Moms of IS (Intelligence Specialist) sailors.

My Daughter graduated with all four calsses also, many went to Fallon, some to Fla. Dc, Va. Washington State, Hawaii,Korea.... They were all over the place. Mine came home and is stationed out of Fort Dix, NJ. Congrats and good luck!

Gumby, my Son would be so upset if he got stationed at Fort Dix.  We live in NJ. I would love it.  

I thought they make a wish list of their top 3.

My son graduated just after Mary's son Chris and he requested and got Fallon.  Then after 4 there he went to Norfolk.

Yes, Please be careful everyone but frankly there has been nothing said here recently that jeopardizes security. We are here for support and possibly a bit of knowledge. What has been said here is about IS in general not about specific folks, on specific dates, as they were on specific missions. Please don't discourage moms from asking questions. If the answers cannot be given out here than we just don't answer. Moms are concerned, and they are a bit worried about their sailor going into such a field as IS. It's all part of loving that sailor and wanting her/him to be safe and happy.

Mary,

So true!!  Nothing said was critical to security just where people have been.  btw - -
Chris found out today he made First Class!!

Anna, Yes!!! Congrats to him and to Vikki's son who I saw at the Nav Advancment Center facebook page also made IS1! Yippee! My Chris made IS2 a couple of months ago (should have gotten it a while back but the paperwork got messed up, again) between exam cycles. Has ChrisA decided to apply to OCS or STA-21? ChrisM is still kinda up in the air about it with all the sequester stuff, and a baby on the way, etc. I remember you said he had already re-upped.

By the way...ChrisA and ChrisM are just so we know which mom they go with such as Chris A(nna) and Chris M(ary). At one time we had I believe 4 Chrises moms on here, it was how we kept them all apart in conversations. No OPSEC breaches.

Ditto on the comments from Anna and Mary (Chris' mom)!!  We should not only watch what we say ~ identify on this page, but keep in mind what you might post on your Facebook page, if your sailor's duty assignment has a Facebook page - be careful what you post there, too.

YES - I remember when I first joined this group there WERE four Chris' moms!!  I was a BIT confused!!

My son is getting settled on land after his deployment.  He's found a house that he and his wife like - she's still deployed.  And, we're hoping he can come for a visit within the month!!

ChrisM - just a note for you.....a black bear was killed about 35 miles from our home.  He had visited the town to our west, then was shot as he threatened a calf.  See - we don't need to go to the mountains to find bears, cats, OH MY!!  :)

D, Why do you think I have not been to visit you???? lol A black bear terrorizing cattle? She must have been mighty hungry to go after meat and that much of it. Of course I forgot...your bears are just coming out of hibernation and only have about 3 weeks to fatten up before it's winter again there, teehee. I suppose I'd rather deal with the occasional bear or cougar than to be in TX dealing with sidewinders, and scorpions. Ok. Montana is better than where you came from! lol I think I will stick with NC, although I still want to come visit you guys some day.

Mary,

Let me know when you want to plan that visit!!!  I'll be there with ya!!! 

Sorry to hear about the bear tho. 

ChrisA is still talking about putting in for officer but there are some other things coming into play first.  He graduates with his Bachelor's degree next month.  We are going for the graduation ceremony.

Dee,

Congrats to your son and dil.  Hope everything works out for them on the house!!

And I didn't find it confusing on the group in the early days!!  You were either a Chris's Mom or you needed to change your sailor's name!!!!   he he!!!!

Anna -

LOL on changing the sailor's name!!!!

The mountains received MORE snow today - so we will want to wait a few more weeks before we hit the mountain!!!  :)

GOOD for ChrisA in remaining interested about becoming an officer!!  MANY CONGRATS on receiving his Bachelor's degree!!!!

My D.H. is working on his LAST class for his Master's program in Accounting - he was due to graduate three weeks back, but the college had to delay the class THREE times, trying to get enough students to make the class.

Dee,

Congratulations to your DH!!  What an accomplishment!!!

