Comment

Comment by Mark on September 7, 2009 at 1:12pm

Hi ND,
I was on subs myself, but as a nuc, I did not go to sub school, though I visited my son there this past June. It is a very nice area, SE Connecticut is a lot more rural than how I imagined it, though. Both good and bad in that - it's only a two hour train ride to either NYC or Boston if you want to check out those places. The intent of BESS appears to be primarily to teach submarine Damage Control - they have very good facilities for training firefighting and combating flooding. They also have the submarine escape trainer, that is apparently about to come on line again. The other function of BESS is to teach an overview of all of the systems aboard a sub, to give them an idea of what they will have to do to qualify submarines. Nucs don't get any sub school; though when they get to their boat, they will get the damage control training for fires and flooding at trainers located at their base. The experience nucs gain in qualifying at prototype is more than adequate preparation for qualifying on submarines.

To answer Sherry's question, after 7-8 weeks of BESS, they will most likely be on hold for a few weeks, then start ATT (Advanced Technical Training), which is basic electricity and electronics, I believe. It is computer-based and self-paced, and takes about a month. They then have another similar hold period, and then have TCNO (Tactical Computer Network Operator) training, also computer-based and self-paced, lasting about a month. Then another brief hold period, followed by 18 weeks of "A" school for STS, FT, or ET-Nav. About halfway through BESS, they will learn what their rating will be, and they will learn what homeport they will have a little past th halfway point of "A" school, learning the particular boat a couple of weeks later. Below, I'm pasting a link to the sub school website - don't sweat the warning your browser will give you when you access the website - it is a safe site, it just uses a security signature that most browsers don't recognize.

Comment by Mark on September 6, 2009 at 10:49pm

ND,
Of all the guys who go straight to BESS from boot camp, only the Missile Techs go somewhere besides Groton for "A" school. They may have a short, one month school after BESS - all the other programs; MM-Aux, MM-Weps, and SECF (sonar, fire control, ET-Nav, and ET-Comm) have their "A" schools in Groton. You can be confident of this.

Comment by Mark on September 2, 2009 at 11:12pm

Ellen,
He'll learn about halfway through BESS what his rating will be. There will be leave at Christmas. I don't know the exact dates, but training will stop for two full weeks surrounding Christmas Day and New Year's. One group will be able to take leave the first week, the rest during the second week. Leave after BESS is unlikely, unless maybe if they're on hold. With Christmas coming, it would be smarter to save the leave though - he'll want it down the road. That thirty days of leave a year sounds like a lot, but it really isn't since weekends and holidays that fall during a period of leave are charged, just the same as a day in the middle of the week. I do not know what happens in Groton over Thanksgiving.

Comment by Gloria P. on September 2, 2009 at 7:19pm

Hey Kirsten how are you? Hows Lee doing I PM you the other day did you get it?

Comment by Gloria P. on August 27, 2009 at 5:27pm

Keith's mom there is a small graduation after he finished BESS also A school. That I know of those are the only 2 schools that have graduations. Just remember they are much smaller than the one for bootcamp. Your son should be able to find out the dates for his. Just a FYI at times the date may change so make sure your son gets you the info on time. Won't want you to make plans to come out and the date changes.

Comment by Mark on August 25, 2009 at 10:57pm

Thanks for that Tanya - I had heard that rumor, but wasn't sure, so I'm glad you could confirm it. Zach has his second test this week, so I'm crossing my fingers - and thank you for getting back to me on the earlier question; glad to hear you and hubby are settled in down South now.

Comment by Mark on August 25, 2009 at 12:45am

Brittany, You will probably not be able to get 100% certainty that your fiance will be able to get leave after sub school. Most likely he will, but there is always the chance that his boat will be leaving on a deployment (or patrol) immediately after BESS, and they may feel that they need him right away.

Comment by Mark on August 25, 2009 at 12:40am

The SECF "A" schools are all twenty weeks long. If you add thirteen months to the day they went off to boot camp, you'll have a rough approximation of when an SECF will finish up in Groton. There are "C" schools for the SECF rates, but I don't think they can get them until they've completed part of their sea tour (a year, maybe?). It wouldn't surprise me if they tie "C" school to extending their enlistment out to six years active duty.

Comment by Mark on August 24, 2009 at 5:02pm

Hi SpittlerJ,
Tanya is the expert on that subject - but if I remember correctly, her and her husband were able to set up house soon after BESS, before his "A" school. As long as your car gets it's decals for registering on base, and you have your dependent ID, either you or he can drive on base. He should be able to start with his LPO (leading petty officer) with his questions, and he'll point him in the right direction - it's pretty simple, he just uses his chain of command for that stuff.

Comment by Mark on August 23, 2009 at 11:36pm

hi Brittany - Alex' liberty privileges should go with him to Groton, since he has earned them, so you should be good to go... enjoy!

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