STG (Sonar)

Our grandson is in his 2nd week of his final C school....and same was Mary Ship13Div68 son...he is also ready to go to the fleet!...anxious to find out where he will be stationed..I guess it is all up to the designator (I guess that's what he is called) and it depends what type of Sonar ..either old or new..This has been quite an adventure..he has even worked with the EOD's..

There are different parts...everyone has "A" school...then "C" school is part of their

rating...with Sonar there is two parts...Operations and Maintenance...sometimes depending ..they will have Maintenance first and than Ops...my grandson finished Ops and than was on hold for a few months, now finishing up Maintenance...He will learn after this school is finished what ship he will be assigned to....I hope that answers your questions....He has been at Pt. Loma since last January 2013

Is Ppint Loma in San Diego or just close to it? I am looking at places to stay and there are 2 Navy lodges on on the Navy base and one I think closer to downtown. There is a Gateway lodge at Point Loma. I want to be near where my son is but I don't want to be way away from the sights. Is anyone familiar with the area who can shed some light on the area?

Thank you abuon18. It sounds great.  Can't wait to go out there.

@Mom5  I looked Vagabond and the reviews were really good but they also said there is construction going on next door that makes  it really noisy. So I am going to look for someplace else. Do  you or anyone else have another recommendation for a place to stay near Pont Loma?

Thank you Karen. The Gateway was my first choice but it was booked up. Thank you for information.

Which Gateway is by their A school, main base or nmswc?  I am really looking forward to my visit. All I have heard are good things about San Diego. 

Thank you Mom5..

Karen thanks for the info..no hair dryers that is a bummer.

Aloha Ladies; I'm needing a room for one night and have booked at the Dolphin for cheap, but I think harbor view is stretching it and the rooms seem tiny. When I talked to Gateway lady, she said my sailor had to be in the room and was a  little sticky about it. I stayed at the Consulate when it was a Quality Inn and it was fine but no microwave. ??

We just came home from being down in San Diego..call back again to the Gateway on the base that our boys are on...all he has to do is sign you in...he does not need to stay with you...the rooms are very very reasonable and cabs can go on base to pick you up to take you to the airport...will e-mail you...

I'll check back at Gateway. Do the rooms have any views of the Harbor? I may stay the last two days. Thanks

No, I haven't seen any rooms with a view...but you just walk in the back near the conference center on base and it is beautiful.but for the price it is a great deal and you can walk across the way to Liberty Station..

Everyone here has mentioned ATT school after PIR.  My son just graduated Friday 03/07/14 and was sent directly to Point Loma for A School.  He loves it there, but why would he have gone directly to A School?

Are there any NEW members here on the STG page?

Sugrnspicy, ATT school is for 6yr STG's, they have that before they go to whereever their A school is going to be.  4yr STG's go directly to their A school location.  My daughter is a 4yr as well, and she did the same thing.  Started A school within three weeks of arriving.  then was on hold for a few months after graduation, and just started Ops school (more hands on, in depth technical training than A school, which is more of the general overview and academic side) a week ago.  Hope that helps!  My daughter loves Point Loma, too, she wishes she could stay there, but she has orders to VA after ops school.

Oh that would be a bummer.  I'm in Texas, so West Coast...or East Coast...it's all cross-country for me.  I live for my Facetime calls from her on most weekends.  Last night I actually got a surprise call, to share a girly moment with her mom, over something sweet with her boyfriend.  I was like, awwwwww, there was my baby girl again for a minute.  :)

omg i haven't been here in FOREVER.....   my sailor is a 4yr as well ....  he just hit his 2yr anniversary of PIR  ...  been in San Diego ever since... went thru STG A, and OPS and got stationed on the USS JPJ DDG53,  now they are prepping for a hull swap to Hawaii in july.....  LUCKY KID... oh getting ready for E5 exam!!!!!    

Ahh, thank you.  Yes, he only signed up for 4 yrs, said he'll wait to see if he really likes it before signing up for more.  And he is on hold now for A School.  I understand there isn't really any graduation, like there was for PIR.  We're thinking of flying out in June after A School.  Any suggestions on hotels in Point Loma?

