Meps July 7-8

[Hairlesscatmom]

Hello everyone, my name is Mellie. I have a few questions on what to expect with Meps this week and what will happen with boot camp. My husband went to Meps today and had to take the NAPT test but missed it by only 6 points. He was told today that if he takes a college math course and shows proof they will let him retest and that the contract he signs tomorrow will be voided. What will happen if he does decide to retest because I'm finding it hard to believe they'll let him do it. He was talking about going in as an ET as his back up for Nuke since his uncle was an ET. What can I expect if he goes in as an ET during A-school? Will he be able to live with me on base there if his A-school is long enough? I was also told by recruiters I should be getting bah and fsa, but my brother who is in the Army is so determined to tell me that I will not be receiving anything. Will I be getting bah and fsa, because I have our bills to pay and rent. I know there won't be many phone calls, but is there a limit to how many letters they can receive? Also what can my husband take with him to boot camp since I do know he cannot take any electronics except for his phone to make the "I've arrived" phone call. Any help or advice will be a lot of help, thanks!

[nicolel818]

I can't help you out with any of the contract/testing stuff, but what I can share with you is the more letters the merrier!! tell everyone you know to send mail. it really does lift their spirits and makes them feel special to get mail. and as far as other things, they can take a small bible, which my husband put a few pictures in the bible. other than that they really can't take anything besides the clothes on their back, everything is sent home that they bring anyway and toiletries and things like that are provided for them. and DO NOT send anything that appears cutesy or too lovey from the outside because they will be given crap for it. keep all of that stuff for the content of the letter. I found it helpful to keep of journal of what I did each day, funny things that happened, scores of baseball games, etc. I wrote 1-2 letters a week, you can certainly write more. hope this helps :)

[Hairlesscatmom]

Thank you for the help. I never do cutesy stuff with my husband really, the only cutesy things we do is completely nerdy stuff that hardly anyone understands. I will be sure to get him a bible so he can have that though. Thank you!

[Anti M]

If he signs a contract, that is what he should expect to do for the next four years.  Never count on a retest.  It might happen for nuke, because the recruiters get incentives for finding nuke candidates. Still,  be careful.

I was an ET, it is a great rating. However, it is now in the AECF program, and he doesn't get a choice. In boot camp, they will assign ET or FC.  Both are good.

AECF is long enough for you to move to Great Lakes and he can request to Live Ashore.

Never compare the Army and Navy, the details can differ.  You will get BAH during boot camp.  Whether is shows up in the first check or not is a crap shoot, so try to have a little set aside beforehand. FSA kicks in after 30 days.  

You can write as many letters as you like.  He might run out of room to store them, but you can send a larger envelope to send back.

http://navyformoms.com/group/bootcampmoms/page/when-will-the-recrui...

http://navyformoms.com/forum/topics/things-to-do-in-the-last-month-...

[Hairlesscatmom]

Thank you Anti M!

I kept telling my brother it wasn't going to be anything like the Army, but of course he's a total meat head! I told him to get what they said in writing because it doesn't count if it's verbal.

How much different are ET and FC? I know he doesn't want a mindless job since he's working at a grocery store right now where it's all repetitive with no thought into anything.

When will he get his papers saying he's going to school at Great Lakes so I can get a place over there while he awaits his approval to live ashore?

I will definitely be sending him a bunch of letters, I just didn't want to send too many and have him get into trouble for it.

Thank you for the links, I will definitely have a look at them!

[Anti M]

ET is electronics technician, and that covers a lot of ground.  Radar, communications, crypto, even test equipment.... all depends on which C school gets assigned.   Day to day an ET mostly does preventive maintenance checks, the whole point is to avoid broken gear!  I call it "everything tech".  In a way it can be mindless, but I have also flipped burgers and the Navy is a thousand times better.  Usually.  There's a lot of cleaning, and duty days, and paperwork, but being a sailor was terrific.  

Now if he goes nuke, those ETs do an entirely different looking job, not the same thing at all.  They're called "dial watchers".  My nephew is a nuke electrician's mate, an EM, and chose that because it is more hands on than nuke ET.  

FC is Fire Controlman.  Nothing to do with fires, but with firing weapons systems, i.e. missiles.  The basic electronics are the same as for ETs, but their C schools are always a weapons system, and that determines what type of ship he goes to.  

Either way, his C school will not be in Great Lakes.  The FCs are often on hold after graduation, waiting for orders because their C schools get backed up.  ETs have so many potential C schools, there is always somewhere to send them.  ETs can be sent to a new C school almost any time, some of the schools are as short as 4 weeks.  Some are longer than 6 months.  

All sailors are also firefighters onboard ships.  Can't call 911.  And there are opportunities to be on the security detail; my ET (he's an acquired kid of mine) actually got to man the 50 cal. guns against pirates off the coast of Somalia.  He was excited about that.  

[abuon18]

Anti M answered most of your questions it looks like but I just want to comment and say that I mailed my husband a letter every single day when he was in bootcamp (he still has all those letters!) You can't write enough for those guys. Like Anti M said he might not have enough space to store them all so you can send a large envelope so he can send them back to you to make room for more but that's pretty much all they have to look forward to. I'm not exaggerating when I say you can't write too much!