I've joined several groups since my daughter graduated Power School in June and I'm starting to get confused on where info is coming from. She is an MM Nuke at Prototype in BS. I was wondering if anyone knows about Prototype? I've read something about oral boards??? Is that for all Navy personnel or only officers?? Do officers even go to Prototype????
My son graduated Nuclear Prototype school 11/29/12. What questions do you have - I'm hapy to help answer. Regarding boards, once they finish all of their qualifications and their 100% test, then they go before an Oral Review and have to pass it to become a licensed MM. They only go to school with other enlisted. Officers go to Prototype as well but are not in with the mix of enlisted.
Penny Nuke, thanks for the reply. That's about 100% more info than I had this morning. Not sure of my questions yet since she hasn't actually started Prototype yet, but I'll post as they come up. Did your son know about the oral boards before he started Prototype? Jenny's not too keen on oral presentations and I don't want to bring it up if she doesn't know about it yet.
I can only tell you what came from my son, but every one of them are given a schedule at the beginning of each section (A-school, Power School, Prototype). It tells them every single subject, test date, boards, and graduation. So, that said, your sailor will be fully aware of what is expected of her from day one.
All submariner's do not attend school in Groton, CT. The nuclear trained ones, attend school in Goose Creek, SC (MM, ET, & EM rates). They may stay in GC for Prototype or go to Ballston Spa, NY for Prototype, then out to the fleet.
I was in a live chat and someone had mentioned that my SR might go on to C school after A school? He's MMS and attending A school in Groton, Conn. can anyone tell me where this "C school" would be and how lnf it would be for? And if he were to atend C school does me get leave inbetween A to C?
hello, all... i am wondering.... awhile back there was talk of someone in or near goose creek, sc that makes cakes. my son's bday is 11/23 and i was hoping someone here would know how to contact the "cakemaker" would love to surprise my son with a homemade cake!
Where do I find out information about the training for a Machinest Mate. My son mentioned starting with BECC school and I would like to read more about this. He is on hold for A school right now. It has been 3 months - is this typical?
Hello! My son PIR is 3/14 and he will be staying in GL for A-School can anyone tell me where I can locate information related to A-School for future Machinest Mates? How long is A-School? Thanks a bunch!
My husband PIR'd on 1/24. He is currently on hold in Great Lakes. machinist mates have to go through the BECC first. The total time of schooling is around 14 weeks. But they usually are on hold for around 2-3 months before classes start. During that time, and during school they can have their phone, laptops, gaming systems. And also get liberty on weekends and during the week.. They go through different phases of liberty. And while they are on hold they mostly clean.
My son graduated 10/13/13 and was on hold for 3 months before he started A school. He got to come home for 16 days over the holidays though. He is almost done with BECC school, will be on hold for awhile (not sure how long )! Then he goes on to the MM training. I suggest you join the Great Lakes A school group - that is very helpful.
Hi Tony's Mom! My son is between RTC and A School - stuck on hold in Great Lakes. I'll be excited to hear about your experiences!. How are you feeling so far?
My husband is an MM is currently on hold for A school. Just curious to see what their first deployments are like. They told my husband to expect probably 9 months. Hope you hear from him soon!!
My SR was told before he left for boot camp that he would be at A School in Groton for 30wks to train for MMS. But, according to his letters, he was told differently at his classification briefing last week. He was told it would be 49 days (7wks).
He says this sounds too good to be true, and I was thinking the same thing. If his schooling is 7wks he would graduate a week before our first child is due and may be able to attend the birth!! :-D
Does anyone know if 7wks for MMS is a possibility? I sincerely hope so...
Ashley, my son is also a MMS. His PIR was on June 21st last year and he graduated A school on Nov. 22nd and he didn't have to wait to class up, meaning he finished one class and he was onto the next one. The BESS (Basic Enlisted Submarine School) itself is 6 wks or so. He will have a choice he wants to be an Auxiliary Specialist or a Weapons Specialist (TorpedoMan). My son chose weapon and it is about a month longer than the auxiliary. I hope this helps.
My son went to Groton on October 18,2014. He said he has to wait to class up. Any advice on helping him get started on building background on what he will be studying. He wants to be a machinist mate that deals with weapons. Does anyone know of any good books for him to read to help him get a jump start on studying.
