SECF - ET & FT & STS

Congrats dovewood!!!

DeannD, the only thing I know about FT is it is a Fire Tech and has something to do with the electronics of the firing (missles) system. Hopefully someone else will know more. Good Luck to your son.

Rhonda8881, Thank you. I was able to go on line and find some more on it. It's weird that I wouldn't even let him play with toy guns and he gets a ribbon in BC for sharp shooter and now this. Well who would have known. I am proud. Thanks again.

My sailor did not qualify for sharp shooter in BC. He did qualify as expert once at his home port. He went into sub school wanting to be FT, but was chosen for Nav instead. He loves what he is doing.

Hi everyone. Its been a while since I've been here. We just brought a townhouse and are closing tomorrow so going crazy packing and getting things in order. Our son went out to sea yesterday and from what we were able to find out from him his sub will be out for a few months. So happy for him. Just glad for computers so we can email each other. Hopefully when they get back to port he"ll be able to come home and see the new place.
Also wanted to welcome all the new members to the group. For all who are out to sea may fair winds and following seas be with you all :)

Hi dovewood,
Congrats to your son, I know you've gotta be proud! He will definitely get to know the CO if he does get selected for submarines. Since he knows he'll be an ET, he'll be eventually qualifying Reactor Operator (RO); on a submarine the final step in qualification as an RO is a one-on-one interview/exam with the skipper. It's one of the few watchstations on a submarine that requires it. If you're not already a member of the 'Nuke Moms' group, you'll want to; the ETs in this group are actually the ETs in the forward part of the boat working on navigation systems. The nuke ETs have a quite different job, and very different training.

Smurf,
ATT and TCNO are self-paced, on average I believe they take 3-4 weeks each. Dunno what ACU is, is it new? The "A" school is 18 weeks, though.

Smurf - "A" schools start on set dates; because of that they usually are on "T" track, or whatever they call it (a hold, basically) for a couple of weeks before. That's when I visited my son (an ST, also SECF) at Groton last summer.

Mark - It's very confusing to know exactly where to join. I thought this would be the place since I didn't know that sub ET's are differentiated between Nuke and non-Nuke. He volunteered from the get-go for sub so he is definitely going sub and his Recruit Training Officers actually assigned him to ET and as he explained it, there are only one ET Nuke out of each Division so he felt pretty proud of that. I will definitely go to Nukes Moms. Is there a Nukes Moms- Submarine Group?

Not that I know of dovewood, but you will want to know that not all nuc sub volunteers go to subs. There are more volunteers than there are spots. The decision is made towards the end of prototype training based on where they're needed, and I believe, their performance. I'm not positive that performance is a factor though, because I'm sure the carrier fleet doesn't want all the everyone from the bottom of the class. There are plenty of good ones that don't want subs though, so they probably take performance into account, the way they do in assigning homeports based on sailor preference.

his smurf -

ACU is awaiting class up (according to my sailor). That is the time in between classes it there are not enough to start a class, or as in A school starts on a specific date and they finish the previous class earlier. I think my sailor had ACU 2 or 3 times while at Groton.

dovewood, there is a group for Sub moms that has "Boomer" moms and dads, etc. You would be able to learn from them. I am a member of that group and there are always discussions about both Boomer and Fast Attack subs.

I should clarify what I said about sub volunteers not necessarily going subs. I was talking about the sub volunteers in the nuc program, since dovewood found this forum. Most folks on this forum are probably not familiar with the nuc program, but as I told dovewood, they don't make the final designation of surface or sub in that program until they're pretty much done with the almost two years of training, since it has a moderately high attrition rate of sailors who don't make it academically. SECF is specifically a submarine rating, and everyone enlisting in it will go subs, provided that they complete BESS successfully and aren't disqualified for some other reason. I apologize if I mislead anyone... :)

You are welcome!

Hello, I have a son on a sub right now going through all the classes and training. Mark your information is very interesting to me because my son isn't a talker. He doesn't explain things to me. Maybe the less I know the better right. lol So thank you.

ShelbyCoreena - there are a lot of things they cannot tell us, but I know some sailors just are not great communicators!!! There is a ton of information you can learn from this group. Everyone here as either been through what you are going through; is going through it or will be soon. Ask any questions you have and someone will answer you. Welcome aboard!!!

Does your son know what his job will be yet? How long has he been in school?

Hey future SECF here :) I was wondering how likely it is that I will be able to do STS? I've read a good deal on each rating and honestly would love any of them, but STS is extremely appealing to me. Any thoughts, questions, and comments would be appreciated! :)

~Future Sailor (DEPPER)

ST is probably the easiest to get, simply because there are more ST watchstations than the others. FT and ET-Comm are the hardest to get. You'll submit your preferences when you get to BESS, and will find out about halfway through BESS which one you get. Good luck...

First, thank you for the quick reply! Second, by ST watchstations what exactly do you mean? Is there a chance I'll be assigned a shore station monitoring sonar or is it assured I'll be on a Sub? I see your previous post says that everyone in SECF who qualifies will be on a Sub. Thought I'd get a little more clarity. Thanks Mark you're extremely helpful!

