Moms of IS (Intelligence Specialist) sailors.

Six active...standard for IS rate because of time involved in training. What is IDW pin? I know,... something, something warfare, right? lol Not sure about ChrisM reenlisting. He is getting off the ship today and headed home to Atsugi. I am thinking by the time he gets ready to go back on the ship in the spring, he will have pretty well decided. Actually, he should be deciding soon. His window for reenlistment will be its best within a few months.  

Information Dominance Warfare.  Chris has his Air Warfare and said when it comes to listing them after his name the IDW comes before the AW.  I guess it carries more weight. 

Oh cool! I wonder why Chris did not have to work towards that while he was in Korea? Maybe that pin comes along after advancement? Oh well, one pin at a time.

Mary,

I don't think he has to wait until any advancement he just needs to tell his leader he wants to work on that pin - of course after things quiet down for him with his other pin!!!)  They are all good, but all ISs will have to have the IDW at some time.

Oh ok. Thanks for the info. he is back home at Atsugi sharing his travels and adventures with Liz. I saw pics of him at fb a while ago. Was soooo good to see his smile! 

Kim, thank you so much for the info. I bet Anna knew that too but her Chris likely got his surface pin when he was AO during his first enlistment. She might have just left that part out figuring I already knew it.

Kim,

Yes, sometimes we wonder with the info out there.  My son has his air warfare and the IDW comes before that - most likely because he got the AW when he was an AO like Mary mentioned and now he is an IS so that pin would take precedence.  What is the ESWS?  And I heard only two pins as well so I'm not too sure about more than that!!!!

Maybe the 3rd pin (really the 1st pin) was their wings for pilots or the pins that the submariners wear.

Anyone ever gone to C school graduation? my son graduates in a few weeks and we are planning on attending.  Any info would be great? times, how to get on base, how long the cermony is, do they get liberty that day?    Thanks!

purplegiraffe,

Hubby and I attended C school graduation several years back.  All info about time and place was given by our sailor.  On the day of graduation we met at a pancake house for breakfast and then he escorted us on base, signed us in at the auditorium and we went in and sat down.  It was a nice, simple, no frills graduation.  After we waited in the auditorium talking to the officers and other families while our sailors checked out of the classroom.  After that they were ours!!!!

purplegiraffe, Anna is right that they will notify you. It has generally been Friday morning that they have the ceremony. He will get his certificate for graduating C school and then after some pictures and meeting some of their roommates/shipmates etc you may go wait outside the sailor's dorm and help move him/her out. (Pack light...he may have accumulated a few items) I only went for the day so I took nothing with me but money. We had his car packed and mine too. We were off the base by 12:00 or 12:30 and hit a seafood restaurant up across from the Coast Guard museum for lunch. Then he and his best friend went into the mall for about an hour while I got some sleep in the car. (We left home at 2:00 am to be at VA Beach for graduation). I recommend if you are traveling through Norfolk to be past there by 4:00pm. We went through at 5:00 and Chris had GPS...I was following him. He knew the lanes, I did not. That was a nightmare....................................... 

It has been years since ive looked at this group..i added this page back over 4yrs ago when my husband first enlisted...I have to say IS was a great rate! It was a good decision..and hes had a lot of great experiences bc of it..he enjoys what he does and its given him some good options when he gets out!

aiRplane, good to hear from you! I'm glad you and your sailor have been happy with his choice. We do all feel that it is an excellent rating for preparing folks for a great civilian job. Check in with us again to let us know if he continues with the Navy or musters out and what he does when he leaves.

ok, we are going to graduation.  my son is taking 5 days leave after graduation before leaving for Japan.  He is going to chicago to see his dad for 5 days.  does he leave his dorm? he wants to fly to chicago on saturday, does he come back to damneck then leave to japan, or can he leave for japan from chicago?

Once he graduates he must vacate his dorm and the base. He will get his papers to fly directly from Chicago to Japan (unless he has planned a side trip). Where in Japan is he going? My son is there also.

he is going to yokosuka-shore duty, he said his IS1 his working on the whole logistics, i am hoping he can stay till saturday before flying to chicago (he is going to his dads).

I don't know if he can stay over or not. He might have to go to Norfolk for the night or get a private room or pay to stay at Navy Lodge. He will likely enjoy Yokosuka. My son had to go there to board his ship. My neighbor's brother is a civilian contractor at Yokosuka. May be able to hook your son up to him and his family. Most of his kids have graduated hs but I think his youngest daughter went with them. Really nice guy.

My son is graduating from IS A School this week! I just found out that, from what my son has been told, parents aren't allowed at this graduation. Anyone else hear or experience differently?  I'm not disappointed I've arranged the trip; it'll still be great to take him out to celebrate and spend the weekend with him. :)

My son graduated on Friday and my Mom was going to head down from NJ and my son said it was held in the class and no one is allowed in the building.  As she would have liked to see him, he had watch that weekend so it would have been a total loss.  I guess all the graduation ceremonies for our IS's are in secured locations.

Usually the A school graduation is not attended by parents.  But C school graduation has always been held in an auditorium in the past and family and friends can attend that one.

I haven't heard of any changes to C school graduations but that doesn't mean Mamma Navy can't suddenly change things!!!!!