My son went to Groton on October 18,2014. He said he has to wait to class up. Any advice on helping him get started on building background on what he will be studying. He wants to be a machinist mate that deals with weapons. Does anyone know of any good books for him to read to help him get a jump start on studying.
madhoby, my son is in Groton now. His PIR was 7/25/14. He had to wait a couple of weeks for B.E.S.S. to start. During that time he was doing his qualifications so that he could Phase up and start to gain privileges. They have to go to several places on base and learn about standing watch,etc and get signed off that they have done these things. There are some practice BESS test on the the website:navybess.com/about_bess. My son graduated BESS on Oct 3rd. My son just graduated from Basic Machinist School this past Friday. It was a basic class about tools and being a machinist. It was only 3 weeks. Next is his A school and he is not sure how long he will have to wait for it to start. He did get chosen to be a machinist mate on weapons. They were required to write an essay on why they wanted to be assigned to weapons. Only 10 of his class of 50 were chosen to train for weapons. Just tell him to study, make lots of notes and keep his nose clean. He will do fine. He can do more research on machinist mate and BESS and probably find more info. I just wanted basic info so I would know what my son was doing. Good Luck to your son and welcome to the group. This site is not very active so I post more on the Navy Moms facebook page. Not sure why this site is not active.
New mom here.. son just left for boot camp on 7/7/15. He has chosen MM as his rating. I believe he will be sent to Kings Bay Georgia for A school and that is all I know. It was suggested that I join this group to "get in the know". I apologize in advance as I am just starting to learn the lingo.
I am a brand new, first time Navy Mom. So much information and I could spend all day every day reading up on everything. What great support groups everywhere. I can't imagine being a mom back in the day when there was no internet. Yikes. Anyway, I am new and learning. My sons PIR date is September 11th and will be going to A school in Groton, Connecticut! I am so happy to be part of this group
Hi stevesgirl68 - welcome aboard! My son graduated A school in Great Lakes in May '14 and is now stationed in Norfolk. I still read almost everything I can get my hands on! I don't think I would have survived with my sanity intact had it not been for groups like these. Sounds like your son will be on a sub. I don't have experience with that, but at least I kind of know what is going on with the rate in general - if you have any questions. Hang tight!
Hi to all the new moms. I do not get on this site very often as it has not been as active as my facebook pages or the other groups I belong to also. My son is on a sub in Norfolk and is a MM on the USS Newport News. He arrived in Norfolk after being in Groton for BESS, A school and C school. His sub is a Fast Attack and his specialty is the torpedoes. They have been out on a couple of underways of several weeks and then back to port. They will go out about once a month for the next several months in preparation for their deployment late fall early winter. Can not say he is enjoying Norfolk. His first choice was Kings Bay and a Boomer but he was too nice and gave up his first choice to another classmate getting married right after school. A Boomer only goes out for about 3 months and Fast Attack goes out for 6 months. He felt sorry that a newly married guy would be gone from his new wife for a long period of time. He has since fallen in love with his girlfriend and now when they marry next fall he will be the one leaving a new wife for an extended period of time. This was one time he should have been thinking of himself. LOL He did enjoy Groton though. Any questions you have ask away and I will try to answer. I may not know the answer and I will tell you if I do not. Not into giving out wrong info. Enjoy the ride.
Hello to everybody! I'm new to N4M! My husband is in the Boot Camp now and graduating in Sep 4th. Anybody knows how long is the A school for MM (in GL)? I've been told 7 week and 9 week. I'm confused.
Hi Wendy93! I just wrote out this long-ass description of A school, only to have it time out and not post. aaarerghh!! Anyway, A school does not have a set time frame you can count on. When my son went through, he had to wait to "class up", which means they have to wait for enough MM to graduate boot camp to form a class - which took almost 3 months. Then they go through BECC. That is sort of like common core classes and takes 4 or 5 weeks if I remember correctly. Then they do STRAND, which is a more focused curriculum for their rate, and that was only 11 or 12 school days. All in all, my son was in A school (or at least in Great Lakes after boot camp) from early January til mid May. Hope this helps
@ Forever proud Thank you so much for the information! This is definitely a news for me that they may need to wait for enough people to form a class. So during the "class up" period, do they have liberty time to go out with family? So do they just wait there at the school and do nothing? Thank you again!
they are able to leave base in groups or be checked out by a family member during A school. while waiting to class up they are kept somewhat busy with cleaning, watch duty and so forth, but there is a lot of down time and they do get bored. Fortunately most of the "ships" (what they call barracks) allow the sailors to have a TV in their room, and they get to have computers and phones, so they can stay connected to the outside world.
