Moms of "A" school Sailors

I am new to this group.  I feel blessed that my son is home for the holidays.  He arrived on 12/21 and leaves 01/02.  Time is going so fast!  He is in A School in San Antonio.  He got his wish to see snow!!!  We have almost a foot on the ground.  I do have a question for those whose sailors are having trouble with internet on base.  My sailor would like a hotspot/modem. Right now he is using his phone and the data charges are killing the budget.  Does anyone have any suggestions? 

Stevensmom, I had a similar question on anothe A school group. My son will PIR on 1/18 and then head off to P'cola for a school. I wanted to know about wifi availability on the base also. This was the answer I received from someone:

www.gowifinavy.com  might be better to call, it is real easy to talk to someone. 888-339-7150.   Once they start the account it can be moved from one base to the other... Good luck.

I will call tomorrow, but I checked out the website and it looks just like what he will need. He is going to take his iPad with him, so this way he will have access to the internet. Unfortunately, it's not free.

Thank you very much.  My husband is checking into it now.  I wanted something reliable and that my son would be responsible for paying but can easily be changed depeding on where he may be.  I didn't want him caught with hidden fees that could come back to haunt him later. 

Hi All! My son is now in Meridian, Miss. for A school. 'Glad you all are here!

Bella - I believe they can have them anytime, they are restricted on when they can wear them based on what phase they are in.  They start out as phase 1 and work their way up to phase 3.

Right doreen.  My sailor PIR'd in Oct to the school side at GL and could have his phone, x-box, civilian clothes with him in his new barracks/ship on base that same weekend as soon as he got moved in. We had him with us during the days of that weekend and with the gate pass onto base with him we took a bag of "stuff" with him back to base each evening when he had to go back.  They have a personal locker in their room that locks.

getting packages mailed too them seems to be a little bit of a hassle for them.

I'm guessing? they must make arrangements to be able to get to the location that actually receives the packages, during the hours that facility is open. they are kept quite busy and finding time during those hours to go pick up a package takes some planning. Cookies sent express to get there " fresh" waited nearly a week to be picked up after getting to the base. :((

Some of the newer rooms on the school base have fridge and mic in the room, along with a bathroom in the room.  Some floors have just the racks ( bunks) and they share a bath and kitchen area on their floor. Your sailor will let you know his/her set-up when they get their room. Any foods in the room must be in containers.

My daughter will be in BC Feb 6 and attending A school in PCola after. For those who have been through this before do they get to choose what type of aircraft they want to work on or is it chosen for them? Where do most AD sailors get stationed?

Thanks! :)

My son will be graduating Nuke A school in GC on the 25th.  I was wondering if we are allowed to record the ceremony and take pictures?

That was another question I had too Sandra - is there a graduation ceremony from A School?

Thank you so much MNMom! And congrats Sandra!

Can I go visit my daughter when she goes to A-school. I will not be able to make it to her graduation on feb 1st

My sailor was in Meridian From October to early Dec.  He is AZ.  If you have questions, I will try to answer for you

Hi Marmee4 -   My son is in "A" school  in Meridian MS for LS.  My son has learned that the coursework will be self-paced which is good and bad.  Self-paced courses can be mind-numbing and not very motivating.  Do you have any ideas or tips/tricks I can share for him to keep up his motivation?

Hi! This is my first time in this group. Life has been a little busy since my daughter graduated from boot camp. Anyway, my daughter is in A school in Great Lakes. I was just wondering if any of you are sending Valentine's care packages to your sailor and what you are sending? Any creative ideas?

jdrs1606 - greetings - good to hear from you.  My son was so excited to have some freedom and an opportunity to get a chance to go to town, that he almost had a problem.  Thank goodness it was only almost - LOL.  He realized very quickly that he had to stay focused in order to remain at the top of class and have the joy of choosing his permanent base.  That was his main motivation.  Also, he wanted to get thru "A" school and get on with the job quickly - he told me that actually listening in class, then working the workbooks immediately after made all the difference.  The tests were not super hard, but to score high you did need to find some old school study techniques.  So, bottom line - work toward getting that base you really want.  He is now in San Diego and really loves it.  Hope there is some help in these words

Does anybody know if there is a group for Port Huename, CA seabee A school?

Hey there fellow navy friends :)

My hubby is graduating 3/29 & is continuing for A school in Great Lakes!
Can I, or should I, bring him some of his clothes, shoes, anything like that?!?! also, I have read they will go through different phases and he may get liberty until midnight, and eventually overnight liberty! woo hoo, does that mean I can go visit him often?

Hello friends! CourtRenee, my BF will be going to A School in Great Lakes as well next month

Hello All,

My daughter is in A school in Meridian, MS. She just started on Saturday. I thought after PIR, we would be able to chat more but wow they already have her super busy. She doesn't like the location much, but I keep telling her to hand in there and try and do really good in class so she could get her 1st choice, which is sunny San Diego. Our phone calls get cut off quite a bit due bad Tmobile phone coverage and she is out in the country.

Any tips, tricks, or suggestions to keep her motivated. It seems like her happiness from graduating boot camp was short lived.

Hi navymom1234,

What is your daughter in A school in Meridian for?

Hi Laurie1029,

Her rate is a YN, (yoeman).

