do you need to bring anything to nuke a school barracks

[diane]

MY SON WILL GRADUATE FROM BOOTCAMP 10/21/11, HE WILL GO TO GC SOUTH CAROLINA FOR NUKE A SCHOOL I WILL COMMENT LATER AFTER GRADUATION.I JUST WONDERED WHAT THEY DONT PROVIDE AT A-SCHOOL.

[Kat (MM Nuke)]

Hi Diana.  My son has been at Nuke school since last November.  He just graduated from the second school, Power School, last Friday.  When he got there he was issued bedding and towels for showers.  That is pretty much it.  he went out right away to the NEX and bought himself his own pillow, sheets, comforter, blanket.  He likes his own things.  They have to purchase their own toiletries, laundry detergent, etc.

He has been there long enough now that he has accumulated tons of stuff including a 32" t.v., Playstation, X-box, oscillating fan for his room, a thick mattress pad to make the bed more comfy, guitar and ampliphier, a comfy chair to curl up in and Lord knows what else.  At first, during A school, their rooms are very small.  They each have a desk and locking cabinet, and a shared closet to hang uniforms.  Two rooms share a bathroom.

After A school they either move to another double room or a single room, but the room is MUCH larger.  My son said his shared room is probably 4 times as big as his shared A school room was.

If he has a gaming system and small t.v. it would be nice for him to have them there.  If not it won't take long for him to go and buy them.  Everyone does it seems.  He will be very busy with school, but they do have a tiny bit of down time usually on Friday evening and Saturday and they just like to relax a bit and play games.  It's good socially for them too, getting together with friends, especially if they are under 21 and don't have a vehicle.  So don't worry about that part.

You can pass off his cell phone to him, and maybe a laptop if he has one, after PIR if you go tot he airport with him when he goes.  they aren't allowed until they get to the airport.  My son didn't end up going until the following Wed. and we left on Sunday so we had to mail him his things.  He managed to get to the NEX and purchase an ipad right away so he had communication access.

Oh, depending on who his roommate is, like if it is someone who's been there a while already, they may have internet cable already hooked up in the room and he will just have to chip in his $10 a month or so.  But if not then he'll have to get it set up in his own name and have a roommate help with the costs as he gets a roommate.  They all know how to work it out there.

They don't get great phone reception in their rooms, but internet works great and they can skype with us just fine.  Otherwise they walk outside to talk.  Not so much fun in the coldest part of winter though.

 

I know you are getting anxioius for his PIR next Friday.  I remember it well.  Congratulations and good luck to you all.

 

 

[diane]

MY SON IS SO NERVOUS ABOUT NUKE SCHOOL ,EVERYONE SAYS HOW HARD IT IS AT SCHOOL HAS YOUR SON HAD ANY PROBLEM WITH HIS CLASSES? I TOLD MY SON NOT TO WORRY UNTIL HE GETS THERE AND  FIND OUT HOW THINGS ARE. IN SURE THE SCHOOLING ISN'T EASY , HE WAS SO COMMITTED BEFORE HE LEFT FOR BC. TIME WILL TELL THANKS FOR YOUR HELPFUL RESPONSE.

[Kat (MM Nuke)]

I am sending you a friend request then I'll send a private message.

[diane]

OK  GREAT BUT IM NOT THE BEST ON THE COMPUTER.

[haps]

My son is almost thru A school and was never great student. The navy has vey specific way of teaching them to study. All nukes get mandatory study hours to start and those increase or decrease after every test depending on their score. Everyone there is studying hard and that. Becomes the norm. In was very worried when my son signed up but he is confident and content with the program. Your son will do great if he follows the program they set up for him.

[diane]

Thank you, you have made my butterflies in my stomach go away ,now i will save this for my sailor to read.

[Penny_Nuke_MM2_NimitzNuke]

My son said that having a vacuum is also a good thing.  While they do have some in the barracks, everybody has to share them so if they are in need of a vacuum for inspection, they may or may not have availability!!

[Kat (MM Nuke)]

mine got his own iron and ironing board too.  Just more convenient.  He didn't get it for a while though.

 

[NavyMomx3]

After boot camp my sailor was sent to Power School in SC also.  He called us and asked his Dad and I if we would be willing to drive his car which was in storage, from MN to SC for him.  He said he would even fly us home!  Wow, what a wonderful young man!!  We said we would be delighted to drive his car out to him; he told us what items he wanted us to bring out, his computer, computer games, a few books, very few clothing items, music CDs.  He prefers, because he is an 'adult,' to purchase and take care of all his other wants and needs.   

He has not purchased a lot of stuff because his goal was to eventually be out in a sub, how much stuff can you have with you on a sub?  Zippo, especially for the new guys. He was in SC, then after graduating there he was sent to NY for some schooling.  He is now an ELT.  After graduating from that program, he was sent to his 'second choice' place which was HI.  He loves it there.   He returned from his deployment on a sub not too long ago.  The few items he has purchased plus the items we took out for him, he now has with him in HI.  The Navy shipped his car from NY to HI.  The car is not fancy or even new but it is his car he purchased with his own money when he was 17 years old. 

He has used his money to establish a savings account for retirement, has gotten his scuba diving license, went sky diving, was in Time Square for New Year's Eve.....now that he is in HI he is learning to surf, gone to a luau, etc.  I'm so excited and happy for all his new adventures he is having in life. 

The Navy has been a challenging but highly worthwhile adventure in his life. 

[William in Nashua]

I agree with that. My son bought a small 20" flat screen TV. A lot of guys in A school were buying huge 47" television sets but then what are you going to do with it when you have to move? Even if you are stationed at Ballston Spa that is a big thing to move. It is better to travel light in my opinion.

Same thing with buying a new car my son is going to keep driving the 10 year old Mitsubishi and by the time he gets stationed in submarines, maybe outside the continental U.S. he can sell the car or give it away without taking a loss. A lot of these guys will be making payments on a brand new car they cannot use for long.

[diane]

William, thank you for your input, we already have a 20 inch tv and he has a10 year old dodge intrepid. Our stories sounds about the same.

[Kat (MM Nuke)]

We drove my son's truck back to him in March.  lit's a 1997 Ford Ranger.  He bought it from us about 5 years ago, paid cash, and it's still running just fine.  From time to time he says something about getting a new car, probably because all of the guys around him are doing it, but I keep telling him to just take care of what he's got and don't spend money on something you don't drive all that far anyway.  Most of the time their life is pretty much contained in the North Charleston area, from base to the mall, but I know they do go downtown on weekends too.  Still, no reason to spend all that money and higher insurance on a new or newer car when what you have is just fine for now.

William, he compramised and got the 32 inch t.v. :)