Wow that's great! Thank you sooo much! This is really helpful! I will make my plans accordingly. I was thinking that he will be back in few month, but seems like I will need to prepare for a longer time. Thank you again!
Wendy93, my son also completed Groton in May after being done at Great Lakes in early January. He told me that he was kept busy working on getting his liberty permissions expanded so that he had more opportunities to leave base. He did a lot of time guarding buildings, also. Said the classes, when they finally started, were interesting and not overly difficult. He said that he and his buddies watched a lot of movies, and we had a few opportunities to skype from the room full of computers on the base.
Webby2014 welcome aboard! My son joined in fall 2013 and is stationed in Norfolk. Came back from a deployment in fall 2014 and his ship is in dry dock now.
My son's PIR is Oct 2 then MM school there in great lakes. Thanks for the info on timeframe in A school. So if they are there over the holidays do they more than likely close or not have classes? Will they get liberty to fly home for Christmas?
Hello! Our son's PIR was last Friday, 9/4/15 and he is now in Groton, CT. His rating is MM but he said he is a FA now. Fireman's Apprentice?? How many different designations/titles/rates will he have? Im sorry, Im still trying to figure this all out. All I know is that he wants to be on a submarine. Not sure if he started classes today or is waiting for more sailors to join. I do know that he is doing a better job of keeping in contact with us than he did while he was still home! Happy Mom here for sure!
We have another son that is in DEP and will ship out to GL 7/19/16 so we will be back in boot camp again. Wow..not sure if I can survive another 8 weeks of that!
Hifayegirrl14*. We also have a MM in Groton. He graduated boot camp in October 2013 & went to Groton for BESS & other schools. He loved Groton & chose it as his first choice to be stationed & got it! He is an MM, A-ganger, on the Pittsburgh. He is also an FA. I think MMs are also firemen. He is a twin the other is also a sailor! They went to boot camp a week apart but had the same PIR. Our other is an HT on a destroyer in Norfolk. You will survive them both being in the Navy, it's tough, but you can do it! If you have any questions let me know, I might not know the answers to them, but will try to help.
dbilyou
I've joined several groups since my daughter graduated Power School in June and I'm starting to get confused on where info is coming from. She is an MM Nuke at Prototype in BS. I was wondering if anyone knows about Prototype? I've read something about oral boards??? Is that for all Navy personnel or only officers?? Do officers even go to Prototype????
Jul 24, 2013
Penny_Nuke_MM2_NimitzNuke
My son graduated Nuclear Prototype school 11/29/12. What questions do you have - I'm hapy to help answer. Regarding boards, once they finish all of their qualifications and their 100% test, then they go before an Oral Review and have to pass it to become a licensed MM. They only go to school with other enlisted. Officers go to Prototype as well but are not in with the mix of enlisted.
Jul 24, 2013
dbilyou
Penny Nuke, thanks for the reply. That's about 100% more info than I had this morning. Not sure of my questions yet since she hasn't actually started Prototype yet, but I'll post as they come up. Did your son know about the oral boards before he started Prototype? Jenny's not too keen on oral presentations and I don't want to bring it up if she doesn't know about it yet.
Jul 24, 2013
Penny_Nuke_MM2_NimitzNuke
I can only tell you what came from my son, but every one of them are given a schedule at the beginning of each section (A-school, Power School, Prototype). It tells them every single subject, test date, boards, and graduation. So, that said, your sailor will be fully aware of what is expected of her from day one.
Jul 24, 2013
Pat
All submariner's do not attend school in Groton, CT. The nuclear trained ones, attend school in Goose Creek, SC (MM, ET, & EM rates). They may stay in GC for Prototype or go to Ballston Spa, NY for Prototype, then out to the fleet.
Aug 9, 2013
justinsmom(ship 14 div 389)
Right now my son is in boot camp but will be going to Pensacola Fl for school, from there we will find out then.
Aug 20, 2013
SurfCityUSA Ship 03 Div 391
Aug 29, 2013
tina41
hello all!!
im new! my son just passed his oral boards for prototype! very proud of him!!!
he is to report to the uss Jefferson city in san diego. not sure when yet.