THANK YOU, Anna......yes, it's been a LONG road, but so worth it - and he will graduate summa cum laude!!

teeheehee...yes! You either had to be a mom of a Chris or you had to be a twin or have a twin...Anna you got both covered! Twins and a Chris!

Sorry D, you got the shaft on that...........But congrats to your other half. I will go congrat him at facebook in the morning!

<giggles>  LOL on the shaft - 'tis true our Navy boy is NOT a Chris.....but, remember, his older brother IS a KRIS!!!

Rick and I GREATLY appreciate your Congrats and GOOD WISHES!!

We wish EACH of you a SAFE and ENJOYABLE Memorial Day!!

Carl and Irene, Greetings! Such wonderful news about Cam! It must be a Japanese thing.

Chris and Liz are expecting their first baby this fall. You know how the boat's schedule runs, Chris will likely not be able to be in Japan when the baby is born. He is checking into the possibility of a temporary shore duty assignment so he can fly back ahead of the ship and stay there for 30-90 days. 

Like Cam, his time there has been extended. Since he took Liz with him and she was not on his original orders, they are requiring him to stay an additional 4 mos. If he decides to re-up then it's no biggie anyway, but if he decides to come out it would put him another semester behind in school, and having to find a job at the same time all the college grads are applying.

He commanded a Color Guard last week at a retirement ceremony. He was so pumped...that was his first one since leaving NJROTC in high school. He was supposed to participate in a Drill and Rifle exhibition when he was on board the BUSH during a Tiger Cruise, but I ended up at the hospital and he opted to stay with me. I really hate he missed out on that one. :-( 

Great to hear from you and I'm glad you have gotten settled in Oregon. I will probably email you before too long and update you a bit more. Navy hugs to you, Irene and Cam!

Hi, I am a recent mom to the IS community.  My daughter is in BC with a PIR 7/3. She will be headed to "A" school in Dam Neck VA after graduation.  Any other moms out there at the same phase I am...or any advice/info from other alumni moms?  Thanks.

Sara'sMom, sit back and hold on to the grab bar!!! Really, after awhile it all become rather ho-hum. I guess most of the time the folks here are either the "oldies" with exciting news about their sailor, or newbies who have a lot of questions during boot and school. Welcome to the group and if you have a question we will try to get an answer (unless it's classified :-) ).

With IS isn't always classified???  lol

lol, BarbRags...it does seem that way, doesn't it? Okay, we can tell you what our kids tell us (which is very darned little). My son used to look away from me and say, "Mom, I can't tell you that without your security clearances." Now he just looks at me and says, "That's OPSEC."

Sara'sMom,

Welcome to the world of IS!!  I'm sending you a messge on your profile page about another group you might find helpful!!

Kim, just a FYI...Dyon lives in eastern Montana. Congrats on your sailor going for additional training.

Carl and Irene,

So glad to hear from you and that all is well with you!!!  And especially good news from Cam!!!  I hope he's liking Fallon!!  So do we have wedding bells in the future??????

I will see if I can get one of the reservist's mom to come on and help address this. I know her son has struggled with trying to find something close to Kansas City, and has to drive a few hours to get to his duty station. I have not talked to her in awhile so maybe I should call her up and check in. I will see if she can help or maybe her son can help. 

Ellen, I tested her last night but she may have already been in bed, she usually gets up very early before she goes to work. She did not text me back this morning so I'm not sure what's up with that. If nothing else she tends to have Wednesdays and Thursdays off so I might see her at facebook. I will keep trying to text her or will try to call this evening after she leaves work.

Does anyone know why IS doesn't come home after A school and other rates do.?.  He said after C school.

IS Has c school which many of the rates only have an A school. If you are learning to be a fueler on a carrier then you only have one level of schooling. Nukes, IS, maybe Crypts, IT, and Corpsman, are some of the few that have both an A school and C school. Many of the schools such as MA are only 6 or 8 weeks long. Many of those folks wait longer to start school than attend classes. If your sailor gets one of the longer IS C schools then you will appreciate seeing them between the final graduation and his or her first duty station. Especially if they go overseas where they can't get home as often, or they go directly out to sea where they can't call home often.

