Nuke School Charleston

teri-  is your sailor on t track waiting to begin power school 

My son has comps for A school coming up next week, Monday I believe. What happens if they don't pass comps.

My son's 1 yr annv in the navy was Aug 1st.  He graduates Power School 9/14 (1203-11) as MM.  From what I understand about power school grad  - all the sailors will have that Mon off after graduation too.  Anyone else heard that?  Also, anybody have any insight, as to when the power school grads find out if they get to stay in Goose Creek for prototype or go to New York?

hello all!

dana---im not sure about them getting the monday off after graduation,  alot of them ask for leave time so they can go home for visits.  i dont know about the ones that stay there.  my son graduated on july 20th and he is on gradhold now . hes still in goose creek, but then he is married.  doesnt know for sure yet if that is where he will stay.     my son's first year anniversary was july19th.

After A school they are on what is called T-track.  it's a hold and can last for 2-8 weeks, but could be longer.  Usually they get to take 10 days of leave, but the amount of time can vary.  after leave, or if they didn't take leave, they do a rotation of cleaning, watch, day off until they start power school.  After power school they are on another hold called grad. hold.  this hold can last from 2 weeks to 6 months, or longer. Usually MM's have the longest grad hold.  during this time they are given specific jobs to do.  some work off base for places like Habitat for Humanity, some get sent to King's Bay, GA to work at the Navy base there for several months, some get sent to Norfolk to do watch on base there, and some even get sent early to New York to do their grad. hold there.

Yes, a 6 month hold is possible, but that is usually for the MM's as they have the longest grad hold usually.  And they are usually the only one's who get sent to King's Bay and maybe Norfolk during that time. Never count on anything though, what happened once may not be the same the next time.

educator - I believe if they don't pass comp. they go before a review board to determine if they will be allowed to recomp the next week.  If they recomp and pass, then they go on.  If they recomp and fail, they could be rerated.  If they don't recomp at all they could be rerated or discharged. I have known of several that didn't make it past A school and were rerated.  Several who went on to power school and didn't make it after the first several weeks so were rerated, several who recomped for both A school and power school and were rerated, several who were discharged, and I know of at least one who did not pass at the end of prototype and was rerated (and is very happy in his new job).

I think my son is on hold at boot camp then on to Charleston.. I'm trying to calculate time frame. How often does nuke school start?  MM he will be.

New A school classes can start every week, BUT they may not start every rate every week.  Sometimes they have to wait for enough of a particular rate to fill a class, so it could be two or three weeks.  Just depends.

My son just started A school on Tue.  My question is.... Do they have off the day after Thanksgiving?  Just wondering if he will get to come home over Thanksgiving or if I should plan a trip to see him...

hello all!!

melette----i am thinking they didnt have the day off, but got out early.   we went down to visit last year and are planning to go down this year.    i may be wrong so hopefully someone else will be able to say for sure.

My son's PIR is 9/21 and will be headed off to A school.  I believe he will be going as an MM.  My question is what is the holiday schedule for Christmas?  Will he be able to fly home to California?

hello all!

sandra--my son was able to come home for ten days for christmas when he was in A school.  he had to get a chit for a ten day liberty  your son will get info on that when he gets to goose creek.  they are briefed when they get there.

Hello.  My son is in boot camp and will graduate on 10/12.  He will then be going to A school is Charleston.  Nice to see there is a group for this group.

Hello, my son just PIR'd Aug 17th and is now in Goose Creek. Plans on being an ET. Thats what he is rated for so far. Would anyone tell me how this schooling program works? What kind of timeline for each? Any pointers on how he stays on track? I hear alot of them don't make it through entire program and are discharged or rerated. I would like to more about all this. Thanks.... Lost Mom, missing my only Son.

Hi Aaron's mom. My son PIR'd in 2011, right around Aug 17th. He is also an ET. He started A School in Charleston in September (seems like it was around the 10th). He had leave for Thanksgiving (Weds 3pm through Sunday) but only within a 350 mile radius. He also had leave for Christmas and was home for about a week. He graduated from A School in March and started Power School the first week of June. He will graduate from Power School 11/9. We don't know how long of a hold he will be on before Prototype or whether he will be in Charleston or New York for Prototype. My understanding is that Protoype is also about 6 months. As for pointers, I think all the moms can do is be supportive. I write a lot and send care packages. I get an occasional call that he is certain he's going to fail a test, but he never has. If their test scores are low they are assigned mandatory study hours, so really everything other than family support is handled pretty well by the Navy! Welcome to the group!

hello all!!

welcome aarons mom!!    once he starts classes, he will be kept busy.  he will have classes and study hours.   the weekends are a good time to relax and go to the movies or just hang out.  it helps to unwind from the week of school.   my son did.  it helped him to deal with school.   i also encouraged him and told him to try to keep a positive attitude.   some treats from home is a good idea.  gives them something to look forward to. 

Ladies - hi- i have a question...my son is graduating from bc this friday 9/14 and will be flown to GL on Sat....my question is a housekeeping question...will he be put in a room right away, or will they be in barricks for processing a few days...i ask because i am wondering about towels and sheets for the first couple of days...will he have time and access to shopping for this things or do i need to send some...and when will i get an address????thanks kimbo

hello all!!

kimbo----he will be given a room.  i believe they already have sheets and blankets, but if they do need anything they can call a taxi (which is what my son did along with some friends) and go to walmart to pick stuff up.  i dont think they are allowed of base right away though. 