I just got back from San Diego. We stayed at the Gateway lodge on base. It was okay. Clean but the bed was only a double so it was a tight fit. We did stay at Holiday Inn one night and it was really nice. The part we stayed on was just renovated. It is across the street from the base. There are also some hotels across the street at Liberty Station, a Courtyard I believe 

Great!  Thank you for the info.  There is so much to learn!  :o)

There are cottages on Coronado Island at North Island that has kitchens and for longer stay..call over to Navy Lodges and see if they have that available...

Good morning.  My son has PIR on July 3rd and will be heading to San Diego for STG A-school on July 5th.  What do I have to look forward to?  How long will he be there before he finds out where he will be stationed?  Any info you guys have will help.  Thanks.

Hi debmil24, my daughter found out her orders toward the end of A school.  From what she said, others started trickling in before hers, she said they would find out in groups that were picked randomly.  Is your son a 4 yr or 6yr?  Mine is a 4 yr, and when she first got to San Diego she was on holds for a couple of weeks before A school started, and then once it was over (9 weeks-ish) she went on holds again awaiting Ops school, (another 9 weeks) which was postponed three times.  LOL, nothing is black and white in the Navy.  It depends on the equipment they are assigned to as to how badly they need certain expertise, and if students behind them have that, they'll get pushed through ahead of them. The Navy needs what the Navy needs.  :)   She was originally supposed to start Ops in January, actually ended up starting in March, and just finished up mid-May.  Then there was a two week overview class that she said was more informational than all of it combined.  Her original orders were to leave for VA in April, but the class getting delayed kept pushing her orders out.  This happens, it's not a big deal.  She now leaves for VA next weekend.   I wanted to explain this all to you to show a "not clean" example of how it all goes down, so you don't panic when things change.  LOL, I'm a planner and like things to be black and white and solid and one thing I've learned this year is nothing is like that.  :)  But it's all good, it all works out.

Oh, and during holds, they are just put to work somewhere.  Janitorial duty, yards cleanup, one day she scrubbed bird poop off an admiral's yacht. :)  Some get admin duty.  Another time she got pulled to run hostile drills with a SEAL team, with paintball guns...they just needed bodies to run around to shoot at, she said that was the most fun, ever.  :)

It's a very laid back base, she loved it there.  Good luck to your son!

My son is a 4 year.  We live in Florida and was hoping he would have leave to come home after A school for a few weeks.  Does that usually happen?  His best friend joined the Marines and every time schools were delayed he would come home for leave and even worked at the recruiter's office for a month.  Kinda hoping for the same thing.  Going up for PIR but not the same as having him home.  You guys are great.  The not knowing is hard.

My Sailor had PIR Feb 2013 and should finish up in a couple months. He is a 6 yr and has just GOTTEN HIS ORDERS! This is so exciting for him and us he will be stationed in Hawaii, which is our home state. During down times, he did the chip and paint duties, some driving, clean-up, etc. He has loved Point Loma, except  for the seagulls. Hooyah.

Thanks for all the info guys.  Your right I've never been to SD before and if he is still there Christmas would be the perfect time for me to visit.  I would love for him to be stationed on the east coast but one of the reasons he joined was to travel and he will want to stay on the west coast.  Surfing is better there.  Ha Ha!

Jenn, I don't think there is any hard fast rule for any of it.  My daughter was on hold for 2 weeks before A school started, while others she arrived with started right away and others were on hold for a month.  It's all about class size and whose name gets thrown in the hat.

I have heard when my son leaves boot camp I can give him his laptop and cell phone at the airport.  Will he be able to have it when he gets to A-school at SD?  Some of the web sites say that they will lock up his laptop until he earns it and others say he can use it when he get there.  Is it best for me to just ship it to him?

As I remember, we had to ship him his laptop. The return of the cell phone is right away.

Congratulations to all the young men and women that are leaving Pt. Loma to go to their first duty stations...and I am so glad and honored to have met a few of them that our Grandson has brought home with him...Fair Winds and Smooth Seas...