GROTON, CT. SUBSCHOOL & "A" SCHOOL MOMS

Redbecky - My son is also in Groton.  He graduated BESS on April 15th and then graduated from ATT school last week. he has to go to TECHNO school and then finally onto his A school.  depending on your sons rate will determine how much schooling he is going to need.  Stay on this site and join the Sub School BESS and A school.facebook page they had tons of information and Mark Pavely helps with any questions you have.  

The Facebook page that middlemom refers to is SUBSCHOOL-B.E.S.S.&ASCHOOLGROTONCTUSNAVY. It's awesome.  Lots of wonderful, helpful people...I'm going to be leaving the page because our child is moving on to Bangor, WA, but we are very thankful for the support and encouragement that we have received from the amazing people on the page.

Anchor's Away Mom, I tried going on the FB page you have listed below and I did not find it.  I typed it in exactly the way you listed it in your post and it came up as no page found. I tried all caps like in your post, I tried all lower case as well as no spacing like in your post as well as with spacing and just kept getting a "no page found" message.  Is there a trick to getting to the page.  My son is currently there and just finished BESS.  Thanks :-)

Middlemom, my FB name is my full name, am I allowed to put that on here?

navymom - I logged into my daughter's FB page so that I could try it as someone who is not already part of the group.  I put B.E.S.S. in the search bar, and the group came up. If it doesn't work for you, I don't know why and have no other advice.  Hope that helps!

navymom  - no last names you can message me or chat with me private and I did the same thing that Anchor's Aweigh did and it came up as soon as I put in BESS

The trick with the facebook group is that you have to put in B.E.S.S. with the periods.
Also, BESS classes are named after submarines, but that has nothing to do with the actual boats. It is a team-building thing.

Diane, the command is the Naval Submarine School. The term "A school" loosely refers to a particular course of instruction that is carried out there, the initial training for a sailor to get started in their rating. The first course your sailor will do, though, is Basic Enlisted Submarine School. BESS teaches sailors the essentials for life on a submarine.
Housing for unaccompanied sailors is a lot like a college dorm. You said "we are headed", though. Are you a spouse?

Mandy:  I found the page on Facebook and here's what you need to do:  type in what I have below,

SUB SCHOOL-B.E.S.S.& A SCHOOL

hit search, then at the top of the screen you'll see a row of titles, hit the one that say "Groups" - that should bring up the site for you.  I just requested to join myself, so still pending approval.  Good luck my friend. :)

Hi,  Re-rate from Nuke to Mt.  Heading to CT on the 17th.  What is b.E.S.S.?

Which clearance? I don't recall it taking long for my son to get Secret, but he doesn't have any complications. The TS/SCI clearance takes many months, but they don't all need that, and even those that do, don't have to have it before they sail.

Thank you for explaining!

anyone able to help me out.  My son said he didn't pass his TCNO test and he got set back 2 weeks.. what does that mean.  I am so confused and scared that he is going to get kicked out of the sub program.  HELP

Middllemom,

I believe you are looking at this wrong. Trust your sailor. He choose this path. This is his goal. He can complete the task's at hand. Navy will not kick him out but can reassign your sailor. The Navy trust your sailor can learn the material and accomplish his goal.

TCNO has some very difficult classes. Your sailor is taking a college class which must be passed. All it means is the Navy wants your sailor to completely understand the material they are learning before advancing to A-school.

Remind your sailor he passed the widowmaker and he can pass this subject also.

[Our sailor told us that 15% of their class did not pass the subject, (the next to the last test in TCNO, is a doosie.) and everyone in their class including themself got bleached. {Bleached: no civilian cothing & no leaving base.} Suggested our sailor to go and help their fellow mates who did not pass the test.]

Best advice remind your sailor they can do this. They may have to buckle down, study hard, and ask God for help as we find in Matthew 7:7.

Confetti - Thanks for the reply.  I am so very happy to say that he has passed the first test in TCNO.  I am on cloud 9. So proud of him.   

We flew in to Providence, RI and stayed in Mystic worked out wonderful.

I rent a car. I went there twice 1 time I rented through AAA the other time I used hotwire. The rental cars are right at the airport attached by a walkway. We stayed 1 time at the Hampton Inn and were able to get the military rate because of our son being in the service and he was able to spend the night. The other time we stayed at the Residence Inn booked directly through Marriott. We ate at pasta restaurant right on the water. Very popular with the military wish I could remember the name.  

I found the name of the restaurant. Thank you google. They even have a web site. Paul's pasta in Groton, Conn. 

Paul's Pasta, I remember it well, delicious food!!! Very reasonable! Homemade pasta.

We always enjoy going to Mystic Seaport, which is only a 15 minute drive. With your sailor, you can get the group rate. 

Mandy - when I went to see my son, we went to Mystic, the Aquarium, Foxwoods and Bluff Point Park.  

Congratulation to your sailor Essential girl!