Oct 19, 2013
proudmom63
hello, all... i am wondering.... awhile back there was talk of someone in or near goose creek, sc that makes cakes. my son's bday is 11/23 and i was hoping someone here would know how to contact the "cakemaker" would love to surprise my son with a homemade cake!
Nov 3, 2013
tina41
hello all!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!
Dec 24, 2013
mariecb
Where do I find out information about the training for a Machinest Mate. My son mentioned starting with BECC school and I would like to read more about this. He is on hold for A school right now. It has been 3 months - is this typical?
Jan 5, 2014
aVOL2
Yay!!! Finally ... since 11/1 my son finally started BECC!!!
Jan 29, 2014
Forever proud
Jan 29, 2014
tina41
hello all!!
one thing you surely learn in the military! to hurry up and wait!! LOL
Jan 31, 2014
Forever proud
Jan 31, 2014
ermklm1022
Hello! My son PIR is 3/14 and he will be staying in GL for A-School can anyone tell me where I can locate information related to A-School for future Machinest Mates? How long is A-School? Thanks a bunch!
Feb 17, 2014
kiley91
Feb 17, 2014
mariecb
My son graduated 10/13/13 and was on hold for 3 months before he started A school. He got to come home for 16 days over the holidays though. He is almost done with BECC school, will be on hold for awhile (not sure how long )! Then he goes on to the MM training. I suggest you join the Great Lakes A school group - that is very helpful.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/training-support-center-tsc-great-la...
Feb 17, 2014
ermklm1022
kiley91 mariecb Thank you both so much for the helpful information. Have a great day!
Feb 18, 2014
kiley91
Feb 23, 2014
Forever proud
Feb 23, 2014
kiley91
Feb 23, 2014
Ashley
He says this sounds too good to be true, and I was thinking the same thing. If his schooling is 7wks he would graduate a week before our first child is due and may be able to attend the birth!! :-D
Does anyone know if 7wks for MMS is a possibility? I sincerely hope so...
May 16, 2014
SoProud
Ashley, my son is also a MMS. His PIR was on June 21st last year and he graduated A school on Nov. 22nd and he didn't have to wait to class up, meaning he finished one class and he was onto the next one. The BESS (Basic Enlisted Submarine School) itself is 6 wks or so. He will have a choice he wants to be an Auxiliary Specialist or a Weapons Specialist (TorpedoMan). My son chose weapon and it is about a month longer than the auxiliary. I hope this helps.
May 16, 2014
SoProud
Ashley, if you have any questions, please feel free to message me.
May 16, 2014
Sophie's Mom
Hi my daughter is SHP 3 DIV 285
Jul 28, 2014
scubagirl
Not sure why but I can not see any discussions dates later than July 28,2014. Anyone know why?
Oct 11, 2014
tina41
hello all!!
welcome scubagirl and sophiesmom!! this group isn't very active. I check in hoping it will get more active.
Oct 13, 2014
madhoby
Hello,
My son went to Groton on October 18,2014. He said he has to wait to class up. Any advice on helping him get started on building background on what he will be studying. He wants to be a machinist mate that deals with weapons. Does anyone know of any good books for him to read to help him get a jump start on studying.
Oct 28, 2014
madhoby
Hello,
My son went to Groton on October 18,2014. He said he has to wait to class up. Any advice on helping him get started on building background on what he will be studying. He wants to be a machinist mate that deals with weapons. Does anyone know of any good books for him to read to help him get a jump start on studying.
Oct 28, 2014
scubagirl
madhoby, my son is in Groton now. His PIR was 7/25/14. He had to wait a couple of weeks for B.E.S.S. to start. During that time he was doing his qualifications so that he could Phase up and start to gain privileges. They have to go to several places on base and learn about standing watch,etc and get signed off that they have done these things. There are some practice BESS test on the the website:navybess.com/about_bess. My son graduated BESS on Oct 3rd. My son just graduated from Basic Machinist School this past Friday. It was a basic class about tools and being a machinist. It was only 3 weeks. Next is his A school and he is not sure how long he will have to wait for it to start. He did get chosen to be a machinist mate on weapons. They were required to write an essay on why they wanted to be assigned to weapons. Only 10 of his class of 50 were chosen to train for weapons. Just tell him to study, make lots of notes and keep his nose clean. He will do fine. He can do more research on machinist mate and BESS and probably find more info. I just wanted basic info so I would know what my son was doing. Good Luck to your son and welcome to the group. This site is not very active so I post more on the Navy Moms facebook page. Not sure why this site is not active.