That's what my son, Cory, is going in for.  He doesn't leave for Bootcamp until Aug 12th.  But I am trying to read up on everything beforehand.  Will she be in Meridian for 7 weeks?  Do you know what kinds of things they are doing there so far?  What kind of place does she live in?  As you can see I have so many questions.  I will friend request you and we can try and chat when you get online.

Hi Laurie1029,

Nice, so yes he will more and likely go to Meridian, MS as well after BC in Great Lakes. When I spoke with her earlier this week, she said they are in the holding status to start class. They are waiting for more YNs to join them to start the classes as a group.

The 1st week all they do is go over rules all day/week. Oh my didn't realize they were so many rules to cover a whole week. She said they are two options self-paced classes and group classes, she won't know which one she will get until next week, but she is hoping for group classes because apparently they get to finish quicker perhaps within two weeks vs. the long drawn out self-pace which is whopping 7 weeks or longer. Besides classes, they still do watch, and apparently they have a bowling alley and movie theater on base which they get to do when they have liberty. She is in a dorm with a shared room with two other roommates.

I will keep you posted as I chat with her. I'm just glad BC is over because we didn't have any verbal communication besides only when she earned a phone call home. We managed on snail mail. I'm a rather over zealous parent so I watched plenty youtube videos on what to expect at BC as well as joined other groups that are BC related.

Hi Laurie 1029,

My son is one week away from graduating from Logistics (LS) in Meridian,MS.

His LS was mostly self paced.  You are spot-on about the rules and "phasing-in" for the first week or two.  My son also had room mates, but they were two weeks ahead of him so they helped him with notes and  that was great.  You have to have a "Leave Buddy" when you phase up so you can go on leave. I love the buddy system.  Remind your sailor that they are still a team and if someone is doing something that is not approrpriate or correct, then the whole group will get their leave removed.  That means that if they see something wrong - like underage drinking (for example) that they should step up and get that sailor into the right place.  (hopefully that proactive approach will keep them from getting their freedoms removed.

Hi NavyMom1234
My son is in Meridian MS for Logistics (LS) and is one week away from graduating from A school. He was able to email and text but also had to "phase-in" and that's important to being able to leave the base.  We're from Los Angeles and yes Meridian is quite small.  But  trip to the mall no matter how small is a treat.  My son was concerned about the self-paced part of the program because he is an auditory learner and does best in instructor-led training, but I encouraged him to find a study-buddy and to leverage his room mates since they were a few weeks ahead of him.  I think it really payed off.

Hi jdrs1606,

So nice to hear your son is about to finish A school. Do you know where he is going next, orders yet? Did he get his 1st or 2nd choices?

I will take your pointers and encourage my daughter to find a study buddy, great idea and reminding her about the teamwork thing is good too. She sound better on the phone yesterday, guess it takes a couple of days to adjust to the new changes and adapt to the new environment. We lived in the East Coast so long it can be an adjustment living in the Southern states. She has other friends she met at BC that are east coasters that followed her to A school so that has helped a bit.

Thanks for your suggestions/tips.

Is there anyone out there whose son or daughter is heading off to School at Point Loma for Sonar....mine is leaving to go there today?

Hi navymom1234,

My daughter rate is also a YN in Mississippi A school. Is your daughter too? My sailor is in DIV 110 graduated on 3/08. Heard that she's graduating from A school on 4/16 but won't be able to leave till a week later waiting for her 1st assigment. She's not too sure about all that but will update me later. What about yours? I wonder whether they are in the same team. She have around 12 friends there with her mostly from same DIV.

My daughter just graduated from on March 22nd in Great Lakes and is now at A school at Gulfport,MS.  She is a BU and a E3.  #I am new to all of this.  Does anyone else out there have a daughter that is there as a BU?  Do they have a graduation after A School and when is it?  Will we get info closer to time?  please help.r             ghavwe/

Hi all- my SR will be heading to A-school in SA Texas in 4 weeks- I read some of the posts- and we are Easterners also- worried about how the heat will affect her.

My son is in bc still but will be going to A School soon.  He will have his birthday towards the end of bc.  My question is what is a good birthday present that I can get him that he will be able to have at A school.  Not knowing what he is able to have there or where he is going after that kinda makes it hard for me to decide.  Any suggestions?

CourtRenee, great ideas!  Thank you!

We gave my son a black G-shock watch also. He loved it! The other thing that he really wanted a nice pair of Oakleys. The only thing they can wear while in uniform is completely black. We ended up going to the Gurnee Mills Mall where they have an Oakley store and as soon as he walked in they knew exactly what he needed. His aunt and uncle (also Navy) ended up buying them for him as they were so proud!

 DaltonsMom (Ship 13 Div 127) Thanks!  I am so glad I asked.  

I've been looking at the G shocks for my son, I love the military watch but the reviews all say the light is bogus. Well I've got a couple of months to check out which is best before his birthday anyways. I'm guessing most people here go for the military one?

DrewsMomMary, I was wondering the same thing as I was looking at them this 
morning.  The military one looks complicated, but cool.  I did read on one of the 
reviews though that there is an adjustment for the light so just not sure if they are 
not reading the directions(which would be normal) to the watch or if it really is a
problem.  Can anyone tell us which watch you bought?

Be careful in choosing the watch for a gift.  Only officers can wear gold as I understand it, Sailors' watches are to be silver colored , or black. Someone who has more definite info on this may want to define the limitations, please.