Seabee Moms

What is his rate as a Bee 8Almonds?  That will make a difference as to what and where he will go for A school.

Thoughts and prayers out to 3rd Battalion.  Stay safe sailors and family.

Yakergirl-- Is this NMCB3 from CA?

belovedbyHim - Yes, NMBC3.  Our son is assigned to that group as an electrician.

My Bee just got there this weekend.  He has indoc first then he will be headed out to join them!  He's a BU.

Our Bee has only been with the group for about six months.  Seems to be liking it so far.  We went to visit him a couple weeks ago.  It was a nice time, typical Southern CA.  The SeaBee museum is worth a visit.

G'sCBMOM-  A school for most Seabees in MS is at Gulfport. What is his rate (Job)? Gulfport is just outside of Biloxi.  I have good news and bad news on your first question.  There is time that they could come home but they will not be able to do so.  After PIR you will have the rest of that Friday and some time on Saturday morning (Early!!) until his flight to MS, but he cannot take leave to go home with you nor can you go to GP and hang with him there!! It stinks and I really think that it is silly but it is what the Navy says!! My son was on hold for almost 3 months waiting to class up!! It was annoying but at least we could call and skype!

G'sCBMOM-- You might want to check out https://www.cool.navy.mil/usn/enlisted/rating_info_cards/ce.pdf and https://www.navycs.com/navy-jobs/construction-electrician.html for more info on the CE Rate.  If you are not going to PIR then he will need to call you once he arrives at his A school and completes INDOC to give you an address to mail his stuff.  INDOC can take up to a week to complete depending on the command. We took our son his phone and laptop, some boxers and 2 jeans and 5 shirts.  Everything else was mailed upon request or donated by him when he finally came home on leave. It's best if they can learn to live light since they never know where they will live!

CE A School looks to be in TX not MS.

Our son has been assigned to the Nimitz and has been in Washington State for the last 1 1/2 years. He struck for a CB rate in February so will then head down to Sheppard Air Force Base in July.

My daughter is in boot camp now. She will be a Seabee. We have two sons in the Army so learning the Navy lingo is new to us. We are VERY supportive and excited about her journey.

Welcome Pickle!

Hello Everyone! Thank you for the add! My son is currently at boot camp with a PIR date of 2/9.  This is my 2nd round as a military Mom :) My oldest son was in the Marines for nine years, thrilled for my youngest son!! Looking forward to chatting with you all :)

Thank you Christine! My son was telling me he could possibly be stationed in Italy. Such a great way for these young men and women to see the world! Blessing to you and your son too :)

Welcome ReeseMom-- My bee was stationed in Sicily and we got to go visit and tour Italy for 3 weeks!!! It was AMAZING!!! I LOVED every minute of it!!  It was hard having him so far away for 3 years (followed by immediate deployment upon assignment stateside!!) but I'd never take this away from him!! He has grown so much as a man and I am so impressed and proud of him!!  Welcome to the Hive!!

That is wonderful belovedbyHim!!! As much as I would love my son close to us I want him to travel and enjoy this time in his life. My oldest son was stationed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego for almost 9 years in the Marines and we are in northern CA by Lake Tahoe. It was great having him so close (8-9 hours) but he was deployed three times for a long time and that wasn't pleasant! I would love to see Italy, I can't even imagine how wonderful the trip was!

Good Morning Seabee Moms!  Hope everyone is doing well this week.  Just a quick question:  my son is telling us that we do not need to come to the A School graduation in Ft Leonard Wood because it is quick and not necessary.  As a Mom, I am questioning this and want to be there if we are allowed and welcome (not to mention that he will be heading further away soon and this would be a closer place to visit/give a hug before he ventures to his next destination).  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Take care and thoughts/prayers are with you and your sailors, as always!

@ JiggsMom, Graduation for SeaBee A school is very short and your son is telling you what ALL recruits are told. My son told us the same two years ago. The graduation last for a just a few minutes, (nothing like boot camp). Normally they leave the same day or the day after to go to their next destination so their time with you could be very brief to absolutely none at all. Hope this helps <3

It is definitely a smaller ceremony and nothing like boot camp.  We went when our son graduated A school in Gulfport but were the only family there.  We were welcomed and glad we went but most don't and our son started a week of leave so we took him back home with us.  He flew back to Gulfport then to join his battalion.

Good morning everyone! My son graduated from BC on 2/9 and is currently in A school in Gulfport. I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone and being part of this group!

Congratulations to your son and your family!  Enjoy the journey, as we are.....It has been an amazing and eye opening experience so far and we cannot wait to see what else the future brings for our son.  He has just finished A school and is leaving for CA tomorrow.  He is so happy and looking forward to what lies ahead.  Best wishes to all SeaBees!