That is an amazing picture.

Carl and Irene, Wow!! That's all I can say......Congrats to Cam and Tomoko. Does Cam plan to re-up? Or does having a wife make him want to take his education and put it to civilian use?

Carl and Irene,

What an amazing photo memory of such a wonderful event!!!!  Congratulations to Cam and Tomoko!!!

I just returned from a nice visit with Chris and his family.  I was giving him an update on Cam since we got your update.  He's glad to hear Cam is doing well!!! Chris is leaving in a few weeks for training in preparation for a deployment "over East"!!!

Does anyone know anything about Mayport naval base in FL?  My daughter just got her orders and she will be stationed there after her C school. By the way, she got exactly what she wanted on her dream sheet. I'm so happy for her! She got the specialty & the location.

Any others have their Sailors do a second C school.  My son graduates tomorrow and starts another C school on Monday.  He's so upset.  He was ready to come home this weekend and they changed everything.

BarbRags,

Many IS sailors do more than one C school so they have more than just one specialty.  Mostly tho' it's my understanding, that these opportunities are requested by the sailor.  I've never known of the school putting a sailor through two C schools on their own.  They may have a specialized billet they want to put your son in and he needs the extra schooling.  Sorry, but it is always the needs of Mother Navy!!!

Hi Birds!

You will hear about the room, the food, the iffy internet connection but you will never hear about the schooling.  The best approach is to not ask any questions about what they are learning.

The only thing I ever knew was that they could only study in the classrooms.  No material is to be taken from those rooms. If they want to get some extra study time in during the evening then they have to be in uniform and head back to the classroom.

My son and another classmate flew directly to an already deployed aircraft carrier right after graduation.  It was a long trip to get there.

Not all IS sailors deploy.  A friend's son has been an IS officer for a little over 10 years and he is coming up on his first ever deployment.  You just never know.  Hang on for the ride!

BirdsOfAFeather - looks like our guys will be heading to Dam Neck VA together.  From Kim and Laura it sounds like C school is organized by specialty.  That would account for the 5 to 13 weeks of training listed in the Career Path.  My husband (retired army) says this site is not good, but I think it's been very helpful for us civilians to understand the Navy.

Kim - do you know if reservists are ever deployed? 

GregsMom - looks like they will be heading out together.  I was wondering if any others were headed that way, almost everyone on the Bootcamp Mom site was having A school somewhere else.  Mine mentioned in a letter last week that he has his speciality narrowed down to two.  I hope he gets what he wants.  He also desperately wants to be deployed - hopefully an aircraft carrier - so I was glad to hear Kim say that's where her son went.  I know.....needs of the Navy, but still good to hear.  I love this site!  I don't know if I could have survived these last weeks it it hadn't been for N4M site and reading all the information. 

Laura and Kim, thanks for the helpful information!

BirdsOfAFeather - I hope both our SR's get an opportunity to choose a specialty.  With my son being in the Navy reserves it should be interesting what is available.  Maybe he will still end up going full time.

Hi SouthernCalimom ... my son will graduate on 8-16-13.  That doesn't mean that they wont be in the same group at A school because my understanding is that sometimes they hold until there is enough to fill a class.  My son called for info for his background check about a month ago and I have not heard anything since.  I guess no news is good news:)

Hi SouthernCalimom.  My son, too is PIR 8-16.  Nothing on a background check from this end either.  Do you know what they have them do if they have a long hold period?  Cook?  Clean?  PT?  Just wondering.  :)  

BirdsOfAFeather,

When my son was on hold for a couple months the newbies had some work to do at the barracks and around the area.  Since he was a prior service he was put in charge.  They also cleaned the Marine barracks.  That was a couple years ago so not sure if things have changed drastically.  They are kept busy so they don't get in trouble.