My son is an officer and is presently in Dam Neck in Officer's Intelligence School.  He will graduate April 12.  Does anyone know if family can attend the graduation for the officer's school?

Yeah I agree with Anna that C school grad is still open to those on the sailor's list as far as I know. When our guys were there they did have a small A school grad ceremony but I suppose so few parents went, they just give them their certificates and then take the remainder of the day off.

As for officers...I would think the family would be invited just the same. I cannot imagine my son graduating a C school of any type again and I not show up. Don't the officers go through the same school, they just rate/rank higher at graduation? Ask now, and be pepared to go. I sure would!

Hi ladies. My son is in A school at Dam Neck and graduates early next month, then C school of the Navy's choice. He is a reservist, which my son says about 75% of the IS students are, do IS get deployed? I've read that they rarely do...anyone know?  

I'm really hoping to go to C school graduation, I would love to see that.

Hi jacobsmom.  IS most definitely do get deployed.  Not sure about reserve staus but you an count on it for active duty Navy.  My son just got back from a long deployment on a carrier in a not so much fun area. 

Sorry, can't be too specific about anything, especially on this page.

Jacobsmom...depends. The needs of the Navy. You know.... The scoop is that a reservist who was in A school and C school around the same time as my son has worked hard to get deployed so he can continue his training on a day-to-day basis. He has been trying for 4 years and so far he continues to do Honor Guards for funerals, Color Guards at professional sports games, and his required training. He was at the top of his class, very smart and a real Alpha kind of person. I know another reservist who didn't cut it as IS and  was recently retrained and rerated...he is going overseas soon. It really just depends on what the Navy needs.

Laura,

Not all IS get deployed.  My son is on his second enlistment as an IS and hasn't deployed once.  In fact, he'd love to get deployed.  He was deployed twice while on his very first enlistment as an AO but zero as an IS!!!!!

Your welcome Jacobsmom!!!  Thank you for sharing those sweet words.  Best of luck to your son, I hope his dreams are realized by mamaNavy!!!!  I also have two girls - one did her 4 years and is out now, her twin sister was just commissioned an officer!!  So proud of all my kids - - even the oldest who is the only one that didn't go military!!!  But that's ok!!!!

My daughter is getting her orders today.  This is going to be the longest morning ever!  In a way, I want her to get a deployment and see the world but the mom in me wants her to stay stateside so I can see her once in a while!  Anticipation.....so proud of her as I know everyone here is proud of their child!

Stacy, congrats to your daughter for making it this far into a tough program. I know she will enjoy it, no matter where she ends up. My son has had good commands and great commands, but everywhere he has learned some fun lessons and some hard, growing-up lessons.

She will learn sooo much more being out in the world than she can from books. Everything is another adventure. We are here when you can't hear from her or she is sad, so you are sad for her. Breathe deeply.......the ride is beginning. 

ZacsMom, good to hear from you...yes, it varies so much with the ISes but it seems that more often than not the reservists stay stateside in this rating.

ZacsMom, I understand his point of view and your reservations concerning his assignments...has he looked into the Intelligence program that I suppose is still offered at I think Tidewater Community College near VA Beach. He obviously scores well on his tests, and already has security clearances in place. I think there are a few colleges that offer both 2 yr and 4 yr degrees in Intelligence/Homeland Security. It might be a way for him to work and go to school. Everything in the classroom can be learned from the job. Just a suggestion. 

It can be short of an act of congress for him to change commands but if he can do that, then yes, some commands do see more activity.

Hi Kim! 

Hope all is well.  My son is still officially with the Enterprise.  No new orders yet.  There has been talk of two different carriers but no firm orders yet.  How is your son doing these days?

Hi, I just joined this group and wanted to introduce myself.  I'm a Navy vet married to an Active Duty Sailor, and we have 2 kids, a son who is also an Active Duty Sailor and a daughter in college. 

Our son is an IS stationed at Coronado :-)

Welcome sailorwifenmom, thank both of your sailors for us and big Navy mom squeeze to them!! I have heard Coronado is a great command; best of luck to Mr IS!

Thanks :-)

Our son is really enjoying being out there.

Wow, that must be a pretty new change about the graduation!  My husband and I were able to go down to our son's this past fall without any problems.  (My husband is still on Active Duty himself, so we don't need our son to have base access, so maybe that's part of the issue?) 

Thankfully, they're really reducing IA's across the board, plus the shift to more of the IA's being done by reservists will hopefully ease some of the burden and strain the active duty has been under...  But what with everything going on with the budget and deployments and stuff, who knows... :-/

Hey Kim!  Looks like sailor son will be headed to another carrier, CVN77.  USS George H.W. Bush.  From the oldest carrier to the newest.  I hope this one has a working air conditioning system!

Laura, glad he is going to one that is so updated! Hopefully some of the COs, XO, and Chiefs have moved on and been replaced with some, more concerned about the boat. When my son was on the G H W Bush about 1 1/2 years ago (he went out on her maiden deployment), he complained quite often that folks would do stupid stuff and clog up the septic system so it would stink the for a couple of weeks at a time. The A/C went out a couple of times during his 5 mos on. The Geo Washington is old and has its problems for sure, but I think he is actually more pleased with the ship and the ship's company who keep it afloat. Good luck to your son! 

Hi I have a son that just went to Dam Neck for his A school is there anything that I as his mom needs to know.