What is CHIT

I don't know what it stand for, but it's kind of an approval form for the particular circumstance. My son had to get a CHIT when we went to Mexico for vacation before he left for BC.  It was a new rule that came out 2 weeks before we were due to leave.  The CHIT form was signed off by a Chief to say it was OK for him to leave.

just sent you a message Blythe.  A chit is basically paperwork that they turn in to request leave or liberty, or special requests like Sandra's son had to do.

Hi fellow moms (and wives, and sisters, and everyone)!

My son just got to Charleston this weekend (after his PIR). I'm already planning a trip to see him this spring. Any suggestions?

hello all!!

fresno---you can try to get a foster creek villa to stay while there.  they are really close to base.  your son will have to do the reserving.  they are not expensive.  they have one, two, or three bedrooms.   we have stayed there.  they are nice.     

My son will be headed off to Charleston this saturday after PIR.  He will be starting A school 10/10.  He will be an MM.

Fresnonavymom - when does he start?

My son just got to school. On hold till Oct 1. Is it possible for him to come home for couple days. We haven't seen him since he left home. Much cheaper if he could fly home.

hello all!!

blythe--if he just got to goose creek, then i dont think he can come home till christmas break.  my son got to come home for ten days for christmas while he was in A school.  he will get info during his briefings.

I'm sorry in advance for a dumb question, but we are trying to plan a family trip. My son is in BC and is in the Nuke program. From BC, is there only one A school? Will he automatically go to SC? He was pretty sure he was going to SC when he graduates, but he was not 100% sure. Are there other A schools for Nukes? Thanks

Erika, sometimes the school will shut down for holiday breaks, but keep in mind it might be good to not use all of your leave at once.  And sometimes there are breaks between the schools for period of time.

Erika, your son should get there sometime on Saturday.  It could even be midnight or later.  He will be processed in, given a room, then on Sunday he can pretty much do whatever (usually).  He can leave base but has a curfew.  Must be in uniform to leave base.  Most of them usually share taxis to the mall, about 10 miles away, and find the Best Buy store so they can get computers, ipads, phones, etc.

There are 3 rates:  MM, EM, ET.  MM's have a 14 week A school and ET's and EM's have a 24 week A school.  After A school they all have a 24 week power school (roughly), and a 24 week prototype school (this one can be either in Goose Creek or in Ballston Spa, NY.   Usually during A school and Power school they have a 2 week standdown over the holidays and he may be able to come home on leave for 7-14 days (just depends).   They usually can take leave right after A school and Power school (again this can vary).  His first week in GC will most likely be filled with Indoctrination stuff, basically an orientation, getting stuff figured out, info. classes, etc.  He may start A school as early as a week after he gets there, but it could take several weeks so he may have some down time and be bored, especially in the evenings and weekends.  My son has come home 4 times in two years, for 10-14 days each time, and he STILL has annual leave accrued.  It seems to work out for them.  Also, when he has holds between schools, these can range anywhere from 2 weeks to maybe 6 months or more.  Just depends on his rate and how things are moving along.  During that time they are given watch, cleaning, and various other jobs.

Is Power School schedule similar to A School schedule....best to contact son on weekend?

hello all!!

laura--yeah.  they usually have the weekends off. 

Hey everyone!  My nuke is in SC right now and just found out he will be coming home for Christmas break!  Will he be able get any type of discount or should know any discount on airline tickets for himself? Please let me know!!! Thnks so much! :o)

that is great that he already knows he gets to come home for the holidays.  a lot of the airlines offer military fares, but you have to call them directly and then see if that military discount is better than the published internet rate. sometimes it isn't.  Also, I highly recomment Southwest Airlines if they fly where you are.  they don't have change fees, and if the fare goes down he can get a credit for the difference to use on another flight within a year.  Plus if he for some reason has to cancel they will give him a credit too.

amnuno - My son is in SC now too and he didn't pay attention to when the holiday break dates are.  Do you know the dates?

Sandra, school closes down 12/21 to 1/6.  Your sailor will have to ask permission to go over 400 miles away.  Mine needed the flight details before he asked.  I dont if if that was necessary or just Drew being Drew. 

My son is in BC now and his PIR is 11/2/12.  He is going to A school in SC.  I assume he will be staying there for Christmas Break since he will have just arrived??  Is it OK to do that?  We are in Kansas City.

Navymom55555 - I have to tell you, don't assume anything with the Christmas Break.  My son arrived in GC on Nov. 10, 2010 and he DID get to come home for the two week Christmas stand down.  Then he came home AGAIN early in March after his A school graduation.  Not to say that it works like that for everyone, but it really could.

What about the 400miles from base that MomofDrew mentioned below?  We live so far away in Kansas City but I dont want him to spend it by himself!

good morning all!!

navymom--- if they are traveling over 400 miles to go home they must get a chit  (a piece of paper that saids its ok) from their slpo (i think thats right?).  i believe anything over 400 miles is considered leave not liberty.   if i am wrong on this someone please correct me.

My understanding is that it's "officially" 350 miles. Maybe in practice they extend that to 400 -- I don't know. But Knoxville is pretty much right at 350 miles, and my son has always said that if it was any further at all he would need a chit.

hello all!!

my son had a couple friends that got married over christmas break.  i believe they were in A school at the time, but they were almost thru A school.   maybe your fiance can find out more info once he is in goose creek.    good luck!! 

My son just arrived in S Carolina for A school PIR 10 12 12.  Excited to be part of the NUKE family.....N

Welcome wonders520  to our Nuke family.  If you have any questions just ask.

My boyfriend will be going to Nuke school in SC after his PIR 11/30/2012, I'm moving out there as well and I'm looking for places now!! So stressful!

Does anyone have any good idea of places to stay while visiting?  We are planning on going up for Thanksgiving.