I thought ET Nav was harder than FT. My son wanted FT originally but was told he scored too high on his test so they gave him his second choice, ET Nav.

They be yankin' his chain there, Rhonda...

By ST watchstations - I refer to at sea, in the sonar shack, except for VA class, where they've eliminated the shack. Monitoring SOSUS is an option for shore duty after the first sea tour; i.e. - after re-enlisting...you can count on going to a boat after training in Groton.

Happy Mother's Day to all Navy Moms!

Good News! My sailor qualified for Quarter Master this past weekend!

That's what my son is Rhonda888 a ET Nav. I'm not sure exactly what he does but it has to do with navigation and that's not getting the sub lost ,if I had to make an educated guess. From my understanding hasn't this job description changed in recent years? Daddy was on an aircraft carrier so this sub stuff is new to me.
Loved the video. Does anyone know if i can save this to my computer?

I am not sure if ET Nav has changed. My son has been on a sub since 2007 and I don't think it has changed since then, but he may not have told me if it did! I know he works with the A Nav and probably the Nav also. I know he works on the Electronic Systems for the Navigation department. I also know that one of his 2 work areas is in the middle of a walkway on the sub! We were able to visit him in January and he gave us a tour of the sub. It wasn't as small as I thought, but still not very big! There were areas we were not allowed to see and each area is not very big, but I was surprised at how high the "ceiling" was. If you are 6'6 you won't think that, at 6' my husband did not have to duck very often.

Hope everyone has a great week!

The changes were several years earlier, when the QM, or Quartermaster rate was eliminated on submarines, and their duties were rolled into those of the NavETs. Around the same time the IC, or Interior Communications Electrician was eliminated also. Not sure who got those duties, but they could have been divvied up among the NavETs, FTs, and even some to the nuc EMs back aft. The QMs were converted to ETs, not sure what happened to the existing IC men.

Ahh. I see. I thought something had changed in this area. I remember family speaking of it. Still a job I don't think I can do. Mark do you know if parents can watch the sub leave? I think I would like to fly out even if I can't just to see him.

Shelby - I don't think you can because family is only notified 24hours before they leave. If you live at the base it may be different, I don't know for sure. I just know that no one other than the sailors know exactly when they are leaving, and sometimes that changes also! I hope someone who knows for sure can answer. I am curious also.

Thanks Rhonda, Guess I will see him when he gets home :(

Thanks Rhonda got your message. Contacted the person in that group, very helpful. Looks like it's not going to work out for me this time but maybe when he gets home. Thank you for your help.

You are very welcome ShelbyCoreena. I found out a lot recently also. I had no clue because my son has not been on deployment yet, but will be soon.

Happy Veteran's Day to all vets; past, present and future! Thank you for your service (and your families for standing beside you). May God Bless your future abundantly.

Sorry folks.............I meant Happy Memorial day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a natural blonde and I guess I was having a blonde moment!

Hi everyone haven't been on for a while just wanted to welcome all the new members to our group. Wishing everyone the best. Here something pretty kool I want to share with all of you my son call us the other day and says that he calling from 400 feet below the sea....they were allow to since the emails weren"t worry and they were doing something that allow them to use their cell phones. I thought that was amazing just wanted to share. :)

Gloria that is exciting. My son was able to do that a while back. I thought it was amazing that they are able to do that, even if it is few and far between!

Congrats Keith'smom! I hope you have a safe trip and enjoy it!

Hi my name is Jen and my hubs is a sonar tech.

Welcome to the group Jen! what boat is your husband on? My son is a Nav ET in Pearl Harbor.

he was on a boat out of kingsbay, ga but now he is in another sonar school.. we are moving to Guam in sep to where he'll be on another sub...

thanks fr the welcome Rhonda..

Can anyone tell me about the schooling for Secf? My Husband just got classed as it in BMT on the 6th and doesn't know much. Any info would be great! Where are the schools, how long? Can I move with him? What does each job entail? I know there are different branches...Help me, I am so confused and his recruiter won't help me at all...Originally he was AECF, and I was supposed to move with him to Chicago but now he says something about Connecticut?

Hi Mark ....I just added the discussion forum in this group...sorry that was an oversite...anyone welcome we are here to help each other out :)

Hi everyone was on Vacation in New Orleans so haven't been on for a while...I just received and email from my son he's doing great out to sea in his sub... but he said that back at his home base Hawaii his room and some others were broken into...he doesn't know if anything has been taken he will find out when he gets back...the sad thing about it is it was a former crew member on his boat that is so sad. Just glad he has renters insurance. Don't know what going to happen to this other guy who is a FTSN. By the way what is wrong is wrong

I know thanks Mary H

Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe July 4th Holiday weekend.

4 more days and our son will be home can't wait for Friday to get here :)

Congrats Gloria!!

Gloria, I hope you are having a great time with your sailor home!

Congrats Gloria!! I can't wait to see my son

I heard from my submariner on Sunday. He is on deployment and I did not know when I would talk to him again, so I was very excited to hear from him.

Just wanted to welcome all the new member to the group we are here for you....wishing all the sailors a great summer...P.S. my boy is home, its great having him here even thou its for a short time but loving it. Wishing all the best :)

I am so happy for you ladies!!