CTN

Thanks, Craig!  So it's a good thing (?).  I was taken aback at him being assigned at an Air Force base ... expected Norfolk or Ft. Meade, etc.  How does the Navy make decisions about where to post sailors anyway?

P.S.  Is that Air Force One or Air Force Two in the last pic?

They really don't call them Navy or Air Force bases now.  They are Joint Service Bases.  It just happens to be connected to Lackland.  The parent command is the Navy.  

His orders are base on the needs of the Navy.  They have to have a billet there for him to go there.  NIOC Medina is one of the top 5 cryptologic bases.  You have Ft Meade, NIOC Georgia, NIOC Hawaii, NIOC Pensacola, NIOC Medina.

He best make dang sure he brings a car there.  You are out in the middle of now-where land.  He will go crazy not having a car.  

I'm not 100% positive on the background of the plane.  But I believe it's part of the WHCA.  I will ask some friends of mine.  http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=43156

http://www.lackland.af.mil/nioctexas/index.asp

Thanks!  He doesn't have a car, he'll have to work on getting one there.

debbie, please tell your sailor to only go through USAA for a car loan... the dealers around the base often soak them with an unreal interest rate. USAA is amazing and so good to work with. heck, my sailor loves the phone app... deposits checks with a photo, can monitor his TSP investments, etc. (oops... got a little off track). we were at lackland last summer. it does get mighty hot! lol.

I totally agree with sammy.  He will spend a fortune in taxi fares trying to get to the dealership.  This base is in the middle of nowhere. My daughter is at Fort Sam Houston (in San Antonio).  Just to take the cab from the base to downtown (about 10 minutes away) is $50.  So for him to even get to the closest car dealership he's out at least $50.  

If it was me, then I would have him buy some clunker in Pensacola.  Drive it to San Antonio.  He'd get the POV travel cost and have something when he got there

I think the closest business is probably 5 miles away? I think it's a 7/11.  Just guessing....

Craig:  my son (the one going to Lackland) graduates as a CTN this Friday.  He has been asking about his plane tickets for at least a week, and I warned him about what you had said about going around just buying tickets.  He planned to come home to Cleveland on leave from Friday until 7/23 and then go to Texas.  He knows that the portion of the trip to come home is his responsibility.  BUT...today he was told he won't get his tickets till Friday - the day he's supposed to leave - so how is he supposed to even try and book the portion of his trip home?  It cost him a fortune to come home at Christmas because he had to report to Pcola right from Great Lakes before coming home.  This was his comment:  "Navy: bad news is we don't have your plane ticket yet and prob won't until Friday. BUT, thankfully, the bad news is that once u get them you have to re-route to home yourself and we don't know how much it will cost."   I think I'm going to tell him to go on to Texas and try and get leave later when the flight will be cheaper (Southwest is cheap from San Antonio to Cleveland).  Any thoughts?  He's beyond mad!

Debbie - Did he tell them that his travel arraignment is to go from P-cola, to his home of record (or wherever his leave place is), then onto San Antonio?  The reason I ask is then it's not his problem, it's Sato's.  

If he didn't tell PSD, then if I were him, I would say "I don't need the plane tickets, I just need to know the routing so I can my arrangements".  If they say they don't, the he needs to ask to see their LPO.  If it's the LPO that is saying this, then ask to see the LCPO or get their name so his Chief can call.  

He really needs to talk to his own LPO or Chief and tell them about the problem.  Let them fight the battles, that's what LPO's and Chief's are for.  I use to love fighting for my guys.  Unusually I won, but I lost a few too.  It was actually kind of fun 

Just curious, did he ask for RAP duty (so he can get somewhat free vacation)?

Thanks, Craig ... I emailed your response to my son and said to let me know if he has other questions or comments for you!  Happy 4th!

Craig ... he doesn't know what SATO is.  What is it and where is it? Or can he contact you directly?

i graduate in three weeks and need some advice on how to move... i have verbals to fort gordon, GA and my wife is in Hawaii.  so it seems like a big move and would like to know ways on how to get the ball rolling.

Debbie - SATO is the official travel office on most bases.  Just have him ask who does the travel request when he's at PSD.  Like I said, it's usually SATO.

https://www.cwtsatotravel.com/

ekauwe - Like Branson said, just wait for the hard copies then go to your House Hold Goods office to arrange for your shipment.  Have your hard copies.  

ekauwe - I know this is way out in left field, but did you work at Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) in Kapoli Hawaii?  