Thank you JiggsMom!! Congratulations on your son finishing A school! Was he in Gulfport too? Isn't it a blessing when they feel good about what is coming up!!!

He was in Fort Leonard Wood, MO.  He is very excited to be heading to CA to be with Navy again!!  (FLW is an Army base, so only about 80 Navy were there).  He had some "buddies" from Boot Camp that went to Gulfport though and seemed to do well.

Good luck to your son!  It will go fast!  Just a blessing to see your child enjoying what they are doing:)

Good Morning, I know I read it somewhere , now I can not find it. What are they allowed to bring to A School as far as clothing goes?

My son just took what he had at Basic Training first.  Then, when he phased up I believe, we sent him some additional "civilian clothes", his computer, care packages:), etc.

Great , I believe I read that they like to have their own underwear?!?!!

HA!  I think they like to have a lot of their own things:)

Good Luck!

I am sure they do ! Thanks again have a great day : )

We took our son his laptop, underwear, jeans and 2 shirts.  He couldn't wear them at first but once he phased up he didn't have to wear his uniforms when he went to the mall with buddies to get more stuff.  His physic changed at BC and most of what he had didn't fit well anymore!  He cleaned most of it out when he came home.

Good morning all! I am a Seabee mom as wells as a Seabee Veteran. My son will graduate from BC on 5/4/18 and head to "A" school in Missouri. Its has been over 20 years since I was in so I know a lot has changed. Can anyone tell me if he will get any leave before he leaves BC for A school? I am thinking he will not, however things may have changed?

In our son’s experience, he had leave because his group was the last BC graduating before Xmas. Normally they will be no leave, they ship out the Saturday after BC to A school 

First, thank you for your service years ago:)

In October, our son went directly from BC, the next morning after graduation, to Missouri.  He then had a break over the holidays.

Good luck to your son!

Good morning! Can anyone tell me how long after reaching "A" school, will it be before my son can have visitors? I understand they will have to wait before they actually get liberty. Just wondering how long that normally takes? He will be going to Missouri. He graduates BS 5/4/18. Also, normal time once he gets there to actually class up?

oops! I meant to type BC not BS!! LOL

Anybody have any experience with sea bees and where they are assigned after A school? 

Pt hueneme ( although they told my son that is a rare first shore duty station) san Diego, San Francisco, Washington, Mississippi and Virginia ( I think) are the most common us stations 

MSMonster:  

I believe it was a few weeks before my son phased up at A School and was able to dress in civilian clothes and go out.  We did not visit until the end just before he graduated and moved on to his next location.  At that point, he was able to spend the weekend with us which was awesome!

Hang in there....you are almost finished with the hardest part and will get to see/hug your son very soon and enjoy the graduation!   In case you are interested, we found a great little Italian restaurant in Gurnee which was not the typical list of places to go for a meal after graduation.  I would highly recommend it if you like Italian:)-Tina's Italian Cafe and Bake Shop!  In addition, we stayed at one of the hotel's with a kitchen and our son just enjoyed the afternoon/evening with us, had a home cooked dinner and then went back to the base for his early departure the next morning (where we met him at the airport to see him off again).

Take care.

Sydney:

My son headed to Port Hueneme recently with several others from his A School Class.  He is now in Mississippi for additional training.  I think the list mentioned below includes the most common locations.  

The two main Seabee bases in the states are Gulfport, MS and Port Hueneme, CA.  Depending if they are going into sea duty or shore duty first, and what their rate (job) is and where there are needs, determines where they are stationed.  There are Seabees at bases spread throughout the states but the battalions man out of the two main bases. No matter where they go, it is an adventure for them and for us!

My son just called from BC this morning. I havent spoke to him since he left on 3/7. He told me he went this past week to speak to a classifier and he was able to give a list of places he would like to be stationed at here state side as well as where he would like to go overseas. I thought that was strange that he would be able to give an input of where you would like to go after "A" school even before he graduates from BC. He also said he will be told a week or so before BC where he will get orders to after "A" school. Is this this something new that they do? Back in my day, you didn't get your duty station orders until the end of "A" school.

I like the comment about "an adventure for them and for us".....just never know and it is all about what the Navy needs, as mentioned (and it changes a lot, too).  

I believe they had the opportunity to give a list, but again, it will be where they are needed.  My son told us several possibilities (and has for deployment coming up later this year as well) and both have changed.  Glad to finally know his battalion, even if he is now somewhere else for a month of combat training.

Keep enjoying those phone calls:)

Hello! I am a new Seabee mom. He just got to his A school last night. He has a UT rate. Are there any moms out there familiar with this? Looking forward to connecting.