Oct 28, 2014
tina41
hello all!!
Happy Halloween!!! may you all get more treats then tricks!!
Oct 31, 2014
fayegirrl4*
New mom here.. son just left for boot camp on 7/7/15. He has chosen MM as his rating. I believe he will be sent to Kings Bay Georgia for A school and that is all I know. It was suggested that I join this group to "get in the know". I apologize in advance as I am just starting to learn the lingo.
Jul 10, 2015
stevesgirl68
I am a brand new, first time Navy Mom. So much information and I could spend all day every day reading up on everything. What great support groups everywhere. I can't imagine being a mom back in the day when there was no internet. Yikes. Anyway, I am new and learning. My sons PIR date is September 11th and will be going to A school in Groton, Connecticut! I am so happy to be part of this group
Jul 28, 2015
madhoby
My son went to Groton for A school for his MM rating. He has landed in Kings Bay stationed on his sub there.
Jul 28, 2015
Forever proud
Jul 29, 2015
scubagirl
Hi to all the new moms. I do not get on this site very often as it has not been as active as my facebook pages or the other groups I belong to also. My son is on a sub in Norfolk and is a MM on the USS Newport News. He arrived in Norfolk after being in Groton for BESS, A school and C school. His sub is a Fast Attack and his specialty is the torpedoes. They have been out on a couple of underways of several weeks and then back to port. They will go out about once a month for the next several months in preparation for their deployment late fall early winter. Can not say he is enjoying Norfolk. His first choice was Kings Bay and a Boomer but he was too nice and gave up his first choice to another classmate getting married right after school. A Boomer only goes out for about 3 months and Fast Attack goes out for 6 months. He felt sorry that a newly married guy would be gone from his new wife for a long period of time. He has since fallen in love with his girlfriend and now when they marry next fall he will be the one leaving a new wife for an extended period of time. This was one time he should have been thinking of himself. LOL He did enjoy Groton though. Any questions you have ask away and I will try to answer. I may not know the answer and I will tell you if I do not. Not into giving out wrong info. Enjoy the ride.
Jul 30, 2015
stevesgirl68
@madhoby, how long was the entire schooling program at Groton for sub?
Jul 31, 2015
Wendy93
Hello to everybody! I'm new to N4M! My husband is in the Boot Camp now and graduating in Sep 4th. Anybody knows how long is the A school for MM (in GL)? I've been told 7 week and 9 week. I'm confused.
Jul 31, 2015
Forever proud
Jul 31, 2015
Wendy93
@ Forever proud Thank you so much for the information! This is definitely a news for me that they may need to wait for enough people to form a class. So during the "class up" period, do they have liberty time to go out with family? So do they just wait there at the school and do nothing? Thank you again!
Jul 31, 2015
Forever proud
Jul 31, 2015
Wendy93
Wow that's great! Thank you sooo much! This is really helpful! I will make my plans accordingly. I was thinking that he will be back in few month, but seems like I will need to prepare for a longer time. Thank you again!
Jul 31, 2015
ELO.Navy.Mom
Jul 31, 2015
Wendy93
@ELO.Navy.Mom Great info! Thanks a lot!!
Aug 2, 2015
Webby2014
Aug 6, 2015
Forever proud
Aug 9, 2015
piglet
Aug 22, 2015
fayegirrl4*
Hello! Our son's PIR was last Friday, 9/4/15 and he is now in Groton, CT. His rating is MM but he said he is a FA now. Fireman's Apprentice?? How many different designations/titles/rates will he have? Im sorry, Im still trying to figure this all out. All I know is that he wants to be on a submarine. Not sure if he started classes today or is waiting for more sailors to join. I do know that he is doing a better job of keeping in contact with us than he did while he was still home! Happy Mom here for sure!
We have another son that is in DEP and will ship out to GL 7/19/16 so we will be back in boot camp again. Wow..not sure if I can survive another 8 weeks of that!
Sep 9, 2015
doubletrouble
Sep 9, 2015