Hi Debbie G.  I just joined NavyforMoms.  I stumbled across your post last Friday as I was searching the internet for information regarding the graduation.  My son is going to Lackland too and I think our boys know each other. It was good to read your post because it confirmed the difficulty my son was having in getting his tickets home.  He's finally here though and i get to see him today!

Happy Monday All!

ekauwe - Go to base legal and get a power of attorney for your wife to act in your behave to ship your Household goods.  She will go the the HHG office in Hawaii and set up everything.  They will also ship your car at Pearl Harbor.  You also need to go the the HHG office and they can do almost everything electronically.

They will pay you to go pick up your car at the port you requested.  

Read this:

http://www.transcom.mil/dtr/part-iv/dtr_part_iv_app_k_1.pdf

and this;

https://www.whereismypov.com/

btw:  You never answered my question below. Did you work at NFCU?

Recommend you ship your vehicle soonest. It's going to take some time to arrive in the Southeast. As stated below, you will need power attorney and this is something your husband will need to take care of.

Wow, what a day....

My son just flew out this morning after completing his leave.  Last night he and a friend were going to go out to be the 1st ones to attend the premier of the The Dark Knight Rises movie.  They wanted the 1st showing at midnight, but it was sold out.  So they got the 3am showing.  The theater which is 5 miles from my house is the one with today's shooting.  Talking about freaking me out....  He actually came running up to my bedroom and told me to watch the tv immediately.  Holy crap...  

God was looking out for my family today....  

Prayers to all victims of this senseless act, especially to the 2 Air Force and 1 Navy member (probably a CT)  from my base that were shot.....  God bless them all....

Craig 

Oh my Craig. So glad your son is safe but praying for those who were killed.

What a senseless act.

Hello everyone! My husband is at RTC now and will be going to Pensacola for CTN A-school in 2 weeks. We've been getting conflicting reports on exactly how long the school is. Does anyone know for sure? I know they wait a while to class up, but once they start...how long will classes last?

Hi lacie, my son is also in Pcola learning to be a CTN. He arrived there 4/14 and began classes around 5/7, his graduation I think is scheduled for around Oct 12th, provided everything keeps going smoothly...lol  The time to class up varies though but I hope this time line helps. 

Thank you proudmom. I appreciate the information. We have 2 small children and one on the way and we were hoping we could move down there, but it doesn't look like he'll be down there long enough for them to move us. Fingers crossed he finished quickly! Thanks again!

Lacie,

Let's hope your husband has his clearance...the first week will be indoc..then, class-up. Classes run nearly every two weeks and those who have been there (frist come) will get classed up. The course is 26-weeks if there's no hiccups along the way. Nearly 4 of 10 are dropped from the course for academics and personal issues so ensure he stays focused!

Hi! I'm the soon-to-be wife of a CTN recruit. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the process of moving to be with my sailor for A school. From what I understand, CTN A school is long enough to justify his living with me for the duration. If this is true, what is the procedure of getting me from my current location (California) to Pensacola? Also, will he have to "phase up" before being granted those privileges? If I am able to go, how will the Navy accomodate me while I search for an apartment, if at all? Thank you everyone!

Thank you BrandonDIV267. He graduates this Friday from RTC so I'm hoping we will find out quickly once he gets down there.

Jones - Are you saying that CTN is now a PCS move? (which means the Navy will pay for you to move there?)

I still think he's needs to Phase up, so you will need to go to the base to see him since he can't leave the base.  Understand his school is extremely hard.  Plan on not having much attention during his school.  His focus must remain on school.  Once he gets his orders, then you can go to the local base in your area to get your furniture moved, but you've got to make dang sure you are authorized in his orders to move. 

I didn't think CTN was a PCS move.  What you need to do is call the housing office and see if you qualify for a PCS transfer...

i'd love to hear the outcome of this.  If they can cite a instruction, can you get it so we can post that on this thread?

http://corrystationhousing.com/

Dang it, I never saw the part about her not being married yet. 

I don't think she can do it now....  

Jones - Now here is the 2nd piece of the puzzle.  How much furniture do you have?  The reason I ask if you can afford to pay to either store the items or to ship them yourself.   The Navy, when authorized, will pay you to live anywhere in CONUS.  You could move by yourself to Pensacola at your own expense.  Most people don't do this, but, it's something to think about.  I truly don't think that even if you were already married that the Navy would consider this a PCS move.   I don't think it is....  I hope someone else who is married will clarify this.  

