is not worth it and there's much better things ahead after graduation. The Navy is NOT bootcamp, and it won't get better for at least another month after you quit because you don't just get to give your uniform back and go home. If he has any doubts, he needs to call his recruiter before he gets on the bus at MEPS. After that, if he has any doubts, my advice to him is just finish. It does get better, the RDCs get nicer, and there's a ton of benefits and opportunities on the way if you can just give it some time.

Comment by Allison on February 14, 2017 at 2:26pm

Bandmom,

Advice for your son: if his height allows it, don't be first in line for anything during P-Days! How you act during P-Days determines whether he will spend his first five days getting screamed at or just occasionally yelled at, and the first people in line will always mess up because the RDCs do this ten times a night, almost every night, so they'll think they said things they never did and then yell at recruits for not following instructions. Also, remind him that whatever people say to him in P-Days, they say it to everyone. I came in in the morning with only three other people because I was local at the time, and when the recruits for the day started showing up, we were already finished with most things and sitting coping the sailors creed and general orders for hours. Every group I watched go by, I heard the exact same series of comments meant to scare recruits and make them question everything. The point of P-Days isn't just to get admin stuff done, it's also to try to break you and see if you're ready for this. If he can get through that first week, he can get through the rest of bootcamp. Next, don't look anyone in the eye, make sure he has his thousand yard stare down, always keep his head up in it's natural position, and just don't talk to anyone until after taps, it's just not worth it. Lack of military bearing when he shows up will be his worst enemy, so have him work on it with his recruiter now. The people who watch him during P-Days will not be his RDCs, but they will tell them everything. My chief knew more about me than I felt like I did about myself on the day he showed up, granted I was going to be his yeoman, but I never really chatted with the RDCs before him because that's just not what you do. Another thing, the threats RDCs make are real. I can't tell you how many kids in my division thought they were untouchable. They can ASMO (set back) people for insubordination if nothing else, and yes, they can get kicked out of the navy just for not listening, it happened eventually to four men in my division after they continued to not listen when they were set back in training. They are not under any state laws and they have no rights except those outlined in the UCMJ. Of course, they are protected in many ways and their dignity will always be preserved, but their chain of command really is their law now. Also, the DEP packet is a little out of date. He needs to memorize the FULL chain of command, have him google it. They will shave his head no matter what during P-Days, and if he's not great at shaving, even if he has hardly any facial hair, have him practice getting it done quickly every day because he will have to do it as part of his morning routine, which is about 15 minutes to get showered, shaved (males) or fix hair (females), rack made, teeth brushed, and at attention on the toe line. Sounds easy, but try doing it with 83 other girls (or boys in his case), 13 sinks, and 10 showers. 2-3 oranges with every meal will keep him healthy enough. If he sees hand sanatizer on the wall, use it every time he walks by, but on a desk, don't try it. Wash hands or sanatize after "clean compartment." Also, whenever he has the opportunity during clean compartment or some down time, ask the forward hold PO (this will make sense when he gets there) for a Clorox wipe and wipe down his rack. Help clean the head! We got yelled at so much for not helping in the head enough. It's truly everyone's responsibility.

Advice for you: lots of letters (recruits live for mail and phone calls after a certain point) and get yourself a long term project to work on a little every day and distract you in those harder times. I used to send my husband basketball updates because it's his favorite sport to watch. When I was in, my husband sent me funny motivational pictures to keep in my drawer, and when I got seperated, he sent me funny memes from the internet to help relieve some of my disappointment.

Comment by CherylG on February 14, 2017 at 12:48pm

Allison thanks for your feedback! He did talk to recruiter about switching before he left but they told him he couldn't and that he can request afterward but could take along time(years) to make the switch. Seems like he won't be trained to do much once he's home. He'll be really bummed out if that's the case.

Comment by Allison on February 14, 2017 at 12:24pm

I feel like I should clarify. As an ET in C school right now, my husband and his friends we keep in touch with from A school are learning more about how the systems they're repairing work rather than how to repair them. It's helping them understand how to troubleshoot better and repair them more efficiently, but the methods they use are not any different from A school. Mostly, my husband is just learning the "why" part right now. Why does this solution work for this problem? But really, he already knows how to fix it, he just didn't get the in depth of why that fixed it. Towards the end they'll actually learn a few less common problems and solutions specific to their specialty, but most of it is just that why factor. That's what I mean by C school doesn't make an ET fully trained. After A school, they already know how to do their job, but C school just connects some dots. As far as my husband and I understand, only one of our friends is actually learning something totally different in his C school and he isn't allowed to say much about what that is exactly. He just tells us it's really cool lol.

Comment by Allison on February 14, 2017 at 12:01pm

CherylG, my husband only had one reservist in his class, and he was not given a C school. About a week after graduation, they flew him home to report to his NOSC. He was so upset because he realized he wanted to be active. However, they told him that they may send him later, or if he stays involved at his NOSC (helps out more than once a month, as much as he can and they will allow), he can try to activate in two years and will most likely be sent to a C school and then serve on active duty for the remainder of his contract. He needs to show that he's worth switching to active duty though by showing he's already as involved as he can be with the navy.

Another option if they don't give him a C school, is talking to the NOSC about opportunities to volunteer to deploy, which may land him in a C school to prepare. This will temporarily activate him, but when he gets home, he will be reservist again.

There's not really "fully trained" for ET like there are for a few other rates. There's just specialties that you can pick up. A school is all my husband needed to be a rated ET, but they decided they wanted him to be more familiar with satallites and antennas. He's not really learning anything new, he's pretty much just practicing and occasionally gets something a little more in depth. Some of his instructors have been ET and have several specialties while others are actually not ETs at all but have worked on the same systems that are my husband's job to repair.

The way it was explained to me when I was supposed to be a reservist before getting medically separated, and I don't want this to hurt anyone's feelings because I think reservists are equally valuable, is that you're being basically trained so if the Navy needs you, they have you. You're the B team, so you need to be ready, BUT until (if) that day comes, you're most likely not going to be doing your rate's job. They need you to understand the basics of it, but they don't need you to do it yet. You'll be doing mostly office work and drills, so why spend the money on tons of training that you might never use? Well…I could think of a few reasons, but I understood what he was saying. Again, I think reservists are very important and a HUGE support for our navy, but that's what I was told when negotiating my contract and why I pursued a rate and contract that guaranteed a C school because it was an office job that still needed to be done as a reservist.

It is unlikely as ET that he will get a C school because there isn't a lot of ET things to be done at a NOSC, but there are many ways to work his way in if he's persistent, or maybe he'll get lucky and your local NOSC happens to
have equipment that a specialized ET can work on. Also, tell him if the rare unicorn of FTS (Full Time Support) ever comes around, take it, especially since he's ET. It will be his best shot at getting to do his job every day that he actually trained for without having to go active duty.

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