My thought is this, CTN school is hard enough.  It has a huge dropout rate.  Now when you multiply this by having to worry about getting married, getting an apartment, standing duty, studying, and inspections, then you really are hurting the sailor.  While in school you truly don't have a set schedule.  You are playing everything by ear.  So if you still plan on getting married,  don't plan on a big wedding, because it probably won't happen.  The Justice of the Peace would be the only option I would consider...  

Clockard - Thanks for pointing out that she isn't married yet....

Thank you very much ekauwe for sharing! My husband graduates RTC this Friday 8/3 and I have been so anxious to find out for sure. I understand it's a tough school and we will do everything we can to support him and not interfere with his studies. Thank you for your service and good luck to you!

Thank you so much for all the responses. Just to clarify, my fiance is in DEP and we will have our wedding well before his ship date. We have asked the recruiter and as long as we get our papers in within a month of so of his ship date we will be fine. Our wedding is in November and he leaves in January. His attitude towards the whole thing at the moment is that he really wants me there during school, but if he finds it to be too much stress when he's in class I wouldn't add more distractions on by moving out. We'll have to see how he feels once he's immersed in schooling. 

Ekauwe, do you know which phase the sailors are allowed to live with their dependents? Also, do they accomodate the wives while they are apartment searching? Thank you for clarifying that it is in fact a PCS school. 

ekauwe - great info!  I knew it bordered at the cut off.  Glad to see it's a PCS move.  Per Jones question, if she already has plans of going to Pensacola, and if she doesn't have much stuff, do you think she should move there while he's in boot camp, then have the Navy move her stuff once he gets there?  That way she has already got all the stuff set up.  It seems like that would be less worry on the sailors part.

Jones - Congrats on you soon-to-be marrage.  

I'm going to throw this out there.  I'm not sure if it affects you or not.  But I've seen some deppers get kicked out of the Navy because they marry someone that already has children.  By doing this, you exceed the maximum  kids the Navy authorizes when you 1st join.  So, if you do have kids, you may want to think about waiting until after he becomes active duty.  Then it doesn't matter.  

Again, I don't know if this affect you or not, just wanted you to be aware of it. 

Craig- I'm not sure if the Navy will pay to put me up in a hotel or something while I apartment hunt if my sailor isn't even in school yet. We're not worried about the dependent count, no children here. Thank you though, it is good information to know for those who do have children. 

Ekauwe, that was very helpful. Thanks for sharing! Hopefully he'll phase up quickly. 

Since the schooling is now PCS, does anybody know if that mean the navy will pay for us to move our belongings?

Jones - Are you saying to do a DITY move?  If it's a PCS move, then the Navy will pay for it.  

Thanks Craig. I'm not entirely sure what I should do at this point. He will be in Pensacola at school and I will be in California. Right now, I'm willing to pay to shop our car and to fly myself out instead of driving there. But, I would want the Navy to move our belongings if possible. 

JonesToBe: As long as you're on his Page2, they will pay to move you. My husband just got there and we will be moving shortly. I will keep you updated as I find out exactly what is paid for but my understanding id they DO put you in temp housing until something opens up.

Thanks lacie and good luck :) Please do keep me updated. I would really appreciate it!

Proudmom,

 My son has been at ft. Meade about 16 months. He was on hold for around 4 months doing honor guard duty while waiting for his final clearance. The base is Army but has a Navy area. It's the biggest cryptology base and has the best opportunities to do different things in the CTN rate. It took about 9 months for my son to get BHA. Not really sure what the rules are now about rate and gettingBHA. There is alot to do in the area. The base is very close to Baltimore and not far from Washington. You can go less than 2 hours west for snow skiing or mountain hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Or about 2 hours east to the beach.

My son who was in Spec Ops training really likes his job and the civilians he works with regularly. He's learning a ton of stuff that will serve him well in a career out of the Navy.

clockard and prov2324mom is there anyway my son can connect with your sons for some more info on Fort Meade and what sort of work he may be doing.  I know there is stuff we can't know so maybe they can discuss it themselves.

Theoretically, the NIOC chain of command should have been informed when your son received orders to come up here and set up a sponsor for him.  Unfortunately, it doesn't always work as well as we would like, so as my mom said, he should bug the Navy admin down there to get things rolling.